Oh China, how I'll miss thee...

Tonight I made a quick border run up to Shenzhen after school to pick up some clothes that some friends and I had tailor-made.

Beforehand, I decided to go treat myself to a hair wash/head massage in the midst of a very stressful week. So, I went in and they spoke no English, so I motioned getting a head massage and with no questions asked, they led me to the sink...I thought I better ask how long it'll take. So, I pointed to my watch and the lady put up one finger...okay, one hour...perfect! I wanted to ask how much it cost, but that didn't work out so much, so I just forgot about it. One hour later, she had washed and blowdried my hair straight, given me a head, shoulders, and neck massage, a facial and an arm massage! One word...amazing! I got the bill and had to circle the amount for the "tipsy". :) The total said 20, so I looked bewildered and made some motions to clarify that the real price for that queen-like treatment was the equivalent of $2.5 US!!!! Yes...it's true! Well, I gave them a nice tip, because that seems quite ridiculous!

Feeling quite relaxed I went to pick up the clothes in the mall. Below are some pictures that you may find interesting. Here you can see just part of the HUGE fabric market they take you to where you can pick out your material. It's so fun!

If you make it out of the fabric market alive, :) you meet with the tailor and let her know what you want...
And voila...1-2 weeks later your clothes are ready! It's a good thing I didn't really discover this until I'm about to leave! :)

This is the mall in Shenzhen. I was actually really scared there tonight, because it's usually very calm, but as I was walking out, I saw a couple of guys chasing another guy up the escalator. Literally everyone in the mall began running...up the escalators, around the sides of these balconies, everywhere. I was scared out of my mind, b/c it looked like everyone was running for cover! So, I pretended to be calm (NOT!) and asked a shopkeeper what was going on. She played it off like it happened every day..."just a fight", she said. Wow...it was craziness! Chinese people are usually so calm!

A tea shop