Bathrooms

Besides the kitchen the bathroom is one of the most sacred places in the home. You use the toilet at least 3 times a day. You primp and beautify yourself each morning in front of the bathroom mirror. You bathe daily to cleanse and purify your body. This room (the bathroom) is essential to your daily life.

Living in Asia can throw your whole morning schedule out of whack if your not prepared.

I am blessed to have a bathroom with a Western Style Toilet, Sink and Mirror, even a Shower. This is convenient, but sometimes I've had problems. China is the worlds biggest consumer of solar energy.  Solar energy is great as long as it works. If you end up with a broken collector you may have to suffer through an ice cold morning shower. 

Photo by me: Showing the wrong way to use a sqatty potty

My apartment has spoiled me, because as I quickly found out, not everyone in Asia is a blessed as me.

I've stay in places that have no indoor bathroom. You much use an outhouse. No problem, until I realize that it's a squatty potty (whole in the ground) and -35 C outside daytime temperature. Every morning you must heat water that will be used to your wash your face and wash your hair and brush your teeth and much more. There is no mirror  you must rely on the visual expertise of the people around you. If you want to shower you must go to a public bath house. The showers are hot and worth the money, but I find it awkward. People gawk at you. In Asia no matter if your white or black you will standout in a crowd on the streets, but in the bath house you will standout 500 times more. Be prepared to have everyone gawk  at every inch of your body. 

Life in the rural areas must be tough. So, what about the cities? They should be better. Not exactly.

I was told that the only place to find a public Western Style Toilet was at KFC. Not exactly true. I've been in many KFC restrooms across Asia and most, if not all, are squatty potties. However, I found luck at Starbucks. After living in Asia I have come to accept squatty potties for it helps strengthen my leg muscles. 

Bathrooms are something I took for granted until my move to Asia. Living or Traveling in Asia you must prepare yourself and be ready to use a bathroom that may not meet up to your high standards. My best advise is suck it up and live with it.

Before I forget: The most important thing I've learn is: Always carry tissues in your pocket or purses. Toilet paper is NOT provided in any bathroom across Asia.

My top books to read about China

1. Joy Luck Club ***
• Author Amy Tan
• This is a book that links the traditional life of four Chinese Women and their relations with their American born daughters. This inspirational stories shows how deep cultural roots can be. 
• The book became a nationally known book and soon was filmed in 1993
2. Country Driving: A Journey Through Time for Farm to Factory ****
• Author Peter Hessler
• This book is the adventures of one man's driving journey across China. First off he shares the stories and experience of driving in the rule areas of China following the Great Wall. Secondly, he tells about his experiences living in a rural village outside of Beijing. Thirdly, he talks about his visits to factories in the South of China. His stories give a deep insight into the Chinese Culture.
3. Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present ***
• Author Perter Hessler
• This books at how the history of China has a great impact on the present day China. It shows how the past and present mix together.
4. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze ***
• Author Perter Hessler
• While teaching English in Southern China in 1997 two unsubstantial events happened in the history of China: ruler Deng Xiaoping died after ruling for over two decades and Hong Kong become part of China. This book describes the events the impact on China.
5. Where the Pavement Ends ****
• Author Erika Warmbrunn
• This is a biography of a young woman who set off on an en-devour to bike for Mongolia through China and all the way through Vietnam. 
6. More to Come....

Cost of living

Take a look at your monthly expenses.

 How much money do you spend each month? 

With these hard economic times I became frugal in my spending. I budgeted every penny earned. 

Moving half way across the world, I was surprised at the drastic change in my spending. I knew China was a cheap place to live, but no this cheap. I now spend on average $150 a month. This includes everything: 3 meals a day, taxi rides, shopping, photo copies and cell phone costs. There is no way that I could live on this in the States. 

I was frugal before moving to China, but now I am the "Queen of Frugal." I live a simple live, and I'm happy. 

Currency

Europe is struggling as well as the States. It is predicted that China will become a world power in Economics in the next 20 years. hen I first moved to China the currency rate was frozen at 6.6 RMB to Dollar or 14.6 cents to the RMB. Over the past year the rate has gone from 6.6 to 6.3. If have heard that it should work its way down to 4.5 to the Dollar. What this means for me is that I get a pay raise for just working in China. Good news for me, but bad news  for my cheap life and travelers. This means that when coming from the States it will cost more to travel and live in compared to the past. Examples: Tour prices will increase around $300 or more. I like everyone else wants to invest in China, but the problem is nobody knows when the drastic growth in the RMB with happen. It may to 5 years to reach the 4.5 mark.

Visit this link to learn about living a happy life:

http://sharonrott.hubpages.com/_14gkjlab5897/hub/5-Tips-to-Living-a-Happy-Life

Visit this link to check out the currency rates:

http://www.xe.com/ucc/

Keep Climbing

This is one of my favorite poems that has hung on my parents bathroom wall for years!

