Friday, February 19, 2010

Hairy, hairy man!

So, as you probably know, I have a full beard. This is probably more of an oddity to my Chinese neighbors than the fact that I'm pasty-white and speak English. I know Kristy used to get a little nervous when she would go shopping without me, because she'd get stared at, but I really do think it happens far less for her when I am there too. The beard is curious to adults and TERRIFYING to little children, which of course makes me laugh.

This brings me to my next observation. Since we have been in China I have noticed on several occasions men and women with moles. Ok, so that's not so weird or different. I have a big mole on my forehead. So what? Well, fortunately for me, I do NOT have weird hairs growing out of said mole. If I DID, I would shave, pluck, wax, or whatever it took to get them out of there. Apparently, the Chinese do not share my sentiment. I noticed these men and women with moles, not because they had moles per se. No, it was because of the TREMENDOUS amount of HAIR sprouting from these moles. The woman I saw had what looked like octopus tentacles growing from the mole. I was waiting for them to come alive, Medusa-style, and attack me.
The second was today as Kristy and I were waiting on the platform for our train to Shanghai. The man next to me had hairs SHOOTING out of his chin-mole that were no less than 1.5 inches long. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?So, I'm interested in this now. The information I've found after my brief research has been that hairs growing from a mole are lucky. A sign of good fortune. Personally, I find it repulsive, but I'm a stupid waiguoren, so what do I know?