March 7th Shaoguan Diary - Toilet and Dance

I did two new things today:

• 1) Cleaned out my blocked squat toilet - squat toilets are a plumber's worse nightmare. They are mine too. Mine was blocked for the second time yesterday, due to a rather large poop (I ate a lot of vegetables since coming here, which is awesome). So what do I do ?
• Firstly I tried the detergent / hot water method - wait 15 minutes after pouring a generous amount of dishwashing liquid into the hole. That didn't work. 
• Secondly, I consulted my dear Google and thought of buying a "snake", aka a Toilet Auger, which turned out to be a long wire fishing pole for fishing out toilet paper. It worked by winding up and down, and I went back to fish all the poo out of my toilet after lunch. It cost me $8 RMB to buy one, but it worked like a charm, and taught me how to ... clear my squat toilet out. It took me an hour to clean up my toilet, but I have to admit - cleaning everything does bring it's satisfactions! Wow! 
• Maybe next time I should bring some liquid toilet dissolver from Hong Kong. That way I don't have to... erm... clean up the mess after using the auger. Anyways, I can officially deem myself a certified plumber! 

2) Dance with housewifes / teachers-

• Sarah and I were skipping rope (that girl skips like crazy!) when a group of female teachers asked us to join them for dance class. Dance class ? It turned out that the group of women gather in the dance room each night and practise their funky dance moves for an hour.
• Being the very skilled dancer that I was (not) I stood at the back and had a go at following their moves. Dancing doesn't come naturally to me, unlike other things, so it was very hard work. Everyone was sweating by the end of the third song. 
• I was so surprised because all the teachers danced popular dance moves REALLY well. I'm not kidding - it really was a surprise to watch them move and swing their hips, as well as do some hip hop / tango moves. We're in a village school by the way, not some high class studio in downtown London or Hong Kong...
• It turns out that the leading teacher was the vice-principal's wife. She's also the number one dancer in the school - it was funny watching her dance because she really can MOVE! 
• I want to keep fit and work out at least 2-3 times a week, so it would be great if I can keep joining the dance classes and improve my dancing skills. Dancing is great exercise, and combined with skipping, I think I'll end up with thunder calves / thighs after these 5 months of service.