Maokong

Nate has been dying to meet new people, but he doesn't like doing it alone. So, I was talked into going to an international meet up in Maokong today. I don't regret going. We had a good time and saw some cool things. I finally got to go inside of a temple. It was kind of scary to me at first, but that was because of the statues. We went to another temple where they were displaying offerings to the gods and burning paper money. The smell of incense was really strong! While there, another foreigner and I were asked to take a picture with a local woman. Actually, the woman's husband forced her to take the picture. They were a cute little couple with a white poodle. Of course, the poodle was in the picture! After taking that picture, we passed by a lady and a woman that looked like she could have been her grandmother. The girl said something about me being black (it was in Chinese). The next thing I know, the grandmother was standing in front of me. She began talking to me in Chinese and looking at my hair. She wanted me to buy a spiritual necklace that had a picture of Confucius on it. I declined the offer and continued to go outside to see the view. After taking some more pictures with the people in the meet up, I turned around and the lady was standing in front of me again. This time one of the people in my group translated for me. She was asking about my hair. She wanted to touch it. She wanted to know how long it took me to do it. She wanted to know how long it took for me to grow my hair that long. I'm laughing because it is a very cute situation. I'm assuming that she has never seen fake hair other than wigs. I don't know how they explained to her that it wasn't my real hair. She looked confused, but she kept smiling and stroking my hair. The Canadian girl that was with us asked me if I was okay (because she was still touching my hair). I told her that I was fine and that I was used to it because of my students. When I looked up towards the temple, I noticed that there was a crowd of people watching the lady stroke my hair and listening to the conversation that we were having. I guess her little arms got tired of reaching up and she noticed goosebumps on my arms. The weather was chilly, but it felt great! It is hard to explain to the people here that I'm not cold even though my hands and arms are cold. Thinking it would help, she began to rub my arm. Bless this woman with her little calloused hands. They were rough, but her intentions were very sweet. Overall, I had a good time. My dark people count is now up to 45! Many people laugh and question why I am counting. They don't understand that I never thought that I would see so many people that favored me. We (foreigners) are still trying to decide on Thanksgiving dinner. It should be interesting! Until next time, enjoy the pictures and videos.