To squat or not
Osan, Korea
I AM DRINKING “jungle juice” in a bar in Osan, Korea with a group of American fighter pilots. I have no idea what this purplish concoction is, served in a large communal bowl with straws for everyone. The military pilots think this is great fun. I think it is a bit bizarre. I am the only woman at the table.
I get up to use the restroom. It is not a ladies’ room, it is one large bathroom for everyone. There is a Korean man standing with his back to me, using the urinal. I am a little shocked. I notice one stall with a door and one stall without a door. I move closer to choose one.
There is one western-style toilet, but it is in the stall with no door. The stall that has a door features a squatter, a hole in the ground with two footprints on either side for positioning.
The privacy of the door appeals to me much more than the squatter repels me. However there is one big problem: I am wearing a jumpsuit. I will have to completely undress in order to use the bathroom.
If I use the squatter with the door, it will be impossible to squat over the hole in the floor without dragging my jumpsuit on the wet floor. If I use the western-style toilet minus the door, everyone in the bathroom will see me naked but for my bra.
I choose the western toilet with no door, holding my breath, praying no man enters the bathroom before I finish.
I have never undressed and dressed again so quickly in my life.
