"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing..." -Helen Keller
 
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I was riding my bike down the street yesterday afternoon, taking advantage of the sunshine. Back streets here are full of little treasures. Shops come and go, sometimes remaining for a season, at other times popping up for just a few weeks at a time to sell some excess factory merchandise. Today I passed a shop full of bras with a huge sign reading, 10 RMB. Well, friends, that’s roughly $1.50 for a bra, and there was no riding by.

Here’s the downside to bra shopping in China: Most of the inexpensive bras are marked with a band size (32, 34, etc.) BUT there’s no letter because for the most part, everyone here wears about an “A” (I mean, it seems pretty obviously apparent, though I’ve not conducted an official survey). SO… I and my other C and D friends were not personally going to have any luck at this store, but I did have a little friend getting married soon, and I decided to be more than prepared for any bridal showers popping up.

So I parked and locked my bike and walked into this little shop with a bargain bin in the middle, bras lining every wall, and a megaphone repetitively announcing that there were bras available for just 10 RMB. I began shopping for my friend’s size, carefully making selections when suddenly, there was a man standing in front of me waving a bra in my face and jabbering a bit too fast, probably some bra-specific words my tutor hasn’t covered in our sessions just yet.

I wondered to myself, “Who is this man?” and take a look around the store. Suddenly, I realized, “Wow, this man runs the store!” Now, a man running into a store to riffle through a bra bargain bin for his wife is one thing. But imagine this man in kindergarten when asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Did he say, “I want to work in a seasonal bra shop and wave bras in the faces of unsuspecting women”? Well, whatever the case, seemed to be thriving in his working environment.

He pointed out the features of this bra, including the lace and the fact that it was filled with watery liquid for whatever effect those bras are supposed to have and forced the bra into my hand. I took it and said thank you before turning away and burying my head in another rack of bras where I could privately laugh at the surprise of this unashamed man providing bra recommendations. I pulled my jacked around me a little more fully as I briefly became aware of this man’s awareness of my size in making recommendations.

I continued shopping and he seemed fairly interested in what was going on with the customers in the store. Finally, I had it down to 4 bras, two of which were the same color scheme. I was really debating which to buy and finally decided to invite him into the inner circle of my decision-making. “Which one do you like?” I asked him. He gave me a pretty definite answer. What a shopping partner.

And so, if you happen to be that friend with an upcoming bridal shower, get ready for some nice bras.

Chosen just for you with love,
Me and the Bra Guy


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