Like White on Rice

Question: What do Santa Claus, Gwen Stefani, my dog Rufus, my grandmother and I all have in common????

The answer: We all have white hair.

After a harrowing 3 ½ hours in the hair salon in our hotel, I emerged looking like a young Bette Davis. Emerging with any hair on my head was a victory in my eyes. I was like science fair project for the hair stylists-and every worker in the salon wanted a piece of the action. You know it’s a bad sign when they check the color, yell something to the others, and make a mad dash into the back room for more supplies. At one point my scalp was burning and itching so intensely, I thought it might all fall out.

My only way to communicate with the stylists was through a nifty iphone application I downloaded that translates a few words at a time. Trying to make light of the situation, I typed into my phone. “Lovely weather in Qingdao. My scalp is on fire”. And then I handed them the phone with the resulting Chinese characters. That particular entry was met with a smile and nod and a tray of Qtips. (What?!) Note to self: Find a new, more accurate device or go back to using gestures- much more reliable. That’s when I texted Harrison requesting a glass of red wine and some moral support….My hero arrived just in time to witness the final unveiling.
While my Chinese language skills are not exactly advanced, I do know my colors very well, thanks to Rosetta Stone. And as they hovered over me in the shampoo bowl, a familiar word was repeated several times: “bei se”, which means “white”. Uhh ohhh. Always the supportive husband, H’s eyes widened and he said “That’s good babe- I’ve never seen that kind of color in hair before.”

I like to think that the Chinese are a few years ahead of us in many areas- taller skyscrapers, faster trains, and now perhaps- more cutting-edge hair styles. In fact, I am predicting right now that you will all be clamoring to the salon to get these coveted white locks in just a few short years……..In the meantime, I will be chilling in Qingdao- sticking out like a sore thumb even more than ever. No one ever said being a trendsetter was easy.

In other news, Bryan comes to town tonight for meetings! We are eagerly awaiting his arrival. We all head to a grand opening ceremony for a hospital tomorrow followed by a lunch…..more stories to come.