It doesn't have to be pretty....

Just practical and functional...
Would you consider eating in a place where the walls are torn and the paint?   Oh! maybe there never was any paint ! Where there is a roll of toilet paper in lieu of napkins, where you must bring your own toilet paper when you go.....you know???
Where children pee in the street, and adults spit on the sidewalk??? Where slabs of meat are sold from a wheel barrel, and birds are gutted in the street market, where people cook their lunches on the sidewalk ( they actually bring their woks to work with them)... while 3 feet away elders are playing Mahjong ( a tile game ). This my friends is a simple but happy life...

In America, everything is not only functional but... esthetically pleasing to the eye as well, and attention to detail is just a given. And most of the time, clean... We take for granted that all will be regulated and are appalled at the things that are not...

Here in China, not so. Even in our 2500 sq foot home, which is considered a palace in China, if you look to closely, you will notice that the grout is so so, there is extra glue on everything, the caulking is far from a work of art and so on...
So living in the far east makes you turn a blind eye very quickly...as you start to realize, you can be happy and esthetics is not necessary to survive... The only thing that is constantly pretty here is food... reverence on food, no matter how simple, is in fact ALWAYS a given in China... I guess thats why I enjoy eating here so much...

Before our move to China, I was so concerned that I would miss my "STUFF". We arrived here with 7 suitcases... one filled with vitamins, another filled with articles we could not store or send with  the company... and the rest was clothing. Believe it or not, Harry had more clothing than I did. keep in mind that he does dress for work everyday, and he did pack some suits. I on the other hand, had 6 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, 10 tops, and undergarments.. That's it!!!! Not bad for a girl...
I lived on those clothing for 2 1/2 months... Some articles I didn't even wear!
So last week, we received our container of belongings from the U.S and were almost disappointed that we had packed so much stuff. We had grown to appreciate "the simple life"... Who Needs STUFF????? I guess we have been immersed in simple inside and out for the last while, and it's been a breathe of fresh China air : ))))
We ended up giving away 2 boxes of clothing, storing one in the storage room, storing at least 2 other boxes of miscellaneous things that could have been easily left behind.
The only real things I am happy about having are my sewing articles and my juicer... Those I cannot find here,,, For sure, the kitchen things are fun to have, but when you come down to the nitty gritty, all you need to cook is a pair of chopsticks, a big sharp knife and naturally a WOK!! You cannot survive without a wok in China. W have grown very fond of them...
The rest is luxury... for cooking that is...
In the kitchen we lived with 2 wine glasses, 4 small chinese plates, 4 bowls, 4 pair of chopsticks, 3 cups and a few glasses!

My point is, there seem to be no expectations when it comes to everyday life, and for some reason, I think this brings down the stress level a couple of notches. We, Harry and I, walk slower, sleep better, smile more, and life seems to have slowed down to a point where, you don't ask yourself where time has gone, but say, " we still have all this time before....". How nice and refreshing is that????

Don't get me wrong, there are many things that we miss, like our family, and friends, certain foods, ( Harry misses his car ), and golfing with the guys... But the rest, not so much!!! If there's one thing we'll take from this experience, it's "Simplicity is Bliss"....and " Stuff is only Stuff "....

I guess we have found what " wake up and smell the roses" really means, but sometimes it actually smells like fish....: )))))

Your word of the day... "YU" Pronounced YOU and meaning: Fish

Don't worry, be happy...

Says Pauline : )