Something you may not know is that most Chinese citizens grow up using, and still use what we like to call “squaty-potties”. You literally squat to use the toilet, and above are a couple of pictures to help you understand how this works. Some places have a western toilet amongst many other squaty’s, but it is rare. Some of them even have footholds, so you know where to put your feet. Upscale, I’m tellin’ ya. In public restrooms, you may or may not have a toilet paper dispenser. So, we all carry a small package of tissues with us. This particular squaty-potty did have some toilet paper. It is definitely a different way of living. It’s weird to see a woman in a business suit go into a stall where you know she will be squatting in that suit. It’s so opposite from what I am used to. It feels like you should only be doing something like that to use the bathroom when camping. lol...so I used one for the first time yesterday.
I went with my waiban, Vincent yesterday to the Med-exam all of the foreigners needed to have. “It is for your health” is what we were told. Well, anyway, we went and I got my blood taken. That was less scary than I thought it was going to be. I had to pee in a cup, using the squaty-potty. I got an ultrasound done to check if I had some sort of liver damage. I got an EKG done, and eye and throat exam, and an x-ray done. The system of things being done was very cattle-like. I felt like cattle. I literally moved from one room to another, and I barely got dressed from the EKG before they were asking the next person for their papers. It was very “interesting”.
Anyway, the Chinese have something called “guangxi” or “face”. If you do something that is looked down upon, you will lose face with others around you, authority, etc. So, Vincent and I were standing in the enormous line, which we both new would take hours to get through the day with the rest of the lines looking just as long! So, Vincent said, “Do you think it would be appropriate for me to stand in another line, and then you get in that line when you are done with this line?” I said, “I don’t know.” He stood there for a minute, looking around and said, “I don’t care if I lose face! I’m going!” It was so funny, because it is a big deal to lose face for some people in China, but he did not care because he just wanted to get out of there! All in all, it was a fun day, but it was different than I am used to. After the exam, I was handed a thermometer and told, “This is for your health.” Yeah...Thanks. That’s all for now, I hope you enjoy my experiences! :)
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