Kultur Blog 5

Throughout my six years of Grammar School I followed one rule without failing. Never, EVER use a school restroom, and use public restrooms only in a complete and dire emergency. In Junior High I relaxed my school rule to never sitting down in a school restroom and would grudgingly take care of my business only while standing [easier for men than for women-- interpret as you will]. Why I was so insistent on this is hard to say... part of it was definitely a hygiene thing. I am constantly nervous about getting sick. It's not just a singer thing either, although that definitely increases the nerves, but it's more about just living a healthy germ-free lifestyle.

So, although I can imagine that those who frequently urinate might disagree, I would have no problem paying somebody 50 cents, or heck even a dollar, to ensure the bathrooms I use away from home are clean. So, although it's not the most frugal decision i've ever made, I support the idea of a Kolfrau. Two summers ago, when I was on vacation in San Francisco, I had the chance to use a self cleaning bathroom [which are much more ubiquitous in Europe than in the US], which was a bit of a let-down. For one thing, the bathroom was not self cleaning, only the toilet cleaned itself and as we all know, often the toilet in public restrooms is not the dirtiest thing. Second, it was rather expensive if I remember correctly. I think it was like 3 bucks.

Check out this nifty video to watch the self cleaning process:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us5MMi_rguA

A second thought

I think that the openness ofthe sex shops in Germany might be directly related to their more open lifestyle. I still remember the first time I was ever on a nude beach in Israel. I was in disbelief and was horrified about how naked people were. But, for Europeans it is a much more acceptable and normal thing to be naked in public. People seem to be much more comfortable with the body and sexuality in general and much less concerned with the conservative nature of bodily covering we're so used to in the USA. I wonder how this got started. Could it be an outgrowth of the Protestant values America was founded upon? Could it be related to how Europeans are generally in better shape than Americans and so are more comfortable showing off their body? Could it be just the more relaxed lifestyle?

Oh well! Bis Morgen!