Upper Level Potty Training Class- Mastered!

After today's events, it is hard to believe that it was just a few short months ago that Audrey wouldn't even go pee in the toilet at Target on Colorado Boulevard. In the last week, she has used the "squat" and "trough" toilets in China without complaint! For those of you who are unfamiliar with these, feel blessed. :) No really, I now personally find the squat toilets to be superior to western toilets, especially in a public bathroom situation. Not so much for the hanging out, sitting for a hour, reading a novel times (you know what I mean, Jesse?), but definitely for public bathroom uses. The squat toilet is like a urinal laying on the ground, where you place one foot on each side, squat over and pee. Much easier than hovering, like we are forced to do in scary public bathrooms at home. The trough toilet, now this is a different story! We just encountered it today at the Longsheng "bus station." (In quotes because as Joe commented today, the Longsheng and Guilin stations are tucked away down a narrow street, no better than an alley really, with tons of huge buses coming in and out, fighting for space and even trying to pass each other. See previous entry, 'rules of the road' for more on passing...) Back to the trough. Imagine if you will. Heading to the restroom, not really sure if you are going in the right one b/c they are labeled in Chinese characters only- no little girl or boy symbol in sight. Gladly, you guess right, only to discover what can best be described as... well... hell, really. 4 'stalls' lined up on the right, with 1/2 walls separating them and no door at all. Then an odd 8" wide, 6" deep trough in the floor running from one stall all the way through the stalls to the front of the bathroom. Yep. You just squat over the trough and pee or poo or whatever you need to do. I made the tactical error of choosing the stall at the front of the bathroom, not thinking that this would mean the waste from the other 3 stalls would be flowing under us on it's way to who-knows-where. Someone or something is responsible for a flush of water every 60 seconds or so at the back of the bathroom, which means everyone else's waste comes flowing by as you relieve yourself. Audrey handled all of this rather well! She was a bit surprised when a terd passed through while she was peeing. I think she sort of assumed it was hers, but couldn't figure out how or why since she was just peeing. Oh the joys of stranger excrament. And with a toddler in potty training, it is VERY important that you don't show any signs of thinking something is gross or scary or odd in any way, or chances are you'll spend the next 3 months gettong over the fear and trying to get them to use a toilet again. So I had to sit there, all happy, like this was a fun little game, as I squatted over the trough and listened to Audrey shout gleefully, "There goes your pee mommy!" We quickly left, trying to wash hands in the communal soapless (practically waterless) sink, then drowning ourselves in antibacterial hand sanitizer (which I don't normally use, but this is not normal people!). Then to the bus Joe, Audrey and I went, a 2 hour ride to Guilin, as I dreamed of dunking myself and our child in a scalding hot vat of hydrogen peroxide.