The Toilets in China are Different

Maslow's hierarchy of needs is often portrayed in the shape of a pyramid, with the largest and most fundamental levels of needs at the bottom, and the need for self-actualization at the top.  You cannot not reach the higher levels of the pyramid without fulfilling the lower ones first.  The part of the pyramid that I am stressing here is the physiological part; more specifically excretion. 

In America we have public toilets everywhere so you don’t have to stress out or worry about what to do when nature calls.  Every public restroom will have privacy, have toilet paper and have a sink to wash your hands.  I don’t mean to put the American public restroom system on a pedestal; I have experienced my fair share of dirty, stinky and scary public restrooms in America.  But of all of the dirty, stinky, and scary public restrooms I have experienced in America, none have prepared me for public restrooms in China.

In China the idea of a toilet is completely different.  You don’t sit down and relax while you do your duty, you have to squat over a porcelain hole in the floor (the dreaded squatting toilet).  I don’t know about you but I find it very difficult to relax in that squatting position even if I am using facilities that have burning incents, calming tradition Chinese music playing in the background, and beautifully decorated stalls (my hips and knees are just not used to it).  Even becoming comfortable with using a squatter in a nice environment like the one that I just described, is difficult.  I used to have nightmares about using squatting toilets (not really, but I definitely avoided them like the plague) and that didn’t change until I brought myself to the brink of disaster.  Sometimes you eat something that your body just doesn’t agree with and your body will spring into action (out of the blue) and give you the five minute countdown to find a toilet or else……  I could be ten or fifteen (or longer) minutes away from home (my beloved western style toilet) and refuse myself to use a nearby squatting toilet and hike all the way back to my apartment (I would not suggest doing so).  Like I said, my fear of using a squatter took me to the brink of disaster before I finally gave it a try. 

Now even though you may have become comfortable with using squatting toilets doesn’t mean that you have gotten comfortable with public restrooms.  It is very important to remember which public restrooms are nice and which ones look like and smell like a sewage tank.  You don’t want to be forced to use a public restroom that smells like ammonia so bad that it burns your nostrils and makes you eyes water or one that doesn’t have flushing toilets.  Just the environment of a public restroom can give you nightmares that continue to scare you away from ever using squatters.  When learning to become accustomed to squatters, it is wise to purposely go to places that have very well kept restrooms (like at a nice café or restaurant). 

After becoming accustomed to using squatting toilets I have come to understand the reason of their design (I have allowed myself to rise to a higher region of Maslow’s pyramid!).  When you use a squatting toilet, you are not touching anything (except for your shoes on the ground) so it is cleaner.  Can you imagine using western style toilets in an over populated country like China (kind of gross if you ask me)?  Anyway, when you visit China, the sooner you can get over your fear of using a squatting toilet, the sooner you can start enjoying yourself by allowing yourself to rise past the bottom region of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  Just have patience and an open mind and everything will be more enjoyable.