Squat Toilets

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to get onto Blogger in English, so here is my first post actually posted by me, in China, instead of by my loving and ever-patient Tom. (Thanks for everything, love.)

And now, I am proud to present: Squat Toilets.
Sit down for a sec, and let me tell you about squat toilets. You know how they say that you won't find any toilet paper in Asia? Well, that's not exactly true. There's plenty of toilet paper and tissues... in the grocery store. What people are thinking of when they say that are squat toilets. In homes, you'll find familiar Western-style toilets, but in public buildings, you'll most likely find this:




Basically, you have a stall and in that stall is a little porcelain furrow with a deeper hole at the front end. You squat over the furrow, do what you need to do, and then pull the handle on the water tank to flush. There is never any toilet paper. You quickly learn to carry a little packet of tissues with you if you are going out for the day. Also, if you do bring tissues with you, you must throw it into the wastebin. The plumbing can't handle paper! It's one of those things that makes it hard to forget how very different it is here, but also something that I almost enjoy for that exact reason! Sometimes I start to feel complacent and begin to forget that I'm on the other side of the world, but then there are tons of little things that remind me--hey, you're not in Jersey anymore, kid!

And that's a good thing. =)