Chinese Massage

I walked through the glass doors and down the steps. There was a cash register at the bottom of the staircase, with another staircase leading upstairs adjacent to it. Three doors were across from the cash register, but the room was so small you could probably touch all four walls while standing in the center of it.

A very short, young looking girl in a pink shirt and white jeans jumped up from behind the cash register. “Ni hao,” she said.

“Ni hao,” I said.

“Foot massage?” she asked.

“Head,” I said, pointing at my head.

“Ok, is 30 quai,” she said. Quai is slang (like saying “bucks” instead of “dollars.”)

“Okay,” I said and handed her the money. “No,” she said. “Pay after.”

I nodded and followed her up the other stair case. The whole place was very dimly lit and had very low ceilings. At the top of the stairs, we went into a room that had two small leather beds on it. Again, you could probably touch both walls standing in the middle of the room. Incense was burning (either in the room or somewhere on the floor.)

“Just your head,” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“I think body is better,” she said. “Is only 50 quai.”

I shrugged. “Okay,” I said. Not like I’m a hard sell when it comes to a massage.

She went across the hall and grabbed two sheets. She placed one over the bed. I went to tuck my bag under the bed (so that I could hold on to it, but she took it and placed it on a shelf by the door. “You need to empty your pockets,” she said. I pulled out my wallet, cell phone, and passport (I’d forgotten I had it on me…I’d used it to book a trip the night before.) I nervously put them in the front compartment of my bag—which already had my tablet and iPhone in it, everything valuable I had with me was in this room. The girl said something in Chinese and then translated it to “lay down.”

“My shoes,” I asked, pointing to my feet.

“Off ,” she said. I slipped off my sandals.

Laying on my stomach, I tried to relax. The place wasn’t seedy, but it wasn’t the 5 star resort treatment either. The whole place—from the beds to the walls—kind of felt like it was falling apart. I also wasn’t completely sure how clean this sheet was, but John recommended this place, so I’m sure he has seen some evidence that it is reputable.

I was really nervous about my bag sitting on the shelf, but I got the sense from this girl that she was trustworthy. Again, it seemed reputable, and didn’t look like your typical tourist trap. In fact, I suspect I might be one of the only internationals to frequent the place in a while.

She placed another sheet over me to protect my clothing and started by working on my shoulders. “The power is okay?” she asked. I assumed she meant “pressure.”

“Yes,” I said. “It feels good.”

“Ok,” she said. “Let me know if you need more or less power.”

It hurt, but it also felt amazing. She worked up and down my back, drilling into all kinds of knots I didn’t even know I had. At one point, I think her fingers were underneath my shoulder blade cranking away at all kinds of tiny muscles. There was also a vertebrae in the middle of my back that she was pretty set on adjusting. It took a few tries but when it went, I felt all kinds of relief down my lower back and into my legs (that’s either a good sign, or it’s going to hurt like &%#$ in the morning.)

As she moved to my lower back, I realized my sides were pretty sensitive. I’m very ticklish and it took a lot of control not to fidget. But as she started digging into the muscles around the base of my spine, the relief felt fantastic.

Interestingly, she moved on to massaging my butt. I normally a massage during finals week each semester at the student health center, but I can honestly say, a butt massage is not something I had experienced before. In America, this would probably have harassment suit written all over it. It was a bit of an odd sensation, I have to admit.

She worked her way down my left leg, initially pinching all the muscles. Then, she sat on the bed and moved my leg around her so it rested in her lab. She really went to work on the back of my thigh, my hamstrings, and my calf. It felt fantastic. After she was done rubbing it, she pounded it a few times with her fists. Then, she started to manipulate it, first testing the flexibility of my knee by moving it side to side. Then, she lifted it straight up so that my leg (including the upper half of it) was perpendicular to the table. That was a movement that I was not aware my body made.

As she moved onto my right leg, I started to relax a little. My back felt great! The airplane ride plus a week’s worth of subways and walking was all totally gone. She worked this leg the same as she did the last. There was one place around my knee that when she dug at it, I felt an incredible sensation run down my leg. When I was in Europe, I lost sensation in the lower portion of my right leg. PT helped me get some of it back, along with most mobility, but it never completely went back to normal. I don’t think she fixed it, but this is the most sensation I’ve had in over a year.

She moved the sheet of me and I thought she said “time.” I started to get up but she said, “No, no, turn.” I rotated and laid back down on my back.

Out of no where, she produce a stool and sat down at the head of my bed. Placing her thumbs between my eyebrows she started rubbing them back and forth.

Ohhh! I thought. I just got my acne under control. But as she did it a little more, it actually felt kind of good. She moved around and massaged my scalp and I realized I was dozing just a little. In my head, I saw various flashes of different colors. Various patterns swirled like the inside of a kalidescope, and at times it seemed like the motion was controlled by the movements of her fingers.

I was woken up when she started pulling on my ears. Then when she started digging around in my ear canals with her thumbs, it took a lot of control (1) not to open my eyes (2) not to start laughing. But as she started working on my neck, I relaxed again. Next up were my arms, which she squeezed from my shoulder out to my fingertips. There was all sorts of cracking in both my palms when she squeezed them.

“Your body is very tired,” she said.

“Yes,” I mumbled, “it is.”

“Do you live close to here?”

“I do.” I said.

“Good,” she said. “I think you will go to sleep well when you get home.”

I agreed.

She started massaging my quads next. They were really tight and it felt good to loosen them up.

“It hurts?” she asked and stopped.

I opened my eyes. The room was all fuzzy. “No,” I said. “It’s okay.”

She laughed. “Your face was funny.”

“Oh,” I said and laughed a little. “No it’s okay.”

“It hurt but is comfortable right?”

“Yes,” I said and closed my eyes again.

She finished my other leg and said, “Ok, is done.” With that she left the room.

I put on my shoes and checked my bag. Everything was still there.

Going downstairs, I wasn’t sure if I should tip her or not. By American standards, it was definitely tip worthy, but I know in some cultures it is rude to tip (implying you think the person needs the money.) I figured I could check with John and if I need to, I could bring her a tip the next day.

I paid at the front desk and she thanked me. I thanked her and walked home. With all my chakras sufficiently balanced, I felt fantastic!

When I got back, Nate was making more rice. As I told him about my massage, I realized I had an ant on my arm. I picked it up and flicked it out the window. He told me about some projects he was working on and I shared with him some of my pronunciation issues.

We sat down to dinner and I noticed another ant on my arm. Then I felt one on my face. I looked down and saw about four climbing on my shirt.

It suddenly dawned on me…I bet they came from laying on that bed. I took my shirt off and stepped into the hall to shake it out. I didn’t see any others on my body or my pants, but just to make sure, I changed into my pajamas. It’s not the first time I’ve had bugs crawling one me…and at the rate of 7USD for practically a 90 minute massage, it seems like a small price to pay.

Deciding it was time to jot down some memories from my first few days at work, I sat down to do some journaling. It really has been fun starting my new job. John has taught me a lot of useful skills, Weiwei has given me some interesting insight to Chinese culture, Yang Renjeng has been very helpful with learning Chinese…and a massage isn’t a bad way to tie it all together.