engineering

Most days I feel like having a degree in some form of engineering should be a prerequisite for living in this country.

Take example one:  Judds versus the shower curtain.
Like most Chinese houses/apartments, our walls are solid concrete.  This fact makes hanging up anything a challenge, not to mention that it is technically our landlord's house, so we can't just go drilling holes in the walls wherever we want.  Also, our bathroom concrete walls are covered with a layer of a plastic paneling-like surface.  We wanted to hang up a shower curtain but can't install a proper rod because of the drilling/screwing issue.  We hung two sticky hooks on each side and strung a wire between them to hang the curtain.  The east side fell down in about 24 hours.  We got a new, different sticky hook for that side.  The west side fell down.  We tried a steel nail and wrapped one end of the wire around it.  Again, roughly a day later, the nail pulled out of the wall.  We currently have two sticky hooks on the west wall, and a large suction cup hook on the east side.  So far, our shower curtain hasn't fallen down in about a week.  Winner:  Judds.

Example two:  Judds versus the refrigerator.  Our landlords provided us a really nice Haier brand fridge.  It has 3 compartments...ideally one for regular refrigeration, a beverage compartment, and a freezer.  It has 4 buttons on the front and a display panel displaying various temperatures.  One would assume the buttons are to select the temperature for each compartment.  That's what we and all our local friends think, anyway.  However, no manner of pushing any of the buttons seems to actually change any of the temperatures.  Then there's the mystery of the 4th button.  It's name translates "artificial intelligence" which not even our local friends can figure out the meaning of this term in relation to a refrigerator.  So, we currently have a standard freezer, a not-quite-so-frozen freezer, and a beverage compartment that serves as the place we can put things we don't want frozen.  (And to anyone who may suggest it, we've already tried to find the owner's manual online, but our googling has failed us).   Winner:  refrigerator.  :)

Example three:  heating.  The heating (at least in the north part of this country) turns on on October 15 and off on April 15.  Today was the day we had been waiting for.  I woke up so ready for it to be the last day that it would be less than 60 degrees in my house.  I checked/touched the radiators every time I passed by hoping they would feel warm to the touch.  James had one class cancelled today so he came home earlier than normal at about 10...still no heat.  Our landlord (kindly) called about 11 to ask if it was on yet and told us to call the "wu ye" if it wasn't on.  James called our "wu ye" which is like the complex groundskeepers/maintenance/guards.  They said it would slowly warm up throughout the day to wait until evening before we worried.  We came home at after 7 and still nothing.  Another call to the wuye.  Two guys came up to check it out.  Sure enough, the water to our radiators hadn't been turned on.  They went to find another guy who came back with a big wrench asking us where the "blah blah blah" in our house was.  It's hard to tell him where something is when I have no idea what he's taking about.  He proceeds to move stuff out of our kitchen cabinets and remove the back panel of the lower cabinet.  Huh.  Who knew that was there?  Sure enough, behind it was a row or pipes.  He turned one of them, then went into the hallway outside our door, opened a panel containing hundred of pipes and turned one there.  It filled the radiator with water that is supposed to warm our house.  However, as I sit and type this, no such warming is occurring.  I guess we'll call again in the morning since we have no idea which pipe in which panel to turn.

Example four: two adults, one toddler, one toddler's diaper bag, and any stuff we purchase traveling on 2 bikes.   "If we put this here, we can put that there and then one of us hold the...."  You get the idea.

Example five:  our second bathroom.  Our house technically has two bathrooms (even more technically it has 1.5 baths).  One (the .5 one) just isn't finished yet.  By unfinished, I mean that it was essentially a room with a water spout, some pipes, and some holes.  Our landlords told us before we moved in that they would get around to it sometime, but that it wouldn't be finished when we moved in.  A couple weeks back they showed up one afternoon with a toilet.  At the time, our washing machine was in the bathroom, so they set the toilet in the hall, where the washing machine should go, once we get a hose long enough to reach from the hall to the spout in the bathroom.  Last week we got the hose and switched the placement of the toilet and washer.  And discovered that if they plan to install the toilet they brought, the door to the bathroom won't open/close fully.  I'm glad that particular engineering failure isn't on us :)

I don't mean for this post to sound like I'm complaining.  These are the things that make life here interesting.  And, our lesson on Sunday was a reminder to learn to be content and to give thanks  in all circumstances.  So, I'm thankful for a bathroom with hot, running water that at least temporarily has a shower curtain.  I'm thankful that our food doesn't spoil because it's kept plenty cool.  I'm thankful for our landlord and our wu ye and their willingness to help us and a husband that takes care of us and our home.  I'm thankful we had bikes provided for us and that we don't have to carry Catherine while we wait for buses and taxis.  And I'm thankful for the possibility (maybe even alter this month!) of having another working 1/2 bath, even if you will have to squeeze through the door to use it.