some interesting observations about toilet paper

So far this blog has basically been a way for me to organize my photos from my adventures in China, but I don't want this to be just a travel blog. After all, I am not just a tourist here. I also want to write about my daily life. Maybe someday I will even write a book. I mean, I don't claim to have such a profound life, but I love to write. I especially love to share my writing and see the response from other people, so a blog seems like the way to go for now. From here on out I am going to try and take a more narrative aproach with my photos, and share all of my interesting stories. Of course, just in case someone who might be interested in visiting these places happens upon my blog, I will also try to include some information and tips about transportation, saving money, etc. Also, just putting this out there, but I can speak Chinese a bit, so I might also share some things about the Chinese language. So, here goes.

This afternoon I was in the bathroom, and I took a look at the toilet paper and felt inspired to write a blog post. I know it sounds weird, but you never know when inspiration will strike. Looking at this toilet paper, I was instantly reminded of a commercial I had seen back in the US before I left for China. It advertised the seemingly revolutionary idea of toilet paper without the cardboard roll in the middle. In the supermarket I often visit, there are actually many different brands that sell toilet paper without the cardboard roll in the middle. It isn't as revolutionary an idea as they thought it was. I can see a few cons to this idea though. If there were never a cardboard roll in the middle, children would not have their pretend toy swords, and hamsters would not know the joy of running through their cardboard tunnels, and, of course, it could all be recycled when the fun is over. Looks like I might be pro-cardboard, but I digress.
On the topic of toilet paper, before I came here, I heard many interesting things about how different using the bathroom is here. At one point I heard that the Chinese don't even use toilet paper. Well, that isn't true. It's just a misunderstanding. It is true that most public restrooms here don't have toilet paper, but there are so many people in this country, can you imagine how expensive it would be for every place to keep a fresh stock of tp? People usually carry tissues with them to use in place of toilet paper. They can be bought in convenient little travel size packages, and some of them come with cute little cartoon characters on them.
Well, that's just about all I have to say on the topic of toilet paper.
Thanks for reading!
~麦安琪