Chinatown!

Yesterday was Chinatown. It was also time for a haircut, so we decided what better way to experience the culture than to find a hair salon off the beaten track and get Alison a new do. We found the Happy Hair Salon, which was basically a one-man operation. In true fashion, we were given advice on Alison – she was coughing and so he told us that she needed cough medicine, and that we should probably give her more than one dose a day. We were also told that her hair was dry, and that she needed more conditioning. I was transported back to China, where we were chastised for not bundling her enough, and were questioned about what we were feeding her. It’s funny, if anyone but a Chinese person tried to give me advice about my daughter, I would be touchy about it. But in China, and in Chinatown, I simply smile and nod, and in some strange way feel as though Chinese people have a right not to mind their own business when it comes to Alison. I’m not sure if this is true, but I don’t sweat it. I smile, and agree, and generally act as though I’m appreciative and in need of their well-meaning interference.

We loved Chinatown. We ate at a restaurant that was not frequented by tourists. We chose the restaurant because it served pork giblet congee. For the first year of Alison’s life, she at “pork bone congee,” which we fed her while we were in China – much to her delight. So we were curious to see if she would recognize it. And she didn’t. In fact, she only ate a few bites and she was done. Not impressed. The food was delicious. Kyle had spicy squid with peppers and rice, and I had barbeque pork with bean cake and rice. Alison had an egg roll and picked around at it. Oh well.

It was a great day. Chinatown was definitely filled with memories of China. We bought a lot of junk, ate great food and were given advice about our daughter. Ahhh. Can’t wait for 2010!

I can't get photos to upload on Blogger. Not sure what the problem is. I'll have some up tomorrow. Today we did Alcatraz and Haight Asbury, but will have to save that (and photos of it) for tomorrow also. Maybe Blogger will be feeling better and will cooperate with me.