Climb Until Your Dream Comes True

By Helen Steiner Rice

Often your tasks will be many,

And more than you think you can do

Often the road will be rugged

And the hills insurmountable, too

Always remember, the hills ahead

Are never as steep as they seem

And with faith in your hear start upward

And climb ‘till you reach your dream

Nothing in life that is worthy 

Is ever too hard to achieve

If you have the courage to try it 

And you have the faith to believe

Faith is a force that is greater

Than knowledge of power or skill

And many defeats turn to triumph 

If you trust in God’s wisdom and will

Faith is a mover of mountains,

There’s nothing that God cannot do,

So start out today with faith in your heart

And Climb Until Your Dream Comes True

Peanut Movie.wmv

Comfort Music

Life abroad can be very interesting especially when it comes to music. Everywhere I go I find myself listening to American music. Whenever I step foot in a restaurant or taxi or clothing store they change the music to an English pop star such as Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. As I leave they change the music back to Chinese music. Maybe they think changing the music will make me spend more money. 

 My favorite experience involving music was when eating at a JAPANESE restaurant in CHINA listening to an ENGLISH song "eenie meenie" by Justin Bieber. I soon began humming the tune before realizing the humor of the situation. 

The longer I lived in China the more acquainted I become with the traditional music. 忐忑-龚琳娜 TanTe - Gong LinNa is a famous song, but not because of its inspirational lyrics. It is famous because of its NONSENSE lyrics.A foreigner will listen to the song and say "It's all Chinese to me." The funny thing is that "It's all Greek to the Chinese." That's what makes this song so awesome, because even the Chinese have no clue as to what is being sung

The Questions

When living in a foreign country you soon pick up on the language Some languages are easier than others, as for me I can pick up on Spanish 20x's faster than Chinese. Despite any barriers you soon pick up on certain questions which seem to come up no matter who you are talking with.

1. Where are you from? (From me the question is are you Russian?)
2. Where are you going? Alone?
3. Are you scared to travel?
4. How old are you?
5. Are you married?
6. Do you like China? (Country your visiting)
7. How much do you earn? Pay?

These are the first questions that I picked up on in Chinese. My students/ translators would translate, but soon gave up translating and ended up answering for me because the questions were/are asked so often.

Happy Life

For the past year I have learned about what it truly means to be happy. 

I understand now that life is about more than having fancy gadgets. Of course those things are nice, but they don't necessarily make me happy. The time I was the happiest while living overseas was not in the hustling and bustling city, but a tiny remote village. I found more joy and peace in such a tiny place. I learned to survive several weeks without many modern convinces. I also enjoyed living in harmony with nature. Living without the bombardments of modern life rejuvenated my spiritual happiness. 

During the past year of my life I formulated "5 tips to living a happy life" that have bettered my life.

http://sharonrott.hubpages.com/_14gkjlab5897/hub/5-Tips-to-Living-a-Happy-Life

My Favorite Tofu Dish

http://sharonrott.hubpages.com/_14gkjlab5897/hub/Ma-La-Tofu

My typical reaction to tofu is like many Westerners, YUCK!  Once I discovered the many possibilities of cooking with tofu I realized that it’s just bursting with flavors. I have found that there are many healthy tofu recipes. The tofu  benefits is that it absorbs up the flavors of whatever you cook it with. 

My favorite tofu dish is Ma La Tofu. I decided to share the recipe with others and it can be found at the following link.

Frozen Fruit on a Stick: Tang Hu Lu 糖葫芦

Living in NE China this had become my favorite winter time treat. This delightful treat can only be found in the winters months. It is a simple treat that brings joy to a person during the long winter months. It is basically a stick with fruit coated in sugar. The most common type of tong hu lu is the hawthorn berry. The sourness of the berry and the sweetness of the sugar is a charming treat. Other types of tong hu lu are pineapple, tomatoes, grapes and kiwi. 

Tong hu lu for sell on a street corner near my  home.

My friend and me buying tong hu lu at a village market.

Food the Culture of China

Food is the source of life in China in fact it is the biggest part of their culture. They always seem to be eating banquets, but are as skinny as can be. As an outsider the concept of eating and eating and eating has always been associated with obesity, but now my viewpoint has change. I now associate eating and eating and eating with leanness. The biggest difference is the foods being eaten. If you eat a "Big Mac or Whopper or Milkshake" 3 times a day for 365 days of course you'll be obese. Occasionally is ok. For the Chinese they eat vegetables and fruit 3 times a day (and snakes) for 365 day. Yes, they eat meat and even strange meats, but the portions are smaller, and compensated for large portions of fruits and veggies.

As I live among the Chinese I hope to share my experience of their culture FOOD.

500 + Healthy Chinese Recipes Cookbook