Dinner and a Massage

Typically Dinner and a Movie, our Valentine's Day was a little different in China.  First of all, Valentine's Day is not a large holiday in China and is largely a result of the Western influence that lives here.  There are plenty of flowers available but not a great selection of cards or other types of gifts.  Mr. He summed up Valentine's Day in the car for us..."Sir, Valentine's Day, romantic, chocolates, flowers..."  Pronunciation was pretty good, he must of practiced awhile on that phrase.  Taking advantage of our new babysitter/AYI, Ms. Wang, we made reservations for Friday night out.  First, dinner at an upscale salad shop, called Element Fresh, not too fancy but close and we wanted to try it without the kids since we were unsure of the menu.  After what turned out to be a very good meal, we headed to Head to Toe, both hair salon and massage place.   Little did we know that Friday nights are the hot night at Head to Toe.  Foot massages are very popular here and a good way to end the work week.  Foot massages at this place are 1 hour long and cost 90 RMB with tip (that is about $13 USD).   It was worth every penny.  We were joined by two other couples, both of whom were GM families that I knew, and two women that were by themselves and husbands support the auto industry.  So quiet it was not, but fun and relaxing it was.  Not only did we get a great massage, but we discovered some new vacation ideas with one couple just returning from Cambodia and the other from Boracay Island, Philippines.  They also had good things to say about beaches in Guam and Saipan (just north of Guam).  So we added them all to our list of potential future vacations.    Some folks get this treatment every Friday night, which may be a little much but rest assured we will be stopping by again...and soon!

Guo Guo

As we were making a turn driving to a friends house, I was sitting next to Mr. He and heard what sounded like a cricket. 

I turned to Mr. He and asked if he heard the same noise.  He smiled and pointed to his pocket.  He then pulled over, as he is apt to do anytime, anywhere, if he wants to show me/tell me something, and pulled a container out of his shirt pocket.  It looked like one of those containers that makes noises when you shake them so after he handed it to me, I proceeded to shake it. First up and down and then side to side without making any noise.   Mr. He quickly told me not to shake it, took it back and proceeded to take the top off.  Instead of a noisemaker, it was a cricket container.  Inside was a live cricket, if not a little bit dizzy cricket.  A very big cricket.  Turns out the cricket is only 3 months old and is named Guo Guo.  Guo Guo is Mr. He's lucky cricket.  The wings are clipped so it cannot fly and given the size I hope that it is already full grown.  Tanner and Amanda felt safer from a distance and Justin, as is typical, was the only one brave enough to hold the cricket.  I am not sure what adventures await Guo Guo, but looks like he will be our driving companion for awhile at least.  I think we will need the luck the way people drive in Shanghai.....