Upon arrival in Beijing, we passed through customs. As we exited customs there were reporters and photographers there to greet us. Unfortunately, our luggage had not arrived with us. It was midnight and we had traveled over twenty hours to get there. I was exhausted and a mess. We would be attending special events, participating as panelists at the music conference and performing throughout the week and the press would be there for all of it.
Our first evening there we had a formal dinner event scheduled. We were meeting with diplomats, dignitaries and music ambassadors at the Great Hall of the People. Instead of sleeping all day, which was my intention, we now had to go shopping for appropriate evening attire. Under normal circumstances you could count me in for shopping. These were not normal circumstances by any stretch. I am 5’8” tall, wore a U.S. woman’s size 16 at the time, and my shoe size is 10 wide. I was certainly not the average size female in CHINA!
We were taken to a mall where we could shop. Most of the shops within the mall were booths like we see at American flea markets. Only a handful of shops had 4 walls and a door. Most of them did not have dressing rooms and the ones that did were very small and difficult in which to maneuver. Then it happened. A few hours into our shopping excursion, I found a dress that fit. It was American style and it fit. It was full length, but for me, tea length. I even found a pretty lace shrug to wear. Incredible!
Almost finished. I needed shoes and pantyhose (it was 2004). There was an entire floor of shoe stores. Well, shoe booths. I walked by and through 30 shops and the largest size woman’s shoe was a 9.5. That’s right folks, I wore a pair of size 9 and a half shoes with heels on my size 10 feet. I bought the largest pair of pantyhose available in the size 3x queen. That evening while preparing to go out, I pulled the pantyhose up and was thrilled to see that they might actually be large enough. Unfortunately, they only came up to 4 inches above my knees. It did not occur to me until that moment that they would not be tall enough.
After my laughing fit, I tossed them in the trash, put on my dress and squeezed my feet into my shoes. I put my shoulders back and took very very small steps. I accepted help on any stairs and took my shoes off under the dinner table. At the end of this lovely dinner, I put my shoes on and again walked confidently out the doors of the Great Hall the same way I had walked in. The press were there to take photographs of the entire group. I put my shoulders back and smiled. I returned to my hotel room to find my luggage had arrived. Oh the irony. I spent an hour learning how to walk again and went to sleep.
I know that the years I spent singing and performing gave me confidence; however, knowing how to use my voice gave me a great understanding of my body and breathing. Standing tall and taking deep breaths kept me going during this very challenging experience. The benefits of somatic awareness never ceases to amaze me.
If you’d like to learn about somatic awareness and how it serves you in every situation contact me at Melissa@VocalMajic.com
We were taken to a mall where we could shop. Most of the shops within the mall were booths like we see at American flea markets. Only a handful of shops had 4 walls and a door. Most of them did not have dressing rooms and the ones that did were very small and difficult in which to maneuver. Then it happened. A few hours into our shopping excursion, I found a dress that fit. It was American style and it fit. It was full length, but for me, tea length. I even found a pretty lace shrug to wear. Incredible!
Almost finished. I needed shoes and pantyhose (it was 2004). There was an entire floor of shoe stores. Well, shoe booths. I walked by and through 30 shops and the largest size woman’s shoe was a 9.5. That’s right folks, I wore a pair of size 9 and a half shoes with heels on my size 10 feet. I bought the largest pair of pantyhose available in the size 3x queen. That evening while preparing to go out, I pulled the pantyhose up and was thrilled to see that they might actually be large enough. Unfortunately, they only came up to 4 inches above my knees. It did not occur to me until that moment that they would not be tall enough.
After my laughing fit, I tossed them in the trash, put on my dress and squeezed my feet into my shoes. I put my shoulders back and took very very small steps. I accepted help on any stairs and took my shoes off under the dinner table. At the end of this lovely dinner, I put my shoes on and again walked confidently out the doors of the Great Hall the same way I had walked in. The press were there to take photographs of the entire group. I put my shoulders back and smiled. I returned to my hotel room to find my luggage had arrived. Oh the irony. I spent an hour learning how to walk again and went to sleep.
I know that the years I spent singing and performing gave me confidence; however, knowing how to use my voice gave me a great understanding of my body and breathing. Standing tall and taking deep breaths kept me going during this very challenging experience. The benefits of somatic awareness never ceases to amaze me.
If you’d like to learn about somatic awareness and how it serves you in every situation contact me at Melissa@VocalMajic.com
