Ever been offered a free lobotomy? I have. Back in 2003, I was offered one on my first morning in Chángch?n, China. I woke up to the sound and sight of a man standing at my window. It sounded like he was saying, “Free Lobotomy? Freeeee Lobotomy!”
I could not, for the life of me, figure out why he thought I wanted or needed one. Perhaps I had that frazzled, newly arrived look that I later noticed on every newbie’s face after that. People could spot that look from a mile away. I lived in China for three years and I absolutely loved living there, but there were many times when I felt as though I could have taken him up on his offer.
When I think of China, I think of it as a myriad of smells, textures, tastes and exotic blends. It’s sensory overload, as soon as you set foot in the country. One of the things I loved about living in China was being able to live completely in the moment. There is so much going on all the time, that your brain has only a few seconds to register what’s happening before your senses are assaulted by another fresh battery of strange and seemingly impossible things.
For example, my friendly visitor might be considered a Peeping Tom in Canada. But, in China, it was perfectly acceptable for him to be standing at my window watching me in the early dawn light while I slept in my bed. I eventually figured out that he was looking for recycled goods and trash. I hung curtains in my new home that day and sure enough, the next morning, he was back. And he came back every day thereafter, always offering a free lobotomy with a flashing smile on his friendly, wrinkled face.
Hi very nice blog I will come back for sure. I have started mine on blogger goquebec.blogspot.com but I see that it seems better with wordpress so I will try wordepress to create an other blog.
Have a great day. I really like Mandarin but I am not so good yet.
Come to see us in Quebec Canada.
Justin
Why I don’t think I’ve ever been offered a “free lobotomy”.
But I’ll add it to my list.
5 Things to do before you die:
1. Sky dive
2. Swim with sharks (or dolphins… same thing)
3. Eat weird fruit
4. Run naked in a rainstorm
5. Get a free lobotomy
Thanks for linking my blog! I recently changed the address, so if you won’t mind updating it in your blogroll I would really appreciate it. The new address is: http://www.frostfox.com/blog
Thanks again!
i’ve narrowed my favourite buffy episodes to 23. i must now go re-watch them to provide a definitive answer. some people might say, “why are you wasting your time?”
I say, “why aren’t you wasting yours!”
time spent watching Buffy enriches your life. life enrichment is generally considered a plus is it not?!? another plus, catching up on all the laundry you do last week.
Frostfox,
Done and done my man! I was trying to look at your blog earlier this week and noticed something funky going on. I’m glad to see it’s straightened out and thanks for letting me know!
you’ve been featured here… http://taiwanblogs.blogspot.com/
Thanks again, and congrats on getting featured on http://taiwanblogs.blogspot.com/
That is kind of strange.
I don’t know what I would do in that situation myself.. It would probably involve some swearing and screaming. I am quite grumpy in the mornings.
Andres and Frostfox,
Wow and thank you!
Hi Range,
In certain situations I felt like swearing and screaming. Believe it or not, I kind of like the anonymity of living in Taiwan.
LOL!! Don’t we all need a free lobotomy from time to time though?