My American Bed, With Chinese Characteristics

I had a great bed before I went to China-- a deep pillow top, to which I later added a tempurpedic foam topper. Ahh... like sleeping on a cloud.

Chinese beds are usually one piece, not two, and therefore quite a bit more firm and less cozy. It's not exactly like sleeping on a box spring, because there is a thin layer of padding, but it's close. At first these beds felt really uncomfortable, but give yourself two years, you get accustomed to things you never imagined you could. Here's my apartment bed; it's a little hard to tell, but I had a box platform, then the boxspring style mattress on top of that.

I liked these box bed platforms, I imagined they were a design relic of the traditional 'kang' bed, where hot coals were placed in the box's empty space to heat the bed overnight. Believe me, with no indoor heat, I would've loved a kang bed!

Here's a bed at our favorite hostel in Chengdu. You can see the wood plank and thin mattress we slept on, and it's actually quite comfortable, I slept very well on this bed. (Not my legs, btw.)

-------

So, now I'm back in America, back to a big fluffy American bed...and it was really, really difficult for me to sleep on. My back and neck hurt all the time. I finally had to admit: my big American bed is now too darn soft and cloud-like. So this week I gave in to my Chinese characteristics and removed the top mattress, and I'm back to sleeping on just the box spring, with a foam topper. Ahh...so firm and familiar! And no more back aches.

Next time I have a sleepover, I guess it will need to be someone familiar with Chinese-style beds.

I Adore....

I've had a week and a half now to adjust to being home again (albeit temporarily-- a week and a half of leave to go!). I adore so many things about being home. Here is a short list:

1. My family. I got to spend time over the last week with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. My cousins and I were raised to be close, and I love them so much. The hardest part is seeing how downhill my grandmother's health has gone. Dementia is terribly sad. It's tragic we can become so lost in our own mind. I know many of you have also gone through this with someone you love, and you know how sad it is.

2. Bathtubs. I love hot baths, and I have been indulging myself frequently!

3. Indoor heat and instantaneous hot water. What a treat!

4. Clothing in my size; I forgot I'd ever fit into clothes sold on the rack again. I've been enjoying trying on summer dresses and finding cute, simple things to take back with me for my last summer in the furnace of Chongqing.

5. Hummus and greek yogurt, and other assorted foods from this part of the world. Salsa and corn tortillas and cheese (together or separately). So delicious.

6. I like this song, and I can hear it on VH1 all morning long.

7. Sunshine! I'll never take it for granted again.

8. No Great Firewall to block the internet. And that's all I'm going to say about this.

Mixed blessings:

1. Quiet time. Boy, it sure is quiet here. It's quiet in my house, it's quiet in my car, it's quiet in the store and in the restaurant, and there's nobody on the street at all. It's nice, but...it's also a little disconcerting how easy it is to avoid other human beings here. Chaos can be a nice reminder you're alive and a part of humanity.

2. American junk food is delicious. I'm trying to indulge in tiny bites and small doses. It's possible to lose your taste for fake fat and sugar, but it's also possible to get it back! Lime tortilla chips, you are my weakness.

3. Elevators. Buildings in China don't have elevators unless they are over 8 stories. All those stairs keeps your legs and butt in good shape. I already feel like I'm going soft. I take the stairs as often as possible, but there are only three stairs to my front door. I miss the four flights I have to walk up to my apartment several times a day.

4. I don't really care for driving. It's convenient, but gosh, you really have to pay attention! I like being able to get on a bus and zone out for an hour.

Things that I the opposite of adore...

1. I miss my students. I can't wait to see them again. I know I have said this before, but I am going to spend the rest of my life thinking about them and hoping they are okay. They have sent me little messages by email, and they are so cute.

2. I miss my Chongqing boys. And R. This is a small taste of what will happen in July when I leave for good, and it makes me sad. And the guy I adore in China? I still adore him. At least now I know it wasn't the choggles!

3. I kinda miss my hard China bed. I got used to it, and now this softer bed is giving me backaches.

4. I miss my electric tea kettle. I'm definitely going to have to invest in one of those when I return for good.

Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned in China is just how adaptable we are. It's a blessing to be adaptable, but it means leaving things behind when you move on. I'm still learning how to do that.

Sleepy Girls On The Subway

I love how the mom is holding her daughter's head up. I wonder if that was comfortable?  Before I took this picture, her brother (on the left) kept trying to pat her face. She pitched a fit and his mom yelled at him to leave her alone. It's funny how kids are the same all over the world.

I also love this pic because it reminds of me when I'd fall asleep next to my dad on the D.C. Metro and he'd carry me home. Sometimes I was just pretending to be asleep so I didn't have to walk. I think he knew.

Romantic Dreams: When Its All In Your Head

This has nothing to do with China, but I always wonder how my brain can be such a partier when I'm asleep, yet so practical when I'm awake. What's up with that, brain?

I had a dream last night I was in a romantic relationship with a guy that in real life I've had exactly one conversation with and didn't feel any sort of romantic feelings for. He's cute, fun, blah blah blah but decidedly unremarkable to me. He just didn't push any of my buttons. Or so I thought. Evidently my subconscious thinks we are MFEO. Why does my brain conjure up romantic feelings for someone I don't think about in my waking life, and bypass men I actually DO pine over? How about a nice romantic dream with one of them, brain? Is that too much to ask? And isn't it a little scary that our brains can so perfectly replicate feelings of romance and longing for someone we have no conscious feelings for? Are feelings even real?

