Life

Brazieres! Where DOES an ample bosomed woman find a bra in China? Most of the women here are pretty small - everywhere. So, one might consider this to be quite a dilemma. It sure was a dilemma for me when my ONE bra that I could wear tank tops with, broke the other day. Aaagghhh! I'm still living out of a suitcase and I have about 3 shirts that are not tank tops. Why? Because it's hotter than sin here! So, what to do, what to do...?

I thought for sure my mother would have to ship me a bra from the US. But, since picking up a bra site unseen via mail was not particularly appealing, even IF necessary, I decided to take my chances shopping around at the Super Brand Mall. If any place was going to have one for me, there is a good chance I would find it there. There is a whole section of the mall called "Charm Gallery", dedicated entirely to women's under clothing.

So, I started looking around and around and around...only seeing padded bras and very tiny underwear. I was feeling more than a little discouraged.

Even in the States, bra shopping is...tedious. I don't know if this is just for ME or if other women experience the same level of tediousness. I remember watching a segment on Oprah one time where the whole show was about finding your perfect bra! Wow...your perfect bra. What a great concept! I have spent my entire bosom growing life trying to find that "perfect" bra. What I have found, were "good enoughs" and a whole lot of exhausting effort! Mind you, Oprah had her "guests" fitted for their perfect bra AND a professional braziere consultant (can you believe those careers are out there?). Well, you can imagine her happy guests went home with their PERFECT bras! Every time I have been out shopping for bras, I have also fervently wished I knew where to find a "professional"...you know, someone who would provide a fitting, stand there in the booth with me, slip on the bra for me, *ahem* adjust wherever needed, tilt her head back and forth with a seriously critical eye as to whether that is, indeed, the perfect bra for me. If ONLY, right?! haha

Well, just shy from giving up, I spied a booth in the Charm Gallery at Super Brand Mall that had non padded bras and low cut frames. Okayyy, it's a start! They were still really tiny and I had my doubts as to whether they would even carry my size. The lady came up to me, saw my piqued interest in the bra I was holding..and took over from there..no English necessary.

I was turned around, fitted around the chest and my cup size was assessed. Ah, but it didn't stop there. The lady disappeared, came back with several sizes that looked like they could fit me, pulled me into the dressing room and proceeded to instruct me to disrobe. I realized that she would not be leaving, so I did as she bid. Oh my goodness! The process was exactly as I described I had always wanted...this lady became my personal bra consultant! One right after another, she slipped them on, fastened them for me, *ahem* adjusted where needed, pointed out each and every bra's gleaming qualities (of course), showed me all of the different colors for each, adjusted the straps different ways...and gave me a cookie. :) I was sold! haha

I actually found TWO bras more perfect than any other bra I have ever found before! Ha! I just had to come to China to find the perfect one. Dang! Is that all?

They fit me incredibly and surprisingly well. The one drawback to the whole process was that instead of being my traditional chest size (you don't blame me if I don't actually name the number, do you?), I'm about 55 MORE than that here in Chinese sizes! Ugh! haha Whatever... the number is going to my grave...and I still found my perfect bra - plus one more! :)

On a different note...
We went out tonight with our [only] "couple" friends...MY friend Sol and her husband and kids. We met at the play area in the Super Brand Mall, daddies watched the older kids while they played, while us mommies walked around the area, pushing our little ones (we shopped a little too!). After the kids were more than a little tired and more than a little hungry, we ate at a place in the mall called Elements Fresh. Wow! What a great restaurant! Yum-mmy! This is a chain here, so there are more than one of them. Many of you in the US will like this place a lot...IF you visit! ;) The menu was English friendly, the food was fantastic and healthy and the toilets were super clean...WITH upright toilets! What more could you ask for? haha

It was a good time! So far, I have only felt a few moments of feeling "normal" since moving here...and this was definitely one of them. I enjoy hanging out with friends, new or old, chatting, catching up, etc. PLUS, Allen actually enjoys hanging out with them and wants to do it more...which most of you know is definitely a bonus for me. :)