Morjes!

Welcome to my blog. I write about fitting in, sticking out, and missing the motherland as a serial foreigner.

We need to talk about American bathrooms

We need to talk about American bathrooms

There's been a few times here in the US that my kids have balked at going to a public bathroom. That's because many American public bathrooms have the following features:

1. Stall doors in ill-fitting frames that don't shut all the way, or shut in such a way that the lock can't line up properly.

2. Flimsy locks that, even when lined up properly, give you no confidence that someone couldn't come busting through with a moderately powerful push.

3. Stall doors that, even if they close and lock properly, have inches-wide gaps on either side that eliminate privacy.

Of course not all public bathrooms are like this in the US, but so many of them are. It's bizarre! Why the gaps, in particular? Why is it so hard to build bathrooms that give privacy to the user? In Finland, public bathrooms usually have stalls with actual doors on them, sometimes full-length (to the floor) but at least to, say, your ankles. There are handles and physical barrier locking mechanisms that let you use the facility with your dignity intact. No gaps. No flimsy, crotchety stall doors.

At this point, maybe it would make more sense to just have paper bags in the bathroom to cover your head/face with while you go. That way your anonymity would be preserved, if not your privacy.

Summer Land

Summer Land

Books my mom owns that yours doesn't

Books my mom owns that yours doesn't