Re: asking for the bathroom

Having grown up in the US, I've always hated squat toilets, although in Taiwan they
are at least porcelain, flush, and generally quite clean. As a man, through the
judicious use of the sit-commode before leaving the house I can generally avoid
actually having to squat over the squat toilets. My recent female traveling
companion wasn't so lucky, but she got used to it. She did have to figure out
which way to face (as a child I learned the hard way that boys really ought to
pee facing the little hood) and how to balance on her heals without dropping
things into it. She did lose a pair of sunglasses.

I have always complained bitterly about squat toilets to my mother, whose
response has always been, "But they're more sanitary. You don't have to touch
the toilet seat," which makes perfect sense if you think about it, particularly
in China where the smell alone could give you a bladder infection.

This is all way OT, so back to your regularly scheduled programming...

-Weiben

On Fri, 01 June 2001, Adam Walker wrote:

>
> We still have squattie potties here in Taiwan.  They're flush squatties, but
> they're squatties.  Mind you, private residences have Western-style toilets
> but most older public places have squatties.  And toilet paper is NOT
> provided.  Cary your own!
>
> Adam
>
>
> >From: Weiben Wang <wwang@...>
> >Reply-To: Constructed Languages List <CONLANG@...>
> >To: CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU
> >Subject: Re: asking for the bathroom
> >Date: Fri, 1 Jun 2001 14:25:59 -0700
> >
> >And I still have vivid memories from age seven in 1973 of using the (squat)
> >privies on a commune in China that emptied into a giant vat where the
> >nightsoil was supposed to compost for some time.  That and the chamber pot.
> >  <Shudder>
> >
> >-Weiben
> >
> >On Fri, 01 June 2001, "H. S. Teoh" wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > On Fri, Jun 01, 2001 at 03:07:26PM -0400, Douglas Koller, Latin & French
> >wrote:
> > > [snip]
> > > > When I lived in mainland China (albeit twelve years ago), "nightsoil"
> > > > carts were a common sight, carrying waste from downtown into the
> > > > surrounding countryside where the crudit?s were grown. This is also
> > > > why most mainlanders recoil in horror at the mere soup?on of a hint
> > > > of a suggestion of eating vegetables raw (you can claim you've washed
> > > > them thoroughly until the cows come home). "Salad, anyone?"
> > > > "Waaaaaaaa~~~~!" "Okay, okay. Come in off the ledge."
> > > [snip]
> > >
> > > LOL!! Although I've grown up in a family that, not surprisingly,
> > > emphasized that all vegetables must be cooked, I've never really known
> >why
> > > (beyond the usual hygienic reasons) this was so. Now I know :-P
> > >
> > >
> > > T
> > >
> > > --
> > > The day Microsoft makes something that doesn't suck is probably the day
> >they
> > > start making vacuum cleaners... -- Slashdotter
>
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