Toolboxes in Guanghzou

This is far from the promising exciting photos I've mentioned, but this is an overview of my week. The only photo missing here is the Squatty Potty. Yup...that's right...all week the only "potty" available to us all day long (at work) has been the one & only- Squatty Potty. Photos have been removed for the squemish. One colleague of mine (American) did point out (after having lived in Japan for 2 years) that there were never lines where there were squatty pottys. I'm not sure if this is entirely true, but she made a good case for them at any rate.

The big question of the week, is once you are in the squatty potty, which way do you face? After my experiences traveling in China (and a few VERY public squatty pottys) I realized that you should face the DOOR. Like a regular toilet. Or, in the event of an incredibly public squatty potty, you face where the door would normally be, were you give the luxury of privacy. In which case, you try to ignore the fact that there are 10 Chinese women who also just got off a 4 hour bus ride & are not only anxious to do the squatty themselves, but are quite intrigued that a Guailo would even know how to use a squatty potty. Or...in one case...hanging off the side of a mountain, being watched by 6 Chinese women who are impressed that I could hang there just like them. Umm...bit 'o pressure...
SO- the discussion this week was- Face the door or face the wall? My colleage who lived in Japan told us last week- FACE the WALL. Really? Yes- she said, trust me...two years in Japan- I learned. I explained the public squatty story & she said, well that's different- in public you face one way, in a bathroom with a door you face the other way. Okay. So my other colleague and I were discussing this here in China this week- and neither of us knew the right way. So- we asked Tita. "Tita, Which way?" After laughing at the very thought that we wouldn't know....she said, the door of course!!! But seriously, NOT THAT INTUITIVE! First off- there are things written on the door, and the toilet paper is beside the door. Okay, so that makes sense. BUT- the flusher is on the wall behind you. As is the waste basket you are supposed to put the tissue in because a lot of Chinese plumbing cannot handle tissue paper. So in that case, facing the wall makes ever so much more sense. Ah...the neverending mystery.

Enough with the potty stories.

Tonight we went for massage after our first week of toolbox building. Three of our group did foot massage, and two of us did body massage. I have to say, after the foot massage a few days ago, I may go back to foot massage for the next time around! The cost of 5 of us, 1 hour massages, total was about $28. Such a good deal...but we also had Tita- Queen of the Bargainers. I can do some pretty good negotiating in Chinese, but leave it to a Chinese woman to really know how low it can go!

Actually, it turns out that all the photos will be missing from this blog entry. Blogger is picking today to be fussy with uploading pics. Perhaps they will let me tomorrow. Stay tuned for update pics tomorrow I hope! We are actually going hiking tomorrow, so hopefully I'll have even better pics than just our week of working. Apparently there is a mountain near our hotel and it's only 2 Yuan to climb it. I certainly hope that sounds as crazy to everyone else as it sounds to me. The very thought of a 2 Yuan mountain I found just downright hysterical! More Pics tomorrow- hopefully!