With the other two artists in residence here at CEAC I went to The Blind Massage Centre of Ming Ai Xiamen. I can’t honestly say whether it was a pleasant experience or not, I’m still digesting it. It began with wooden tubs being brought in and my feet being soaked in hot herbal water. Three blind massagers then came in and sat down in front of us and proceeded to do the foot massage. None of them spoke any English and neither of my companions spoke any Chinese so I was rapidly elevated to becoming the translator, a role I am so not fit for. The foot massage lasted an hour and during this time I was on the receiving end of a variety pains that I never knew could exist in the feet. At the end my feet certainly felt different but relaxed is not the word I would use to describe them. I suspect that was not the point. Next came the body massage for which we remained partially clothed. Here the conversation sparked up and they were eager to know where we were from and a bit more about us. As has already happened on a number of occasions in the last two weeks I was asked my age, a question one rarely gets asked in Britain. I was also told I was too thin. The body massage was less painful than the foot massage, though it had its moments too when she got to my lower back. Also an hour in length, I got up feeling altered.
After paying and whilst waiting in the lobby I had another size moment. One of the men who had been massaging us came up to me to measure himself against me, comparing both height and shoe size. I think I must have had a highly untypical body shape and size to them and they wanted to properly check the dimensions of this tall thin Westerner. On the way out, opposite the lifts, there was a picture of another tall thin Westerner. He is quite popular here I believe.
