[First published August 13, 2014] I mentioned in passing that I broke a hole in my sink. The evil landlord did not provide a bathroom mirror and that made it difficult to put in my contact lenses. I got a cheapie dollar store mirror and attached it to the tiled wall with suction cups. They held for a couple of weeks, then gave way. One day I came home and found the sink like this, but the mirror was fine. That irregular roundish shape in the bowl of the sink is the hole. I mean, not to get all defensive here, but what kind of a sink breaks like that when a lightweight plastic-framed dollar store mirror falls into it?
You might also have noticed how stained the sink is. Believe me, I scrubbed it with scouring powder, I soaked it with bleach. It's obviously a second-hand sink that the landlord picked up for a few yuan and attached (hah!) to the wall with a couple of rickety brackets. Anyway, I didn't worry about the hole in the sink because I knew Ross was coming soon. However he chose to deal with it, it was his problem, as laid out in the unwritten rules of our marriage.
Fixing the problem turned into one of the most fun days we've had since he got here. Ross had bought a second-hand bike at the market where I got mine. Together, we cycled back to the market, a good long bike ride through town, to see if we could find a sink there.
You might also have noticed how stained the sink is. Believe me, I scrubbed it with scouring powder, I soaked it with bleach. It's obviously a second-hand sink that the landlord picked up for a few yuan and attached (hah!) to the wall with a couple of rickety brackets. Anyway, I didn't worry about the hole in the sink because I knew Ross was coming soon. However he chose to deal with it, it was his problem, as laid out in the unwritten rules of our marriage.
Fixing the problem turned into one of the most fun days we've had since he got here. Ross had bought a second-hand bike at the market where I got mine. Together, we cycled back to the market, a good long bike ride through town, to see if we could find a sink there.
Most of the stalls at the market are devoted to selling restaurant supplies but there is also some furniture (we think this is where the evil landlord got the evil sofa). The photos above show a contraption used for cooking crepe-like thin pancakes, a local specialty. The pancake batter is made with millet and the pancake itself is kind of tough and chewy; I don't much care for it but making the pancake is really an art. You can see a lady making them in this video clip which also shows other local food favorites.
Ross showed a photo of the broken sink to a shop owner and he told us with hand gestures that there were plumbing stores further up the street. We cycled further and Ross spotted the exact same sink as ours, except brand new, not stained and not with a hole in it, at the entrance to a plumbing store. Price: 35 yuan ($6.21 Can).
Ross tied it to the rack on top of his rear bike wheel and we got it home safely, via a lane full of market stalls that we hadn't seen before. We stopped and got some Boshan pancakes, one of the foods featured in the video clip I linked to above. Not a millet-y pancake, but a flatbread with meat and vegetables. We picnicked at a streetside park near our apartment. There are a lot of little parks in Zibo and walking paths along the canal.
The next day Ross made another excursion to YiWu, shopper's paradise, and through creative miming and diligent searching, found silicon caulk and a caulking gun and everything he needed to replace the sink. He also hung the mirror with twine from one of the exposed water pipes in the ceiling. Wish I'd thought of that, but of course I can't reach the ceiling. And it's just as well I can't reach the ceiling because every time we try to change a light bulb, we blow out a circuit. And we have to call my "handler," who has to call an electrician.
We've been offered a newly remodeled apartment at the campus where I work. Stay tuned....
Ross showed a photo of the broken sink to a shop owner and he told us with hand gestures that there were plumbing stores further up the street. We cycled further and Ross spotted the exact same sink as ours, except brand new, not stained and not with a hole in it, at the entrance to a plumbing store. Price: 35 yuan ($6.21 Can).
Ross tied it to the rack on top of his rear bike wheel and we got it home safely, via a lane full of market stalls that we hadn't seen before. We stopped and got some Boshan pancakes, one of the foods featured in the video clip I linked to above. Not a millet-y pancake, but a flatbread with meat and vegetables. We picnicked at a streetside park near our apartment. There are a lot of little parks in Zibo and walking paths along the canal.
The next day Ross made another excursion to YiWu, shopper's paradise, and through creative miming and diligent searching, found silicon caulk and a caulking gun and everything he needed to replace the sink. He also hung the mirror with twine from one of the exposed water pipes in the ceiling. Wish I'd thought of that, but of course I can't reach the ceiling. And it's just as well I can't reach the ceiling because every time we try to change a light bulb, we blow out a circuit. And we have to call my "handler," who has to call an electrician.
We've been offered a newly remodeled apartment at the campus where I work. Stay tuned....
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