Katie & the Squatty Potty

Unless you've been to China, you've probably never experienced a public toilet like the "Squatty Potty."

The idea, which my seem obvious to you, is to place you feet along the grooved edges, squat down and holding your pants, skirt, underwear and whatever out of the way and off the ground as you take care of your business with whatever comes out going down the hole in the bottom and plopping onto the ground below. There is no water to flush, so whatever falls outside to hole just kind of stays where it falls.

While you are thinking that might not be that bad, the reality is that this must be a brand new Squatty Potty which has never been used! From what I have heard, most of the time the area you place you feet, any where you might put a hand to steady yourself and most every where else, is very, shall we say, "soiled." Also, unless you bring your own, there is most likely no toilet paper and if there is, it is a little like using a newspaper.

There are a few American style sit-down toilets in public restrooms, but these are usually only for the handicapped.

Katie has only had to use a Squatty Potty a few times. But, I think that has been a few times to many!

I was reading just a couple of days ago, that thanks to the Olympics, China has decided that they will put many more American style toilets in Beijing. I'm sure for those planning on going to China at a future date, that is great news.

To update you on the latest culinary delights Katie has tried in China.

At the wedding she attended, they served either fried or baked grub worms covered in sugar (I guess if I was eating a grub worm, covered in sugar would be best), baked bugs of various sorts (eyes, legs, wings and everything). Katie ate one worm and several bugs. She said that Iris' parents were laughing at her, because they won't even eat those. They were also served a bowl of seafood, only instead of chunks of filleted fish and maybe a peeled shrimp and a scallop or two, this was a bowl full of small fish, shrimp and numerous other sea creatures that we're cooked, but still just like they were when they were caught.

Katie went to an out-of-the-way BBQ place the other night. Now, I've been to a lot of out-of-the-way BBQ joints, because those are usually the best BBQ, but this one was, as you might imagine, a little different. It was out under a tarp and it was raining, so they had to keep poking the tarp with a long stick to keep it from filling with water. There was a large refrigerated (we assume) box that was filled with various types of meat on sticks and you would pick out what kind of meat you wanted and they'd grill it for you. Katie tried a number of different kinds of meat on a stick, including duck intestines!

Katie has eaten duck stomach, the Achilles tendon of a cow, cow tongue, calves throat (the esophagus), various animal intestines, duck (and other bird) eggs, a chicken kidney, cow lung, soft shelled turtle and much more which I've blocked from my mind. She did have Tex-Mex one night at Peter's Tex-Mex and said it was just like American Mexican food. She has had Pizza Hut and McDonalds, which she said were just like you'd find in America - except that the most popular item at McDonalds in China is fried chicken.

The grossest thing she has eaten was a little brown soft cube, which she thought was maybe some kind of tofu, but was actually coagulated duck blood - a real delicacy in China. Katie said it just about made her sick when she found out what it was and was glad she'd only eaten one instead of the whole bowl full. Me, too!

Katie said that most of the food has tasted good, but that the texture of some of of it was really unusual and sometimes pretty gross to an American.

Katie picked up her hand made, custom fitted, traditional Chinese dress - a "Qipao" (pronounced "Chee-Pow") and says it is beautiful. She will wear it to church the Sunday after Easter - the first Sunday she'll be back - and I'll get some pictures up for everyone to see. And, Katie has requested a special Sunday dinner - Dad's BBQ Brisket, Garlic Smashed Potatoes and Glazed Bacon-wrapped Green Beans. That sounds good even to me!

Katie has bought lots of gifts and souvenirs to bring home. Much of the shopping is from street vendors and haggling over the price is expected - at least to a point. Katie and Iris were shopping along a street filled with vendors and Katie saw something she wanted to buy for her sister. Iris asked Katie what she was willing to pay and apparently the merchant thought the offer was insulting and began to yell names at Iris and Katie that Iris would not interpret. That didn't deter Iris who yelled right back and Katie ended up having to pull her away! Way to go, Iris!

As I write this blog on Saturday afternoon about 4:15 p.m., Katie just has one full day (Sunday) and then Monday morning with Iris and her family and then Katie and her group will fly to Shanghai for a couple of days before arriving back home in Tulsa on Thursday night. Please pray for Katie, especially over this next 30 hours. I know that she will want this last bit of time to be special and for her to have an opportunity to somehow make her stay with Iris and her family not just a lasting impression, but an eternal impression.

More on Katie in the next few days - and many pictures upon her return!

Love in Christ Jesus,

Jim