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Sweaty, Smelly and you still want my picture!

It was easy to find my group at the Beijing airport by following the 75 white people! Our huge group drew alot of attention even the security didn’t seem to mind us blocking all the stairs and hallways as we waited for the whole group to make it through baggage claim and customs. I quickly realized my bags were way too heavy. My 80lbs gym bag kept falling off my shoulder, so I figured I could just balance it on top of my huge duffle bag and wheel them together with just the computer bag and my purse weighing down the other side. So all 75 of us get together and head for the escalator. So I wheel my duffle bag over and step on, my bag however is too heavy for me to lift along with me. So I start going up, loose my grip on the bag which slides down the steps and my gym bag flies off and behind that. As fast as I can walk down, the steps are moving up and all of my colleagues are standing at the bottom of the elevator blocked by my bags! Great first impression! The worst part, everyone was too tired to laugh.

The squatty potty
I had my first encounter with the squatty potty yesterday and I have decided to hold it for the rest of the year! Not a fan. My Chinese teacher today said in China you can always find the bathroom by following the smell and you will notice most people are skinny like her because they use the squatty potty. I agree the Sqautty potty is not big girl friendly. Basically it’s a toilet bowl in the floor with sticky wet tiles for you to slip on around the bowl. It technically flushes but its more like a gust of water that pushes everything to the front. In theory you pull your pants forward and squat down to pee. I confirmed this by walking in on the girl in front of me who for some reason didn’t lock her stall door. I however imagined pulling my pants forward and peeing all over them so that I would be wet in urine rather than just wet for the rest of the day. Therefore I decided to take my pants off completely and hold them in my hand, while pushing on the wall to avoid falling in. then unwade my wet sweaty pants and squeeze them back on. Lovely

Comments

  1. omg. come home right now. lol... good luck with the squatty potty

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  2. Eeek! Sorry to hear about the squatty potty! (At least you didn't walk in on mean suite mate!) Why are you still sweaty and smelly? Are there squatty showers in China too?!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You will eventually master the sqautty potty...I love and miss you Christy.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OMG!! First of all, you should have had me pack for you. Next the toilet----yes, never leave home without kleenex in your pocket. Some of those toilets don't have paper. LOL about you taking your pants off. Jane Lam

    ReplyDelete

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