Well, the dishwasher isn’t exactly new, but the dishes are. We have finally made the great leap from paper and plastic dishes to ceramic and steel. It was challenging to find dishes that are typical for an American diet, because all of the ones that come in a set include a number of bowls but no large plates.
We finally saw our first “Chinese lawnmower” last week as well. Too bad we didn’t get a photo, but just imagine four people wearing straw hats bent over with scythes and scissors, and you can get a good mental picture of your own. It also seems appropriate at this point to include a photo of our clothes dryer in action:
We actually cleaned the porch over the weekend and are considering a small patio furniture set. Although it seems a bit odd to be looking across to another bank of apartments, the weather is nice enough here to entice you to sit outside. It will also be considerate of us to give the neighbors a clear view of the “laowài” (foreigners) living in their building. Speaking of Chinese, today was a red-letter day. Mark actually told a taxi driver the name of our apartments in Chinese and we ended up at the right place!
In the category of “be careful what you ask,” Mark was recently talking with a fellow teacher in the offices at school. He noticed the debris floating around in her tea decanter and asked her about it. She told him of the “flower tea” that many teachers drink and said she would prepare some for him, quickly pulling a bag of stuff from beneath her desk. Into his empty decanter went various seeds, roots, pods, and dried flowers. Topped off with a generous supply of hot water, it steeped on the desktop until ready for consumption. And compared to some of the things we’ve consumed here, it wasn’t too bad. Of course, Mark’s been struggling with some intestinal problems for the past few days, but it could’ve been any number of other things (you never know)…
I’m curious about the wine bottle decal / tile above the kitchen sink. What is that all about? Also, I see the towel rack but what is that other thing to the left of it that resembles a flat screen TV tilted up?
Do you have mosquitos there?
My vote is to stick with the paper plates or upgrade your dishwasher to the deluxe version (Mark model) – bigger hands mean quicker washing/drying.
I think that your ‘new’ state of the art dishwasher and clothes dryer are awesome! I think of you often and of all the wonderful adventures that you are having.
Regina, when you rent an apartment, you have limited say regarding decor. This one comes with some embossed tiles that don’t absolutely fit our taste. The tilted flat panel near Susan’s head is the right edge of the vent hood. Since hot grease is a key element of Chinese cooking, the vent system is pretty large (and still greasy in spite of vigorous cleaning). And yes, we do have mosquitos which occasionally wake us up at night (no heat or A/C here). Fortunately, the malaria risk is limited in the city, but we brought medication for trips outside of town.