The Bathroom Mystery

Have I mentioned the bathrooms here are freezing cold? No. Really freezing. The building design here is interesting. Efficient, but interesting nonetheless. Imagine a building. Each floor is rented out to one, maybe two, maybe three different tenants. Instead of each tenant providing bathroom facilities, there is a common facility in the hallway. Except that facility is not heated. In fact, the windows are always open. And it is winter here. Hence, very, very, very cold. This is a common design in almost all public buildings I’ve been in, including my own dear Kate School.

Most buildings have traditional toilet facilities, urinals for both men and women. The women’s are just horizontal. I’m a camper, it’s not a problem. However, Kate School, in its quest to be a true American campus, has installed “western” toilets. Did I mention it’s winter here? Porcelain is quite the conductor of cold.

Everyday when Chanta and I go to the bathroom in between classes, we notice the bathroom is not only cold, but it is wet. Everywhere. The floor, the toilets, the walls. Cold and wet – not a good combination. We attribute it to an overzealous cleaning lady. But we never understood why she would clean the bathrooms so many times a day.

Well, today we solved the mystery. In between classes, we rushed to the bathroom, almost breaking our necks on the slick floor. And there was one of our dear elementary students (the same student who voiced, “Good orangatang”), spraying the bathroom with a hose that had been coiled up under the sink. As soon as she saw us she turned the hose off, grinning sheepishly. “Water is fun.” Neither Chanta nor I are yellers. But we came close today. We’ve endured two months of freezing cold, wet facilities, all for the folly of a student. Yun-Soo, we don’t *ever* want to see you use that hose again. Do you understand? “Yes, teacher. Hee hee hee hee hee.”