Recap - The Journey Home

Any time we travel to or from Thailand we always stop through Hong Kong. Sometimes it's just a quick layover in the airport...one of our favorite airports ever, so it's always a fun layover! And sometimes we stay a night or two in HK and then travel the rest of the way. But because it's the halfway point of any Thailand trip, Hong Kong has now become labeled as the "just ready to get there" city in our brains. It's an amazing city. Full of awesome restaurants, malls, parks, mountings, harbors, etc... A plethora of things to see. But on our way to Bangkok it's the "just ready to get to Thailand" city. And on our way back to China it's the "just ready to get home" city. And because of this, any time we spend there, regardless of the exciting things we see, we're usually exhausted from travel and ready to complete the rest of our journey.

So this last time there was no different. We decided to take a few days of vacation in HK. But any vacation where all you are doing is thinking about getting home, really doesn't feel like vacation. Hong Kong is unique in the sense that it technically is part of China, yet it has a very "non-chinese" feel to it. It feels completely different to us than mainland China. It feels like a different country. So even though we're in China when we're there...we're still just ready to get back to China...the China we know and call home. Every mall we walked through, every restaurant, every cute little shop, we really enjoyed. But after every outing, we'd just come back to our hotel room and *sigh "I'm just ready to get home."

After our two days of vacation in HK and a couple of weeks in Thailand, we finally flew back to the airport nearest our city. We landed, made it through customs (cuz flying to HK is an international flight...go figure) and I made a quick trip to the bathroom. As soon as I walked into the bathroom I let out a huge laugh.

At this:
I laughed for the obvious reason: it makes no sense. But mostly I laughed because this ridiculous sign has come to mean so much to me. I see it everytime I visit that airport bathroom. And every time I always think to myself that I HAVE to remember to take a picture of it. (yay! finally did!) And when I walked in there this time, it suddenly hit me that this stupid unintelligible sign, has come to represent a sign of me feeling at home here in China. A wave of relief came over me when I saw it because it meant that I was back...back home. I'm at home in a country that doesn't use my native language correctly. weird.

To try to explain the sign... well there's no good explanation...because it doesn't make sense. It's pointing towards a big roll of toilet paper on the wall. The one where you are supposed to go over and get however much you need before entering the stall. (the world's worst idea, if you ask me) And somehow you're supposed to protect the environment with this toiliet paper. And oh yes, save bumf. I have no idea what Bumf is. But I'm doing my best to save it. Using English (supposedly) on products, signs, packaging, etc...is supposed to add credibility. I think they missed the mark with this one. But that's why in China you see people walking around with t-shirts that say Adibas. (that and because bootlegging is rampant)

annnyyywaaayyyyssss

The rest of my bathroom story, though maybe not as funny, is typical for bathrooms here. Though it still has the tendancy to make me feel a little less at home here. As I walked further into the restroom I walked in to an empty stall, only to discover that it wasn't so empty. The woman sitting just beyond the curtain in the First Class section of our flight was doing her business in an open stall. Not caring to give herself (or me for that matter) a little privacy.

So there you have it. I now currently reside, and feel at home in a country with "Enplish" signs and classy non-stall-shutting women.