Bathing Suit Bodies

Thankfully the Hyatt Tamaya Resort in Albuquerque keeps their swimming pool heated during the winter. The pool also just happens to have JR's favorite thing in the entire world... a big tunnel water slide. I tried out the water slide after JR, and was surprised to find that the tunnel is completely dark until the very end. You have no idea where you're going...and it's actually a really long slide. I said, "JR, I can't believe you didn't tell me how dark it is inside the slide." JR's response, "Mommy, I thought you needed to figure that out on your own."
Being at the pool in our bathing suits also gave Ayi the chance to figure out how "skinny" we are. Never ones to mince words, the Chinese will always let you know just what they think of you. There were plenty of times I was shopping in Beijing when I was told, "You can't try that on!You're too fat!" I know it sounds rude, but to them they're just stating a fact: "You are a big American, and you will not fit in these little- bitty Chinese clothes. You will be wasting my time if I let you try them on." Pretty much anything we find "rude" to ask or say they find perfectly acceptable. They'll ask you how much money you make, how much you paid for something, or how old you are in a second. They will also point out any imperfection you might have and ask you about it immediately. So Jason and I weren't surprised a bit when Ayi said to us, (I've taken the liberty of translating it into English for you) "You, Jan, and JR were all fat the whole time you lived in China, but now all of you are skinny!" I'm just going to take that as a compliment and run...A Chinese person finally thinks I'm "skinny"!