A New Toilet Seat!

Saturday, September 19. Today, Rob and I go out to accomplish two things: one, I will show him where the train ticket office is and two, he will help me buy a new toilet seat! My current toilet seat has cracked so badly that I can no longer use it so I have been sitting on the porcelain rim of the toilet. This is fine for now, but will not be so great when winter arrives! We walk via the "shortcut" then all the way down "market street" (ShaoShan Lu) to Chang Jiang Lu, where the train ticket office is. It is unbelieveably humid. We had a big (although rather brief) rainstorm yesterday, and I had hoped it would cool things off - but no. My clothes are drenched long before we get there. On the way back, we buy fruit, rice, sunflower seeds (for my birdfeeder) and I get two flower pots so I can transplant into them the sweet peas that Eleanor gave me. The last stop is the bathroom supply store. I pick out a toilet seat that looks like the right shape and size. The salesman shows us how to install it and how it is adjustable. We then stagger home under the weight of all of our purchases.

Rob is amazing - not only does he speak Chinese well but he is a really nice and personable young man. It has made a huge difference this year having an American at Beishida who speaks Chinese.

I manage to install the toilet seat all by myself. It is an almost perfect fit. I am so excited. Now, not only do I have a decent toilet seat but it actually has a cover that can be closed. The cover for the other one must have broken before I arrived last year because it was never here.

Saturday Night at the Movies: John, Sandi, Crystal, Rock, Anna, Jane, Peter Joe, Stephen, and Rob shows up later. We watch Pirates of the Caribbean (Part 1). A very confusing movie! But fun.