Blowing kisses

 Out of nowhere a beer bottle attached to an unsteady hand  appeared.  It was trying to top off Sam's already full glass of beer.  I looked up and sure enough it was the same man Sam had made eye contact with when we first sat down at the restaurant.  He was sitting at a table of about four or five middle aged men who were slightly red in the face and smoking.  I'm sure they were all drinking plenty of beer and baijiu. (A clear hard liquor similar to cheap vodka.)

Sam and I exchanged smiles as he leaned on the table and put his face right next to Sam's ear. He spoke very slowly with maybe just a hint of slurring. What follows is my translation of the conversation into English.
 "Do... you.... speak Chinese?"
 "Yes." Sam replied.
 "I noticed you when you walked in.  Are... you.... American or Russian?" 
"American."
"Ah.... America..... and China are friends.  This is how Chinese are with their friends."  He slid his glass across the table and tried to clink it against Sam's glass.  Sam pretended not to notice.  I smiled.
"Is that your..... girlfriend? She is very beautiful......  You are beautiful."
"She's my wife."
"Oh...... She's your wife?.........  We say old lady for wife in China."  He said as he ran his fingers along Sam's chin.
"Yes...... you are also beautiful" he continued.  He then rambled on for a bit about America and China.  We smiled and nodded.  You might think that we would be uncomfortable to say the least but actually we have become quite accustomed to these sorts of attentions and now we find it downright entertaining.  However at this moment, I could feel the eyes of others watching us even more than usual.  Finally the man walked back to his table and Sam and I continued eating our meal.  Sam looked at me and said "For a moment there I thought he was going to kiss me." 

Just as we were finishing up and getting ready to pay the bill I looked up and there was our tipsy friend leaning once more on Sam and trying to clink glasses..  His face was right next to Sam's cheek and he talked some more about us being beautiful.  Then somewhere in mid-sentence he actually kissed Sam's cheek.  I didn't know whether to laugh or be creeped out.  Then the guy finished his ramble and once more went back to his table.  The hostess was looking at us and smiling really big.  I think she might have even been giggling.  It was pretty funny.

We paid our bill and started for the door.  Right before we walked out he yelled out Sam's Chinese name and blew another kiss our way........Sam blew one back.

Words to remember:

wěn （吻)= kiss

fēi­wěn (飞吻)= to blow a kiss

 

piào­liang (漂亮)=beautiful

lǎo­po (老婆)= old lady; wife (informal)

Is it summer already?

We had about two weeks of spring weather and now it looks as if summer has hit.  Today the high is supposed to be 90 degrees Fahrenheit and rain is in the forecast for the end of the week.   Time for my Chinese neighbors to start eating ice cream in the afternoon.  And I'm already seeing girls wearing bohemian skirts or short shorts and guys pushing their shirts above their belly.  Personally, I like the warm weather but the summer thunderstorms don't really agree with me.  This is our third summer here and I know what to expect.  Although last year we spent six weeks of the summer back in California we still experienced plenty of hot and wet days here.  I'm glad we've already booked our flight back to the states so I have something to look forward during the hot and sticky weather.  This year we will be going back for only three and a half weeks.   We are leaving the day after our work year ends in June. Sam didn't want to stay any longer than 4 weeks and we have something to attend in Hong Kong mid July, so we have to cut our visit short of a month. 

 

Now practically every night I dream that I'm back in California.  I can never remember how I got there but as soon as I realize where I am I start trying to find a Target or Old Navy.  Some nights I'm looking for Mexican food instead.  It's still a month and a half away but I can't wait to see everyone!