Skip to the loo my darling...

And now for a short word on Korean loos. One of the most annoying "problems" for foreigners in Korea is the squatter-style toilet which is just wrong in my opinion. On my floor at work there is only one "regular" toilet in the bathroom that teachers have to share with students. I have yet to attempt to use a squatter toilet and don't really plan on it. Luckily, the toilet in my apartment is western-style. The other little gem that has happened to more than one person is the problem of getting sprayed by the toilets which have buttons on the side that are oh so conveniently labelled only in Korean. They are part beday, part seat warmer, the cadillac of public toilets, named "LooLoo" by a very smart company. But dare not test the buttons to see what they do as you will no doubt emerge from the loo with a soaked shirt only to be mocked by your peers who know that alcohol is not the excuse. I have to say that the heated seats are a wonderful addition to my public toilet-going experience.....or at least I thought so until I considered how many more germs linger on the hot bottom-warmers than the cold, wet, north american seats that we are used to. Another amusing thing that I saw was the "etiquette bell" on my DMZ tour. It's either a bell to get paper from the attendant or perhaps something to disguise the sound of you micturating from the girls nextdoor. Oh, how modest the Koreans are. I also laughed when I saw the jar of toothbrushes in the restroom of a soju bar. Koreans are very serious about the hygiene of their teeth and keep toothbrushes in sterilizers at work for a quick brush after lunch. Even my students have toothbrushes in the classroom that they use after lunch. Now if you can explain to me all the rotting teeth that I keep seeing I'd appreciate that. I was also a bit shocked by the fact that I don't have a separate shower in my apartment. Basically the bathroom is a wet room which is fine I guess but if you have to brush your teeth after you shower you are stuck walking on wet tiles or standing in your wet shower shoes. Although, the fact that you can sit on the loo and take a shower is quite great, especially when hungover, over-tired, or just too damn lazy to stand up.