So what do you do when you have to, you know ...
FedEx dropped a package off about half an hour ago. It was full of our travel documents for our upcoming trip to China in a little over a week. I think that I'm supposed to be excited about this trip, it's a wonderful opportunity, I'm going to remember it forever, and stuff like that. Well ... I might. But I'll be honest, I'm a girl who likes her modern conveniences. I love air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and knowing I can drink water from the tap and use ice that was made in my refrigerator. I like knowing that if I need to grab something out of my car I can run down barefoot, or with just a pair of flip-flops on, and not have to worry about disease and garbage and other kinds of junk. Call me spoiled if you will, that's my life and I like it. I've been reading over this packet of information and most of it is pretty standard: your checked suitcase cannot weigh more than 65 pounds, your carry-on cannot be more than 45" wide, please mark your belongings with your name. Some of it is specific to this particular travel group: Please wear your China Focus issued nametag at all times as that makes you easy to distinguish for our travel guides, please remember your sequence number, this will help insure that you are accounted for when we travel from destination to destination. And then some of it just makes me nervous: most public toilets do not have toilet paper so carry a package of tissues with you, most public toilets do not have hand washing facilities so you may want to consider bringing your own hand sanitizing wipes or gel. I didn't know if maybe the travel agent was exaggerating or perhaps was a little overzealous in its warnings. After all, they didn't want us to be unhappy with them if we found something unexpected, right? And then I did a little research on google. Apparently, for a country that is supposed to hold a lot of international power, not to mention exotic mystique, China's ... let's call it the indoor plumbing system, leaves a lot to be desired. As I've read in the last half hour or so, most of China's public toilets have what they call 2 flavors: Western Style and Asian Style. The Western Style toilets are basically the ones ... not in the ground. They are made of porcelain, like most of the ones in the States are, and stand a few inches, up to a foot or so above the ground. They have flushing devices, but these don't always work. The Asian Style toilets are porcelain troughs in the ground and usually the trough runs the length of the public restroom. Sometimes walls form little cubicles. If you're lucky, the little cubicles have doors. Usually, they don't. They don't flush. In some of them it's someone's job to come along every once in awhile (from twice a day to once a week or less) with a bucket full of water, and "flush" away the refuse by pouring the bucket into the trough, hopefully with enough force to wash everything away. So, you're wondering, how does one use a toilet in the ground? Squat. There's a skill I hope I never have to use. It sounds ... well let's just say unsanitary for one thing. I certainly hope that what I remember is NOT the toilets ... but somehow, I think if I have to use an Asian Style toilet that I'm going to remember that for at least awhile.