周六(8/2)1.廁所文化2.中國情人節

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廁所文化

Restroom Culture In China, Korea, and Japan  (fsb.miamioh.edu)

Japan, the richest of the three countries also had some of the nicest toilets I have ever seen in my entire life.  In our hotel, The Regal Royal Hotel, there were toilets that had heated seats with other special features such as, a toilet flushing noise, and a touch spray.  Along with these fancy toilets, the restrooms also had 100-volt hand drying machines that sucked the water off your hands.  I felt like even my rings were going to get sucked off my hands, because they were so powerful.  Although not all bathrooms we used in Japan were as nice as the ones we used in the Regal Royal Hotel, the overall cleanliness and sanitary impression I experienced was the best in Japan.

             The bathrooms in China were quite an experience.  The concept of squatting to go to the bathroom made me a little hesitant to use the public bathrooms at first, but eventually it was necessary for me to learn to use them.  Not only was squatting unpleasant, but the bathrooms themselves were extremely unsanitary, and very rarely had any toilet paper.  In some cases, there were not even doors on the stalls.  Many bathrooms also did not have soap to wash your hands, and a few did not even have functioning sinks.  Overall, the bathrooms in China were the most disgusting and least sanitary bathrooms that I have ever experienced.

             In Korea, the bathrooms did begin to improve.  While “squatters” were still the most frequently offered type of toilets, the bathrooms were much more clean and sanitary.  Oftentimes, public bathrooms offered a limited number of “western style” toilets.  Unlike the public bathrooms in China, they were typically air-conditioned, each stall always had a door, and there was always soap and a sink provided.  Overall, the standard of cleanliness improved tenfold in comparison to Chinese bathrooms.  While not all bathrooms provided toilet paper, most did, and were much more sanitary.

Questions:

What do you think the restroom culture in China, Korea, and Japan?

Talking about your impression on china, Korea, and japan?

What do you think the public restrooms in Taiwan?

What do you think the bathrooms in china?

What are the world's best cities to live in?

In your opinion, what are the worst countries not to visit?

What do you think of Korean culture and people?

What do you think about Japanese culture and people?

Which country impressed you the most? Why?

中國情人節
Valentine’s Day  By meiguotaiwanren

     

Taiwan celebrates the idea of love three times a year by including the Valentine’s Day of February 14th and the Japanese White Day in addition to the traditional seventh day of the seventh month when singletons go to temples to burn incense and pray to meet a lovely significant other.   On the February 14th Valentine’s Day, Taipei 101 lights up a heart and malls everywhere are dotted with sales for your sweetie (Really, the US should be so inclusive– we could have tried stimulating the economy with Lunar New Year withdrawals to give each other money in red envelopes).  Taiwan has also adopted White Day from Japan.

The traditional 7-7 day is the once-a-year meeting of the weaving maid and the cowherd across a bridge of magpies.  It always rains on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, since the couple are said to be crying at their reunion.  This past summer I got to visit a temple to observe the dances and sniff the incense celebrating 7-7 day.

In spite of all these modern celebrations of love, traditional Chinese love stories as far as my limited knowledge allows are rather grim.  My aunt and I spent a good chunk of the summer watching old period movies from Hong Kong that my mom and her sisters watched long ago.  The love stories all end unhappily.   An emperor falls for a mistress-spy from one of his conquered kingdoms, who costs him the empire.  A fairy falls for a human and ends up forced to return to heaven alone.  The one happy story was based on a real-life artist-poet who infiltrated a household so he could woo one of the daughters and make her his wife (in real life she was his ninth wife.)  My aunt said the abundance of  sad stories is because people there love to cry at a good tragedy.

So people in Taiwan have three days to either feel bitter, depressed, and lonely, or nervous, warm and fuzzy.

Whether you’re in a cosy couple or single and free, I hope you had a lovely Valentine’s Day with chocolate on top.

Questions:

What do you think about Chinese Valentine’s Day?

What do you think about Taiwan celebrates the idea of love three times?

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day? How to celebrate it?

What do you the Taiwanese traditional festivals?

What do you think the idea that people visit a temple to seek the future partner?

What are the ways to find the right partner or spouse?

Why do we celebrate Valentine’s Day?

What are the reasons we should celebrate Valentine’s Day?

What do you think the idea valentine’s day with chocolate?

How to give unique Valentine’s Day gifts?