Day 2 in Buffalo. Headed out to an Outlet mall right by Niagra Falls. it's pretty dangerous for me to go to malls, since I'm a shopping addict and I need to save for the wedding, but I did a pretty good job at keeping my wallet closed.

However, I did stop by this little hole in the wall Chinese store. Inside was this old little Chinese lady and her even littler and older Chinese mother. I have always wanted a Chinese cheungsom (sp?) and I saw a sign in the window that everything in the store was 20% off. So I looked at their assortment of cheungsams and the little mother comes up to me and starts speaking Mandarin. Her daughter shouts across the store, 'Are you Chinese?' and I say no. Her mother is still speaking to me and is picking out dresses for me. I ask if there's a dressing room, and it ends up being a dressing corner - the corner of the store which is covered up by some blankets. I go in to try out the dresses. I kinda like a black dress with maroon embroidery. So I put my clothes back on and come out. The mother is out there waiting for me. The daughter came from the front and the mother starts talking to her. 'My mother says that you should have come out so we could see you!' I tell her I didn't know. So I go to the front to pay for the dress, and I hear the mother start talking behind me, and the daughter comes around behind me. "oh, she told me you have chopsticks in your hair! Is there elastic or something holding it together?" (My hair is up in a bun held up by two chipstick looking pins) I say "No, I just twisted it up" and the mother is standing behind me, poking and prodding my hair and laughing. "My mother says she's very impressed." Wow, I impressed an old Chinese woman by having my hair done in chopsticks - do I get a prize for that or something? The lady was so cute, she just kept on smiling at me and pointing to the dress and pointing to me and talking to her daughter. "She says that the color is very good for you. Very elegant." They were so cute I wanted hug them.

The daughter asked me if I went to 'BC'. I said I was from Chicago. "Oh, where the people died in that bar?" Yuppers. THAT Chicago. So I paid for my stuff and we chitchatted a little more, and little mother keeps smiling and nodding at me. I turn to leave and say goodbye, and the daughter says "Have a good night and don't go to that bar!" Heh heh, they're closing it down. NO one is going to that bar. And as I leave, one last look back, and yup, there's little mother, smiling and waving goodbye. Cute!

added 02/21/03 21:49
Since people asked, here's a cheungsam, a traditional Chinese dress...

Posted by Yano at February 19, 2003 08:15 PM

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