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MercTech -> RE: I want to complain about men (6/9/2017 3:35:43 PM)
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A thought on bathing customs brought on by Greta's comments:
Bathing customs vary by region and often you are clueless when you run into customs in a different culture.
My own baseline is the U.S.... Bathing is getting into a tub of hot water and scrubbing away or getting into a shower with copious amounts of hot water cascading down while you scrub.
In Japan, you may be expected to sit on a stool with a bucket of hot water and soap to scrub then rinse off before going in the soaking tub. A huge social gaff to put soap in the soak tub. And, the soak tub is a family event. If renting an apartment; pay close attention if the advertisement says it has a western bath or traditional bath. And there needs to be a class on how to handle public toilets.. I'm thinking of the ones where the stall contains a slit trench with continuously flowing water and a coin dispenser for toilet paper.
In the middle east, there is the Hamam (Turkish Bath type). You scoop water out of the fountain of heated water and clean yourself with the water in your own basin you brought with you and some pumice sand. Then you can go relax in the steam room, pay for a massage, or just sit with friends and talk.
The rural bathing customs in other cultures often remind me of a relative I visited in the 60s that was very 19th century off the grid. Daily bathing was done with a basin and water from a tea kettle. On Saturday, the wash pot was fired up and the tub filled from the well. A full bath to smell sweet for church on Sunday.
One mustn't confused the more and customs of your own little tribe with universal standards.
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