I don't know if you have ever moved before (chances are you have), but I have moved more times than I really want to think about (ick). In America when you are picking a new home, many thoughts may pop in your head when you walk into a house on the market. Some of them may be "This place is SO clean! Are there any stains in this place? Did anyone actually live here before? My kids could destroy this place in five minutes." In America when a home goes on the market, a lot of time is spent cleaning the house and replacing things that we didn't bother to even replace when we lived there. We want the house to "put its best foot forward" in hopes that people will buy/rent it.
A slightly different view is taken here in China. In fact, the opposite view. Chinese homes give more of a feel of "Take me as I am." or "Please help me! The last family tortured me!" The floors are covered in dirt, the kitchen is greasy, people leave stuff behind, the furniture is often broken or stained...well, you get the idea.
So, needless to say, when I picked a new home to move into, a lot of work was put into it. First, the school paid an ayi (a house helper) to do some initial deep cleaning. Second, I moved in and had no time to clean even though I wanted to. Third, my ayi spent time during the summer cleaning up even more. Fourth, I get sick of the grime, stickers, etc. still left in random places and initiate my own cleaning spree. It's such a nice feeling to watch my home come together a little more as I continue to find places for my things to live and as the house gets cleaner and cleaner (mostly due to my ayi's hard work).
On a slightly different note (but still all about my new house) I am currently using my washing machine for the first time. I have to be honest that I haven't tried before this point because I am or rather was terrified of my new washing machine. Ok, so let me explain. This washing machine came with the usual amount of trepidation because there is only Chinese characters on the machine. Seeing as how my Chinese is still stunningly bad after 4 years, I honestly usually just push buttons until the water starts running and then call it good. Well, this machine has two added points of confusion. First, the water doesn't come from a handy washing machine hook-up in the wall. The hose is actually screwed to the tub faucet in my bathroom (guess who has to use the shower head to fill the tub if she wants a bath...) and secondly, the drainage hose (which is usually normally somewhat hidden from view) has to cross the bathroom to fit into a drain in the floor (luckily they didn't also decide to use the bath drain as a washing machine drain (that could have been very bad...) Honestly though, I'm not sure what the owner was thinking when they set this machine up, but today I decided to overcome my fear.
So, I shoved the hose in the drain in the floor (note to self: don't trip over that), switched my shower to come out of the faucet , turned the water on, turned the machine on (water was coming out! yay!), put soap in the washing machine, filled it with clothes, closed the lid, and started to pray. I kept anxiously popping into the bathroom for the next hour or however long it was to make sure nothing exploded or overflowed. And I have to say that all went very well. My clothes are now sitting on the drying rack in my living room (it's too humid for them to dry on the porch. Did I mention that it's been 90-100% humidity almost every day during the summer? My clothes get musty before they dry out there.) and I'm on my second load of laundry. I feel so accomplished! (And I'm choosing not to tell you about a few days ago when I incorrectly turned on my hot water heater and sprayed water all over the bathroom. Who knew that button would do that? Or am I the only one stupid enough to do that? Ummm...definitely not mentioning that embarrassing mistake to anyone.) Now the next big question is do I keep accomplishing things or do I reward myself with a nap? Mmmm....super hard question. I might have to continue to debate this while lying on my comfy couch.
A slightly different view is taken here in China. In fact, the opposite view. Chinese homes give more of a feel of "Take me as I am." or "Please help me! The last family tortured me!" The floors are covered in dirt, the kitchen is greasy, people leave stuff behind, the furniture is often broken or stained...well, you get the idea.
So, needless to say, when I picked a new home to move into, a lot of work was put into it. First, the school paid an ayi (a house helper) to do some initial deep cleaning. Second, I moved in and had no time to clean even though I wanted to. Third, my ayi spent time during the summer cleaning up even more. Fourth, I get sick of the grime, stickers, etc. still left in random places and initiate my own cleaning spree. It's such a nice feeling to watch my home come together a little more as I continue to find places for my things to live and as the house gets cleaner and cleaner (mostly due to my ayi's hard work).
On a slightly different note (but still all about my new house) I am currently using my washing machine for the first time. I have to be honest that I haven't tried before this point because I am or rather was terrified of my new washing machine. Ok, so let me explain. This washing machine came with the usual amount of trepidation because there is only Chinese characters on the machine. Seeing as how my Chinese is still stunningly bad after 4 years, I honestly usually just push buttons until the water starts running and then call it good. Well, this machine has two added points of confusion. First, the water doesn't come from a handy washing machine hook-up in the wall. The hose is actually screwed to the tub faucet in my bathroom (guess who has to use the shower head to fill the tub if she wants a bath...) and secondly, the drainage hose (which is usually normally somewhat hidden from view) has to cross the bathroom to fit into a drain in the floor (luckily they didn't also decide to use the bath drain as a washing machine drain (that could have been very bad...) Honestly though, I'm not sure what the owner was thinking when they set this machine up, but today I decided to overcome my fear.
So, I shoved the hose in the drain in the floor (note to self: don't trip over that), switched my shower to come out of the faucet , turned the water on, turned the machine on (water was coming out! yay!), put soap in the washing machine, filled it with clothes, closed the lid, and started to pray. I kept anxiously popping into the bathroom for the next hour or however long it was to make sure nothing exploded or overflowed. And I have to say that all went very well. My clothes are now sitting on the drying rack in my living room (it's too humid for them to dry on the porch. Did I mention that it's been 90-100% humidity almost every day during the summer? My clothes get musty before they dry out there.) and I'm on my second load of laundry. I feel so accomplished! (And I'm choosing not to tell you about a few days ago when I incorrectly turned on my hot water heater and sprayed water all over the bathroom. Who knew that button would do that? Or am I the only one stupid enough to do that? Ummm...definitely not mentioning that embarrassing mistake to anyone.) Now the next big question is do I keep accomplishing things or do I reward myself with a nap? Mmmm....super hard question. I might have to continue to debate this while lying on my comfy couch.
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