I also think it's weird when I dream that I'm smoking, and that I like it. I've never smoked anything, how can my brain replicate those feelings? Am I a replicant and no one's told me? (Little Blade Runner joke there.)

When I see this guy again, I'm going to feel really weird. We had a dream romance! Am I the only one this happens to?

You Know What They Say About Big Arms...

1.We watched this movie last weekend on DVD (yay, piracy!). The story was so-so, but the arms were fantastic! I had forgotten how much I like big arms, but it all came rushing back to me. People sometimes ask me what I miss about my home culture; here's a new thing to add to the list: BIG ARMS. (And Nacho Cheese Doritos. We talked about them while watching the movie, now I can't stop thinking about them.)

2. Not sure if it's the clothes, the cool dance moves, or the surprise twist ending, but this video cracks me up every time I see it:


3. My body has apparently given up on sleeping. I wake up around 3 or 4 AM and can't get back to sleep. This morning it was 5 AM, yay for extra sleep!  But still far short of what I think is good for me. Anyone have any drug-free insomnia cures?

Happy Friday everyone!

Timely

The secretary of my school's Foreign Affairs Office helps us when we need to navigate public services in China. She took me to the hospital today to get a blood test. In the taxi we were talking about diabetes, and she said, "If you have diabetes, you have to eat less sugar, and have a rest."

Based on my post yesterday, it was too timely not to share.  (Btw, she is also my tutor, so remember her in your prayers, she puts up with a lot, haha.)

P.S. I don't have diabetes, just sugary urine, for some reason. It must be all the sugar and spice and everything nice I am made of.

"Have A Rest"

Resting is extremely important in Chinese culture. There is a standard two hour break everyday for lunch and resting. It's kinda of awesome, until I want to get something done during those two hours, and then it's frustrating. (Spoken like a true Westerner.) I recently did a lesson with my students about sickness and gave them a list of ailments to provide remedies for. Almost all of them included the advice to "have a rest." I have gotten notes from students explaining that they missed class because they needed to have a rest. It's a very cultural thing that every day, you should rest.

In fact, here is how prevalent it is: at the hot springs we went to yesterday, the building had two large, dark rooms filled with oversize recliners and foot rests, pillows, down blankets, and a small flat screen tv for each chair. At any time during the day, you could come in from the spa pools and "have a rest." It was awesome!  The dressing room attendant gave you a plastic bag for your wet bathing suit, gave you some dry spa clothes to wear, and you could eat fresh fruit and have a rest before heading back to the spa pools. No extra charge. I slept for about a half an hour after lunch, then went back outside. And that was very "Western" of me, most people stayed longer. Most offices I've seen have a long couch for sleeping, and our teacher's room couch is always occupied during lunch. So even if you work away from home, you can still have a nap at work.

I am going to come back to America and feel like my hour lunch break is very, very short! And I am going to want a place to take a nap when I am out all day working/playing.

Naps, Spooning, and Other Sleep Accoutrement

So in the latest episode of The Office, Jim offers Kelly an hour long tv session, or an hour long nap. She wisely chooses the nap. And then Jim semi-tucks her in!  Okay, he handed her a blanket and turned out the light, but so close. Jim tucking you in for a nap: what could be better? Only this: spooning. The whole fun of napping with another person is, of course, the spooning. I have a hard time relaxing, but spooning in a man's arms is liquid valium to me. You can never have too much of this. 

Currently I sleep alone, so I must be content with my fluffy pillows (5 on my bed), electric blanket (under the sheets, and I turn it on an hour before sleep) and down comforter (I like weight on me when I sleep). These things are not as good as spooning!  Or being tucked in by Jim!  But, for the time being, they must do. 

Picture link

Sleeping Hat

I like wearing hats to bed. No, wait. I LOVE it. 

I picked up the habit in San Antonio, where I had no heat in my bedroom and six very large, drafty windows. (It's pretty warm in San Antonio, except those few winter weeks when it's not.) I've picked up the habit again here in China, where indoor heating is not so efficient, i.e. no wall insulation, big drafty windows, and a heater located about a foot from the ceiling. (Side note to China: heat rises.)

Also, I hate sleeping with my ears uncovered*. Usually I pull the blanket high up over my head so my ears are well covered, but with a hat, I can just pull it down over my ears and eyes. Right now I am using a furry, soft hat my mom sent me for Christmas. I couldn't tell if it was a really soft bag, or a hat. So I might be sleeping with a bag on my head. Who cares, I love it. 

And, I think I need to find an adult version of the hat in this picture. 

*I always thought this was just me, but my grandma said she hates it too! 

Electric Blanket Under the Sheets

My apartment in China does not have central heat, so it gets quite chilly in here. I bought an electric blanket (which I pray doesn't catch on fire--products here are not known for their reliability and safety) but follow the Chinese tradition of placing the blanket underneath the bottom sheet and cotton mattress pad, not over the top comforter.  I turn it on about an hour before I am going to go to bed, and it is delicious crawling into the bottom-up warmed sheets.  I'll probably die in a fire for keeping an electric blanket under a cotton pad and sheet, but it sure is nice while it lasts. 

I also love the heat lamps someone installed in the bathroom ceiling, the only heat source in there. Brightest light ever, but very nice when you step out of the shower. 

Ambien

The Peace Corps doesn't fill prescriptions for Ambien. I have started rationing my remaining supply. Goodbye, sweet sleep. It's been nice knowing you.

Rainy Afternoons

2:00 PM, kitten tummy, dark and rainy day, curled up in a soft blanket, afternoon nap. The best.