Appliances......a piece of equipment for adapting a machine to a special purpose

How much time do you spend thinking about the tools we use everyday to make our lives easier? Prior to moving to China, I would say zero, except when they quit working. I am not saying that China isn't modern, it is very high tech here. I am just saying that we have differences in the tasks that we want done for us.

Work = Force * Distance ( ooh, I pulled that out of nowhere from college physics). In China, work is done by human force and distance, which is why they are so slim.... but that will be a different post. So most of the things we rely on machines to do, you can pay someone to do for you like washing dishes and doing laundry. Therefore, in most non-western homes there is no dishwasher or washers and dryers. Thankfully we have these because our house was outfitted for the sole purpose of renting to foreigners. However, they are microscopic in size. The dish washer is approximately 1.5 X 2.5 feet. Ironically, we have always dreamed about adding a second dishwasher to our home in Colorado this would be uncivilized in China. The oven is also tiny, as baking is not a Chinese pastime. But, I do have this strange contraption called a dish dryer, which takes up more space than my oven, clearly staging its importance in the kitchen.... Overall I have been underwhelmed by its utility, by the time I wash a dish and move it across the kitchen, I could have dried it myself. Remember that formula, W=F*D, it is more work to use this dish drying thingy. I just assume use the dishwasher and put things away.

The appliance I am seriously missing is the garbage disposal. Life without a garbage disposal is so annoying. Not to mention the fact that they brainwash kids in Colorado to only think green, therefore if it is compostable we should be composting. Poor JP is heart broken every time he sees organic material hit the trash can (which is also microscopic in size). It is the food Emmy throws on the floor that I just want to pick up and throw in the sink, that is pushing me over the edge.

There are also some pretty cool things that are not mainstay in the US. We have a water heater upper, and I love it. You put water in it, push a button and less than a minute later you have boiling water. Since coffee isn't super big in Asia, we have gone back to the french press method of making coffee, which is fantastic BTW. I just grind the beans and use the hot water and voila, yummy dark roast coffee. Truly, it is no more work than using a traditional coffee maker. Other cool things, the toilets have pressure and they don't have a tank with that floating thing that occasional gets loose causing the hissing sound. You know, jiggle the handle... You just push a big button on the wall and it is like you are in an airplane...wooosh! Oh, and all the doors have a magnet on the floor, so when you open them all the way, they stay open. The light switches are big buttons, perfect for arthritic hands. I will have to remember this when I head back to work some day. All in all the Chinese way is about keeping eyes and doors open, and toilets flushin'. That's a way to keep things a movin' round here.