A piece of crap..

Packing day no. 1 over and so am I. Over and done with the whole business of organizing, planning, sorting out, throwing away, saying good bye..

Packing up is emotional and overwhelming, memories of all our travels get wrapped up and put away, to be seen next in two months or most likely more. While we have some sad pieces of furniture we also have great art and a lot of fabulous china and glassware collected over the years.
As mentioned, the last time we lived in China we rented furnished. We had all we needed but it was very basic and it was impossible not to go out and look at more, once you got the hang of it. Shopping was a sport, and the participation fee was very, very low.
Close to our house there was an old hangar, right in the middle of the city, a hangar filled with "antiques". Some of it old, I'm sure, but a lot made to look old because that was what everyone was looking for. As much I wanted my pieces to be "real" and genuine, I basically went for what I liked, like with wine, sort of.

On of my first great finds was a buddha statue, a lady buddha. She's been with us now for 14 years or so, travelled the world, looking a bit worse for wear. She has a big crack in the front and I worry that she will split apart one day, the dry weather of first Annecy and now Phoenix has not done her any favors.

Once a bought a tall cabinet which is by all means pretty but really a piece of crap, the doors are loose and won't close properly. The "antique' paintwork is missing inside and on some edges and before I started to store incense inside of one of the drawers, it really didn't smell that great.

I had it delivered to our apartment, it was too tall to take in a taxi, and the whole working squad stopped to stare and ask questions when it arrived. "How much did you pay?", "How old did they say it was?", What are you keeping in it?" - it went on and on. I couldn't figure out then if they thought I was stupid for buying something that was made to look old but clearly wasn't or if they genuinely like it because it was new.

I can't wait to see how China has changed. Will there still be street stalls for noodles and dumplings? Will there still be special bike lanes? Will people stop and take your picture while at Tiananmen square only because you are not Chinese? Can I still find my China in the middle of all new technology and noveau riche-ness that I've heard is so prominent?