China Doll

On Monday afternoons I teach listening to the class in Room 503. Usually, I feel like beating them with sticks by the end, and not just chopsticks but big sticks.

To make myself feel better, I stop in Room 505 afterwards since it is conveniently next door. The kids in Room 505 are the ones who randomly invited Tom and I to accompany them to Tianmu Lake. They are talkative, funny, and light-hearted. Today they had a flat-iron plugged in and one girl was straightening hair. I said, "Oh! You have a beauty salon in here!" Their reply was, "You! You sit! You do it!"

The current customer was pushed off the stool, my books were taken from me and my backpack was mysteriously removed. About 15 of them crowded around me with combs, mirrors, and lots of advice to the girl weilding the flat iron. They fussed over me for a good 15 minutes then declared that my hair was very lovely, like Audrey Hepburn, and looked Chinglish (I *heart* that word). I am not sure Audrey looked Chinglish, but I will take a compliment where I can get it.

I was summarily sent down to my office so, "Tom can see you and say 'Wow!'"

They crack me up.