The Great and Powerful China

We’ve been here long enough that I’m now using Jiang’s meaning of “tomorrow.” I said last Thursday that I would post a video tomorrow. Now it’s another Thursday and tomorrow has finally come!

You see, I’m not actually supposed to be blogging here in China. The government doesn’t really want to encourage such free sharing of ideas. You can get around this by 1. only saying the truth about how wonderful China is (so clean! so orderly! nothing but sunshine!) and 2. using a service that allows you to connect to the internet outside of China. The internet police (yes, this really does exist), knows that people use such services but apparently looks the other way.  Either that or they are waiting for the perfect moment to storm in here and send me packing. Did I mention how great China is? So friendly, so proud, such an honor to be here! So part of the delay in posting is that this service we use (to be able to blog about this amazing and magnificent country) has not been working. So I haven’t been able to post anything.

The funny thing is, many businesses here in China, advertise their Facebook and Twitter pages and both sites are blocked by the government. A quick Google search told me there are 63.5 million Facebook users in China. Clearly we are not the only ones using a service to get around the “Great Firewall of China.” There are Chinese versions of both Facebook and Twitter – Wiebo and QQ – and they are also promoted but we find it funny when Chinese companies advertise to “find them on Facebook” or follow them on Twitter.

But it’s not like the internet police are just sitting around ignoring boring expat housewives who find split crotch pants interesting. They are active. Sometimes if you try to access certain news sites, these well known pages mysteriously can’t be found or suddenly encounter an “error” while loading.

Aaahhh, ignorance IS bliss!

So anyway, before I start attracting the wrong of kind attention here, and to pick up where I left off…as Hunter and I were exploring the couple of blocks behind the Mansion, probably the best part of our trip was when we discovered a barber shop/salon/discotheque. We have passed by a few of these enormous shops with the tell tale red and white striped awning but we’ve always been in a taxi. What fun to discover this on our walk!

Yes, that is full fledged choreography going on right their in the aisles of the hair salon. And while you can only see women in the video, there were men, also in uniform, also performing the same dance moves, singing and clapping. It was probably 10:30 am. We passed by a few more times since then later in the afternoon but have not happened upon the singing and dancing. Not sure if it’s a mid-morning only thing, a once a week thing, a when we don’t have any customers thing…I couldn’t see anyone sitting in a chair waiting for a cut while the dancing ensued but the place is pretty big and I’m sure there were chairs in the back we could not see.

I’d love to see a help wanted sign: Wanted experience hair dresser, dancing required, singing preferred.

What a fun and amazing and fantastic and entertaining place! We love our new home in China!