Bright lights, linebackers, I Love Rock and Roll…

So this week is fashion week in Shanghai. I haven’t given it much thought or even remembered because I’ve been sick with what I don’t know. Right around Wednesday I would have killed for a grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of tomato soup.

As part of this whole soiree into fashion, Hagel was invited to a fur fashion show and asked me if I would like to go. I agreed. I had no idea what to expect and that was the way to go into it. We met at the Ag Trade Office and left to go to a club near Fuxing Park, where I lived last summer. It was nice and everywhere I looked the club was emblazoned with the Chinese characters for American Legend, the name of the fur company. There were two jumbo screens that were showing famous models who has worked with American Ledged such as Cindy Crawford, Elle MacPherson, and Giselle. There were interviews playing as part of this, but with no sound so that was really pointless.

I wandered around a bit and talked with Hagel’s boss Ross who is the Director of the ATO. We talked traveling and he told me about his trip with his wife around the world. “I spent a month in Kenya, two months in Nepal…” and so on. I just hope that I can do that one day because it sounded amazing.

Around 7:30 the music started and while it was good, this will make me sound old, it was way too loud. Shanghai’s answer to some sort of lounge jazz act, I enjoyed it but would have enjoyed it more if they would have turned it down from 11 to maybe 8. The treble was way too much. This accompanied the snacks. It made me smile that no matter how classy you get in this town, meat on a stick is still good. There was a wide variety of small treats but I stuck with things on sticks including quail eggs, beef, and fruit. Thankfully the music ended and it was time for the fur.

The house lights dimmed, the spotlights came up to blind the Assistant Director of the ATO who was lucky enough to be sitting right by the runway, and the models began their parade. Some of the pieces that they were wearing were beautiful and the thought crossed my mind “That came of an animal? I usually don’t see those colors.” The models themselves were a sight. If the first thing you noticed wasn’t the bouffant hair style then it would be their eyes. It was the most severe stage makeup since my days at the Avalon. They all had huge fake black eyelashes and on the bottom a stripe of white eye liner with the bottom fake lashes under it. This brought a striking image of football players black swatches under their eyes. But one of the kitschiest things that stuck out to me was, of course, the music. One of the last songs was a version of I Love Rock and Roll. To be expected that some sort of cover would make the mix but it was sped up so much that the vocals sounded like The Chipmunks. That was good for a laugh, but they repeated the song three times and I was ready for something new. The show ended, we stayed for lucky draw, and after that Hagel heard the call of nature and left to heed it. When he got back, he told me “That was the weirdest experience I’ve ever had in the bathroom. I was at the urinal doing my thing when all of a sudden someone grabbed me around the shoulders. Even though it was just getting a massage, it was still a sensitive position to be in while you are doing your business.” He said he quickly tipped the man and left.

Thanks for everyone who’s told me they have received my postcards. I might just have good luck with foreign postal services yet. I’m sending out the second wave and gearing up for the third.

Perhaps some of the biggest news is that my mom is coming to visit me and bring me home at the end of my trip. I’m very excited for her to come and I will serve as tour guide/interpreter, a task I look forward to.