Since neither of us have class on Wednesday, we slept late, enjoyed breakfast, and went out around noon. First we went to a barber shop and got haircuts. Our hair was washed, then cut, then washed again, and blow dried. The cost for this service was 20 rmb each, just under $4.00. Next we went for a long walk in a nearby park. This park includes some classical statuary and a large lake. There are signs in English telling what the statues depict: Cupid and Psyche, Apollo and his chariot. All the pools surrounding the fountains are frozen over. The sun was shining; the sky was blue, and the air crisp and cold, a perfect winter day. After the park we got a bus and went up town and explored a mall. Since land is at a premium, the Chinese build up malls several stories and have huge escalators. It’s all very upscale.

We chose a restaurant featuring steak and a menu with English under the pictures. Having decided what to order, we called the waiter, to learn that they didn’t have that today, or now, we weren’t sure. So we chose something else and enjoyed a dinner, though it was only 3 o’clock, of t-bone steak, allegedly from Texas, French fries, and a large salad. These days we feel allowed to eat fresh vegetables in China. Is it really safer than before? Who knows? For dessert, Dear Husband chose the mango milkshake. The menu showed a chocolate sundae, which I ordered, but the waiter said they didn’t have it. I didn’t want the red bean one.

After walking through the nearly empty mall – the real traffic is in the evening – we went to Hagen-Daz. For three months, I have thought it was a store having sundaes, shakes and all the other wonderful Hagen-Daz delights. However, the man working there said in perfect English, “We only have ice-cream. We have sixteen flavors. You can have one scoop or two.” One scoop cost 33 rmb, 2 cost 59 rmb. I chose one scoop of fabulous chocolate ice cream. We were the only customers in the store. The upholstered seating along the wall is red; the chairs at the tables are upholstered in gold. We sat in the golden chairs and the man brought goblets of water with a slice of lemon for us. Each table held a vase with two fresh pink roses, and a golden wire tree with pine cones and green ribbon. We faced the window with the Christmas tree decorated in red and gold ornaments, ribbons, and toys. From the speaker we heard a reverent solo version of Silent Night, all three verses, sung by a man who sounded like Nat King Cole—remember him? Hard to believe this is China!

On the bus ride home a young woman started talking with us. She is from England and teaches in another school. She has been in the city since September, and was not aware there were other English people so close by. She said she would e-mail me as soon as she got home.

We played Scrabble and the game was not easy or exciting as it sometimes is. We both drew lots of duplicate letters, and they were hard to play. The score was lower than we usually have, but we kept on playing. We play often and are about equally matched; sometimes the score is tied at the end. It doesn’t really matter to us who wins each night. In this game I was behind all the way, considerably behind. But on the last play of the game, the board opened an opportunity. I used all 7 tiles, and got both triple word scores for a total of 149 points and was the winner: a perfect end to a wonderful day.