Squat Toilet Galore!

Here I am…the final count down!  I leave tomorrow to train in Virginia until Wednesday.  Then, I am home for four days and leave for good.  My boss, Luyin, sent me 54 Fall songs to learn prior to leaving.  I am about halfway through and driving everyone crazy singing them! Also, Luyin told me that the center in Changchun wouldn’t be open when I get there, so I will be working in a city called Wuhan.  I’m not sure if this will end up being my permanent home, or if I will eventually end up moving to the center in Changchun. 

Wuhan is located in central China and is not nearly as “Westernized” as Beijing, Shanghai, or Changchun.  Take a look at Wuhan below.

One amazing tourist spot in Wuhan is the Wuhan Yellow Crane Tower:

Legend has it that in Wuchang (wǔ chāng 武昌), there used to be a wine shop opened by a young man named Xin. One day, a Taoist priest, in gratitude for free wine, drew a magic crane on the wall of the shop and instructed it to dance whenever it heard clapping. Thousands of people came to see the spectacle and the wine shop was always full of guests. After 10 years, the Taoist priest revisited the wine shop. He played the flute and then rode on the crane to the sky. In memory of the supernatural encounter and the priest, the Xins built a tower and named it Yellow Crane Tower.

According to records, the tower was first built in 223 A.D during the Three Kingdoms.

Destroyed many times in successive dynasties, the tower was rebuilt time and again until 100 years ago when it was, for the last time, reduced to ashes. The present tower is a complete reconstruction and is the result of four years of work beginning in 1981. Where the old tower was only 15 meters wide, the ground floor of the new structure was increased to 20 meters wide. The tower, 51.4 meters high, is five-storied with yellow tiles and red pillars, overlapping ridges and interlocking eaves, more magnificent than the old one.

Needless to say, I am very excited about seeing the tower!

Before I end my blog for today, let me share another adventure waiting for me….another American girl that worked in Wuhan, prior to moving to Beijing, said that my apartment will have a squat toilet.  Now, I’m not sure if you are aware of what a squat toilet is….but I am just going to refer to it as the THIGH MASTER! Check it out:



Squat toilets are actually very common in China, and in their culture, our toilets are actually seen as unsanitary.  In more Westernized cities, you can find our traditional toilets, but in Wuhan…it is difficult to come across.  Hopefully, it won’t take me too long to master the squat toilet.  All I know is my thighs will be amazing when I get home!

Until next time friends!  7 more days!