Trip to Xiangyang

Sabrina is standing inside of her childhood bedroom, one that she moved out of 20 years ago. Her clothes remain forever stored in crates above the bed as she’s long since discovered H&M. A favorite toy is tied to a door. A drawing she made remains on the wall. It’s a room she shared with her sister. There’s another room for her parents, a main room, a place to cook, and a place to poo. In the main room on one wall is an advertisement from 20 years ago. Some kind of whisky. I ask Sabrina why that’s there, she says because her father likes pretty girls. On the opposite wall is a calendar from 1991. A fairly ornate one as far as calendars go. The apartment was built in 1986 and Sabrina’s family moving into when she was 11 in 1989. It looks like it was built in 1946. Fifth floor, walk-up, which is hard for the mom. It’s in a good location, near the center of town if this town has a center.

A few blocks away is an apartment Sabrina bought and ostensibly the purpose of our trip — to get the keys from the developer and begin the decoration. Her new place is modern, a three bedroom apartment in the 31st floor of a 33 floor highrise. Out the window she has a view of the Han river and two bridges that cross it. There is also industrial space between her and the river which may one day become new apartments. In one of those factories is where Sabrina had her first real job. A Japanese joint venture where she was the sales support for the factory. She wasn’t very good at it but she did get a job for her father in the factory and the $150/mo it paid him in 1999 was like found money.

We spend four nights here. A significant amount of time looking at furniture. A significant amount of time eating — the local beef $2 beef noodles are amazing. A fair amount of time sightseeing. Her parents would show up unannounced to me, like apparitions. Outside the apartment. At dinner. Downstairs from our hotel. The mom walking slow and not saying much. The dad talking words I don’t understand.

Furniture shopping went like this — we go to one of the showrooms in the apartment complex and looked around. Sabrina would engage in some conversation with the sales people. 10 minutes into the conversation that I wasn’t following I’m asked for an opinion of which I really have none besides the feeling we would be ripped off. That’s an ode to my father, appropriate since today is father’s day. On the second day of furniture shopping we settle on a set. I have no idea if I like it but it’s not as bad as the other sets and it helped convince her father not to move his old furniture into the new apartment.

Sightseeing. There’s a place where they film ancient Chinese dramas and it has reproductions of famous ancient China walls and such things. It was actually pretty cool and in spots seemed more authentic than some of the original spots which have been restored over the years. Later we walked on the original city wall, one of the last cities in China with a wall. We went to a Taoist mountain where some wise, and according to Sabrina handsome man was from. There were multiple short live performances re-enacting historical events. I had no idea what was going on except that there was an army of middle aged women obsessed with taking photos of themselves even if it interfered with the performances.

There were a couple two hour family dinners during which I try not to look at my phone. Seafood is big with crayfish a local specialty. I like noodles and rice. As we walk along the waterfront I ask myself if I could live here and I think I could at some point although not in the same apartment as her parents. We looked at other apartments being built even closer to the river. The price is doable and it would mean I would not have to eat the father’s cooking. I saw five foreigners in four days. One at the airport, three young woman a the mall with the Starbucks, and a young man at the same mall.

Now it’s time to fly to Beijing where Aidan, Lydia, and Elisa are waiting for me.