ghetto.

Moving to China has brought on many many changes. Of course there are the language differences, the food differences, and the weather differences, but one thing I didn't think much of when setting out on my journey to the Mainland was my living situation. My apartment is G.H.E.T.T.O. With a ghetto apartment comes along a ghetto lifestyle, and to prove my point, I will let you know that as I write this post, I am consuming a peach cobbler that I made in a RICE COOKER, yes a rice cooker... and yes, I am eating it with chopsticks. A lack of kitchen appliances will do that to you.

Here is a sneak peak into my daily life in China, along with the many "ghetto" things that I have had to adapt to. I know that I'm making a joke out of all this right now, but I also very much realize how insanely blessed I am. I've seen some very very tough situations here, ones that I never would have imagined, and I am so greatful for those things that I do have that others only dream of having. I have a family at home giving me 100% support, an apartment with heat during these fall months, and a knowledge of the gospel. I am so blessed, I very much realize that. With that said, here is a typical day in China for Julie Dumas...

I arise from my bed that is litterally a board. I'm not just saying that because it's a hard bed that is difficult to catch a good night's rest on, it really is a board. No mattress, just some nice, solid wood :) Then I pick out a teaching outfit for the day! 

After I have my outfit picked out and eat my daily dose of oatmeal, I head off to teach these kiddos...

If you're not an English teacher however, you might spend your Chinese morning working out at the "gym"...

Then it's time for lunch! Chicken feet, tofu, or pig's blood anyone? And I thought American cafeteria food was interesting...

After lunch is nap time. Everyone at the school takes a nap! It's glorious, I don't know why America hasn't picked up on that vital part of education yet...

After nap time, I might do some laundry and hang it on my TV to dry...

Or I might catch a lizard in my room. (Notice the bars on my door. Um....) 

Or I might survive a typhoon.

Now it's time for dinner in my "kitchen." You'll usually find me eating some beloved dumplings and drinking banana milk because it really doesn't get much better than that! 

The kitchen...

I'm not going to lie, it's going to be way nice to return home to a normal kitchen where I can drink out of the tap and not worry about cockroaches getting into my food. Or to return home where I know that I will have a mattress to sleep on or a western toilet (ya, didn't include a picture of my squater toilet but you better believe I have one!) Oh China, what an adventure you have been! From lizards to typhoons to rice cookers and squaters, this is definitely one of those "experiences of a lifetime."