Today, we’re going to play the game where you look at two pictures and pick out the differences. Look at the two pictures below. Do you see what is different?
Picture 1 ................................Picture 2
You’re RIGHT! In the first picture, the dish soap is facing the sink. In the second picture, the dish soap is facing the window.
I know, I know. At this point, you’re thinking, “Wow, Whitney must be really bored in the middle of China if she is posting “I-Spy” Games on her blog.
Well friends, these pictures are very significant. They symbolize the silent “war” my Chinese roommate and I are currently fighting. Let me explain:
In China, we do not have a dishwasher so all of the dishes must be done by hand. Well, as I have walked into the kitchen over the past few months to do the dishes, I have noticed that the dish soap is facing the window (see picture 2). Every time, I look at the bottle in confusion, thinking, “Why is the bottle facing the window? You can’t reach the spout when it is facing the window. That’s so weird.” Obviously, I grab the bottle and turn it so that it is facing the sink (see picture 1). Then, I start washing the dishes.
The next day, I walk back into the kitchen to wash a few dishes, and the dish soap is again facing the window (picture 2). I stare in disbelief, again wondering, “Why would anyone turn the bottle away from the sink?” I turn the hot water on to fill the sink, and I again, rotate the dish soap to face the sink so I can reach it (picture 1).
No kidding, this exact scenario has played out everyday for the past two months…. At first it was amusing because I knew my Chinese roommate was the one moving the soap to face the window. I was like, oh that’s funny that she prefers the dish soap to face the window. But that’s not the case anymore. Now, I’m just confused and slightly annoyed as to why she always moves it. The dish soap has turned into a silent feud between us; neither one of us is willing to be the bigger person and address the issue face-to-face. We won’t ask the other one why they prefer the dish soap in a particular direction. Rather, we just turn the dish soap every time we walk into the kitchen and the other person isn’t looking. One day, the dish soap was turned five different times. Isn’t that outrageous?! (Note: there are no hard feelings between my roommate and I – we aren’t really “feuding” in the normal sense of the word).
Well, this weekend some friends came over to bake Thanksgiving desserts; I was lamenting about how my roommate always turns the dish soap to face the window, and how I just don’t understand why she does that. My friend looks at me and says, “Whitney, your roommate turns the dish soap to face the window because she believes in feng shui. According to feng shui, you cannot have anything pointing at you; therefore, your roommate turns the dish soap spout to face the window so it won’t be pointing at her.”
My jaw dropped. Of course that’s why! The battle of the dish soap was a cultural misunderstanding. My roommate’s cultural beliefs made her desire for the dish soap to face the window; while my practicality wanted the soap to face the sink so I can reach it. How absurd to think that even dish soap brings out our cultural differences!
That being said, I have waved the white flag of surrender. Because the dish soap is related to a cultural issue, I’ve decided to be sensitive to my roommate’s beliefs. Every time I need to use the soap, I turn it to face the sink (picture 1). And when I’m finished with the dishes, I turn the soap around to once again face the window (picture 2) so I don’t upset the rules of feng shui.
So you see, the differences between Picture 1 and Picture 2 ARE significant and quite complex! Who knew dish soap could create such a complicated situation?!
