Special delivery

This place can be tough on couples, especially an international relationship where both folks are foreigners trying to figure things out in China. Stresses normally associated with living together are exacerbating by things you could only encounter in a developing country. Only the strong can last here for any decent period of time, and you have to be adaptable.

And then there are situations that go from pains in the neck to incredibly convenient if you know what you're doing here. I got a call about needing toilet paper in our bathroom on my walk out to a local restaurant. Chinese communities have little shops that sell household goods, and they'll typically deliver anything from instant noodles to roach spray right to your door for free, if you can communicate "Raid" in Chinese to the shopkeeper. I called in and pieced together what I thought was the translation for "toilet paper" in Chinese, and the guy understood. I didn't even need to say my building and apartment number because he knew from experience that that particular kind of broken Chinese could only be me. I touched base a few minutes later and the apartment magically had toilet paper, delivered about 10 minutes later. Gotta love this place!