Being Domestic in China

There are things some things here that are definitely better than in the states. The produce tastes better. The carrots and celery are sweeter, the tomatoes taste like they are vine ripened, even though we buy them in a store like Walmart. The apples are all crisp; haven’t had a mushy one yet. It’s been a pretty pleasing realization, to see that America doesn’t produce the best of everything.

Another nice, surprising phenomenon is that the dish rags don’t get stinky like mine at home after the third day of using the same one. Now why would that be? All I can think is that I’m washing all our dishes by hand, and the dish rags get a dose of detergent at least two times a day, whereas at home, I’m using the dishwasher, and don’t put them in detergent very often. (???) This is a very good thing though, because I do all the laundry in a tiny little washing machine, and this means that I don’t have to do it as often. : )

I’ve been doing a lot of my household chores the old-fashioned way. First, you must know that the counters are really low. I don’t think that they’re more than thirty two inches from the floor. If I tried to wash dishes or chop vegetables standing up, I’d have a terrible back ache. The ironing board is low as well. Probably the same as the counter tops, or maybe a little lower. So I’ve gotten in the habit of pulling up a chair to do my ironing and wash the dishes. That’s right – no dishwasher here.

I mentioned ironing – The clothes are all extra wrinkled because we don’t have a clothes dryer. Oh yes, I need to tell you. . . .the washing machine plays “Jingle Bells” before it starts washing, as well as when it has finished. So if I would happen to find myself grumbling before putting in a batch of laundry, my sour mood might quickly change to a sweet amusement when the Christmas tune begins.

Hanging out the clothes to dry is certainly an old-fashioned thing. As we look out our window, we see that EVERYONE in China is faced with the same task. Everyone’s apartment has a window or balcony full of drying clothes. Many of the students put their comforters and duvets out for a freshening. We’ve seen girls beating their comforters with something like a fly-swatter. I always wonder if they wash the ledge of their balcony, or worry if it will come back into the house with all the pollution that’s has settled on the ledge, or passed in the breeze. (???) Being a house-wife in China is a little different than in American Fork.