Foot Massage

Calvin's point of view

Massage is very cheap in China. So we decided to take the plunge.

We went to a very clinical place, it was a hospital actually. They brought us in, offered food and drink to us as we sat in these big comfy chairs. They brought a wooden bucket full of steaming hot water and they soaked our feet for maybe fifteen minutes. During this time, they were doing some massage on our shoulders, necks, and head. This was pretty comfortable, and I was looking forward to the foot part.

And then it started. They use oils, some kind of massage oil I guess to make it slippery. And the girl who was massaging me was just going to town. I don't know what it was but it was really really painful. She would press down on the sole of my foot with her thumb, and I would be doing everything I could not to be screaming in pain. I don't usually have sensitive feet by the way. Some people won't let you touch their feet at all, to me it's not a big deal, a foot is just another part of the body. Every time she explored a new part of my foot with her hands, I felt more pain. Then she went over parts of the foot that she had been over before. More pain. She worked her way up to the ankles and calves. I was squirming with pain by this point. You might ask well why didn't you just tell her to ease up. Well I tried! Tai da li! Qian yi dian! Things like that. I think she did ease up on the pressure. The pain however, was still acute. I was relieved when the one foot was finally over. A chance to rest. Then it started all over again with the other foot.

I was never so glad to have a girl leave me. I was actually limping for awhile after the massage, because my feet hurt too much. Never again. At least it was a cheap form of torture, 50 RMB for one hour. I would have gladly paid them another 50 RMB to stop after the first 15 minutes though.

Allison's Point of View

Let me preface this by saying that as a teacher, you spend a goodly portion of your day on your feet. Our classrooms don't have a teacher's desk for us to sit at, and you can't answer questions if you are away from the students. So 4-6 classes a day, plus walking to and from work, plus general standing around, my feet were really tired all the time. I was also wearing different shoes all the time because it was summer! So my feet were completely exhausted all the time. We went to a hospital for the foot massage. The foot massage costs about 50 RMB (less than 10 dollars) for an hour.

First, we soaked our feet in a herbal bath... and we sat while they massaged our backs and shoulders. Quite relaxing. Then they got to the feet and legs. It was great! The girl was really massaging the muscles. My favourite part was when they did my feet. They were really pained from all the walking and stuff I do. So they massaged the entire foot and then they did the toes. They even "snapped" my toes, and when they were done, I was practically asleep. It was very therapeutic. After that, I felt sooo much better. My posture was better, my feet were happy. It's too bad that Calvin's massage did not go well. We have since heard that foot massages are either love-em or hate-em.