You don’t know what you’re going to miss from home until you’ve left home to go live in some other country. Right now, I’d love nothing more than to go to Target and buy a nice doormat made of that tough bristled stuff for our front door. Those things are wonderful. I’ve spent about two weeks trying to find a doormat that is made of something sturdy enough to handle dirty shoes and that isn’t tacky beyond all reason. When I was packing for China I didn’t think “Better pack a good doormat!” Perhaps I should have. Here’s why we have spent weeks just tracking dirt into the house.








So with these options, what am I supposed to do? After many lost hours on TaoBao, my husband decided to try BaoPals (the TaoBao for foreigners) and he just bought the first doormat that showed up.

Ah, home sweet home!