UNDERWEAR Buying a bra was a conscious decision. Getting new clothes, shoes, going to the tailor, could all have happened to me at any moment, as spontaneous decisions. [ + ]
UNDERWEAR
Buying a bra was a conscious decision. Getting new clothes, shoes, going to the tailor, could all have happened to me at any moment, as spontaneous decisions. Going to buy a bra, somehow, was different.
I went with a friend of mine. We saw some amazing bra systems. Truly ingenious systems. Some seemed to attach to your back with just a single strap, while others featured elaborate patterns of straps that would transform into another, different pattern in order to support the breasts, almost like a piece of origami.
Others didn’t seem to need any breasts inside them, as they were already satisfied with the cotton, gel or water pads contained within them.
I decided to try one of the origami bras, which would subtly tattoo my back with a kind of butterfly motif. Inside the changing-room cubicle, however, I realized that trying on this bra would be more than a simple choice; it would be a major challenge.
I stood there, thinking I had understood the system, only for everything to fall apart when I opened it. I tried to put it back together in every way imaginable, recomposing its intricate form and attempting to fit myself into it, but things didn’t quite work out as I had hoped… and by this time, quite some time had passed. The woman in the shop decided to ask how I was doing. Hearing my answer in bad, breathless Chinese, she decided that she had to come into the cubicle to help me. She looked at me, and then, with a series of almost computational movements, she solved the problem, and I had the bra in place, with everything exactly where it should be. She looked at me and asked if I would like the bra; I simply couldn’t believe what had happened, that someone could just walk in and do that.
Once my friend and I had bought these masterpieces, we both came to the conclusion that this had been a perfect Shanghainese experience. Back in the West, no one would have ever dared to do this – to barge into your cubicle and dress you, essentially – and I wouldn’t ever have allowed it, not by a long chalk. But here, in a city where the borders between public and private aren’t really fixed, in a city whose inhabitants feel at ease everywhere they go, where pyjamas can be deemed the perfect outdoor attire for the day’s activities, where my kitchen is everyone’s kitchen, it seemed normal. The boundaries are drawn differently here.
BLUE DRAGON One of my happiest days in Shanghai was actually the saddest for many children. On this day, I passed through urban corridors, where the city sometimes becomes a village – a village full of recollections, memories, and rituals to improve people’s lives. [ + ]
BLUE DRAGON
One of my happiest days in Shanghai was actually the saddest for many children. On this day, I passed through urban corridors, where the city sometimes becomes a village – a village full of recollections, memories, and rituals to improve people’s lives.
In a country where farming is fast declining, many children in the city, on this day, had to sacrifice their appearance in some way – for example, by having their hair cut off – in order to ensure that a faraway region – where they have never been, that they don’t even know exists, but where their parents used to live happily – will receive abundant rain and be forever rid of insects. Houses are cleaned, popcorn is eaten, and women do not sew, so as to prevent any needles puncturing the eyes of the dragon, who raises his head on this day. Once the house has been cleaned from top to bottom, some people spread plant ashes throughout and around their home, so that the dragon will feel welcome, inciting him to provide plenty of rain for good harvests.
GESTURES Every culture has its own gestures. Indians constantly move their heads while talking. [ + ]
GESTURES
Every culture has its own gestures. Indians constantly move their heads while talking. Similarly, Japanese use their heads to indicate that they have understood the subject. As for Italians, they have a whole array of hand gestures that form a sort of language of their own. Shanghainese, on the other hand, don’t have all that many gestures, probably because of the embedded notion of yin and yang within Chinese culture and, consequently, their conception of healthiness. No one should be too happy or too sad. Equilibrium shall always prevail.
Nonetheless, when there is a crowd of Shanghainese watching a group of people playing mah-jong or carrom or any other table game, they will cross their arms, and some will smoke a cigarette without even touching it, as they do when they ride a bike, take a break at work or have a meal in a restaurant. What’s more, they will often do this while adopting the “crouching-on-heels position”. Since the very beginning of time, it has been shown that this is the best posture for the human body; however, in the West, most of us can’t really do this anymore, or at least not if we have to put our heels on the ground. But the Chinese can, and do, all the time, and hold this position for a very long time – while working, eating, waiting for public transport, going to the toilet, or simply talking to each other in the park or in the street.
TELEVISION Of course, one of these lives on display could be mine, too, as I live in one of these towers where there is no need to hide. I used to live in a lilong, though,which taught me to understand that this whole city is mine, and that we all form it, create it and make it breathe together. [ + ]
TELEVISION
Of course, one of these lives on display could be mine, too, as I live in one of these towers where there is no need to hide. I used to live in a lilong, though,which taught me to understand that this whole city is mine, and that we all form it, create it and make it breathe together. No need to hide. My window becomes the best possible TV, a screen showing what is happening here and now. At home, I just want to watch the city passing by my eyes.
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