Cold Water, Thankful for Family Life Rant

Today the cold water pressure died. Nobody told us why until after they restored it, either; there was construction. We, as foreign teachers, found out when our toilet tanks did not refill.

I'm realizing slowly the advantages here of being born in my family, a middle class yet somehow rural farm feeling family.

1) I know what circuit breakers are and how to flip them on and off. This is especially useful in the AV classes, for whatever reason they're always turned off. I have yet to see them flip in my apartment.

2) I know how to clean things. When you have mold growing on your bedroom wall, there's nothing like SCRUBBING IT OFF to make you feel proud and accomplished.

3) I know how to fix brand-new (Chinese new) chairs when their wheels fall off.

4) I know when I can and can't install something on the ceiling based on the type of material it has.

5) I know how to shut off the water on a toilet if it overflows.

6) I know how to manually refill a tank on a toilet and how to fix the stopper and lever.

7) I know when to throw things out and what things can be left out for a while (like cake, meat, or soup).

8) I know how to use my A/C unit to help dry my clothes since the humidity in wintertime is still around 80-90%. What.

9) I know why the stray dogs are barking at me and can toss them either a baozi or avoid walking between them and their puppies efficiently.

10) I know why the window has water dripping on it every morning, even if it is not raining. (It deals with the windows here only having one panel, instead of the double sides (or thickness) that a lot of US homes have, especially those who have deep winters).

11) I know not to leave a heater on when I leave the building. Do I forget sometimes, yes, but as soon as I remember I run home or freak out about it (which is why I've now gotten into the habit of turning on the heater after I've locked my outside door).

12) I know why my speakers are fun, but I should not use them all the time (they crinkle sometimes, 'cause ear fatigue, etc).

13) I know how to check the road for cars when I'm crossing. Note: There are no crossings. It's like a game of frogger every day!

14) I can kill my own bugs. With my bare hands. It's a most useful skill.

15) I can sew when my clothes develop holes in the washing machine. Still can't fix the fact that the machine stretches them though.

16) I can travel to China without a checked bag for an entire years' worth of supplies. I'm still proud, even though my parents have shipped me things from home. On the upside, I think of these things as things I knew I didn't need.

17) I can cook emergency meals in the microwave. I can cook, too, but I'm not willing to buy a hot plate just yet.

18) I'm okay eating with a little bit of dirt in my food. Worms do still kill my appetite, but at least I don't feel a need to vomit.

19) Also I know where lamb comes from and when I see the tasty sheep skinned in front of me and it's bloodied carcass carried away, I am aware people will be eating it. The same goes for when I find parts of my pig in bacon that are not normally in bacon, like the skin with hairs attached.

20) Probably more related to Japan- I'm very glad that I'm able to recognize what things are by brands and labels of things here without being able to read them- it's amazing how similar all shampoos look like and how all soaps look the same. Tide looks the same in every country. But it's far more expensive, so I'll just take the one next to it, thank you very much.

I might come up with some more later. For now, I'll end with number 21- being used to having the water turn hot or cold. This probably comes from more of whether or not a toilet was flushed in my house or if everyone had used up the hot water. When you're a family of five, showers are not going to be perfect dreamlike things.