|
A strange one
I attend a life class on Thursdays here in Shanghai. It is attended by a number of older Chinese men. I am the only foreigner. The Chinese models are all mostly very professional. They tend to be poor ladies from the provinces who are honestly trying to make a living in the big city. Many people in Shanghai come from other parts of China, and send the bulk of their meager incomes home to the families so that the family can live better. Then, in time they may or may not return to their home town themselves.
Well, this one model comes, all dressed in her Saturday night at the disco gear, and immediately approaches me in perfect English. Inside of three minutes we managed to communicate that I am very married. She was very divorced, and wanted me to hook her up with a foreign man so that she could move to the USA or to Europe. "I have this South African guy now," she told me, "But I don't like him so much."
Well, the stand was set for her, she disrobed, and looked over to me. "Do you like my body?" She was scheduled for four more sessions, I didn't come to any of them. I couldn't paint with that kind of "Dirtiness." Although I didn't like my judgment of her at all, I felt I needed to distance myself.
|