Cultural Shock...

Ok- it's not exactly cultural shock.  But, there are some fundamental differences over here that I must discuss... I must comment.  So, here we go:     First… the split pant phenomenon. For those of you who don't know, toddlers in China don't always wear diapers or even pull-ups. They wear split pants.  And, split pants are just like you are imagining them.. pants with a big split seam in the crotch.  Yes- there butt hangs out as they stroll along down the street.  I've stopped counting how many baby behinds we have seen in China after only a few days.    ANYWAY- the purpose of the split pants is to allow the little ones to relieve themselves easily and conveniently.   It's the 'convenient' part is a little icky for me.  By convenient… I mean that they relieve themselves WHEREVER they are.  So far, we've seen a little girl pee on The Great Wall of China, a little boy squat to pee at the entrance to the zoo, and another child grunting along the curb.  Lovely eh?  It's not like they step aside to "go" in the grass or even around the corner.  They literally just stop, squat, and pee.  Apparently, it's normal for China .  Personally, it makes me a little weary of wearing sandals…   Since I am already talking about the subject, let's move onto the infamous "squatty potty".  Again- the term pretty much describes the subject matter.  Let's just say that the public restroom facilities in China are much different than our American version.  They don't have our traditional toilet bowls and seats.  Actually, they don't have seats at all.  They have a hole in the ground … with a white plastic foot hold that surrounds the 'hole'. (There is a pic of the squatty potty in one of the earlier posts…)  The idea is that you put your feet on the white thing, squat, and "aim."  Using the squatty potty effectively requires some pretty advanced skills (the details of which I will NOT be discussing on the blog).   Not everyone can 'aim', so the bathrooms smell horrible and the floors are always wet.  Ick!  Again- it makes me think twice about wearing flip-flops!   Many facilities have both the squatty and a western style toilet.  However, most Asian women think that 'sitting' on a public toilet seat is disgusting.. so they will just stand on the seat and assume their normal squatty position if they are forced to use a western style toilet.  Our room in our hotel has a normal bathroom.  I think the squatty is only used in public places (restaurants, airports, etc) rather than in hotels and homes.  And yes, the squatty potty is available to men as well.  Lori M. Baylor