여자가 서서 오줌을? (2001년 성균관대 영자 신문 기고문)

 

Ghana – The woman can have a piss with standing?

 

The interested thing was Korean-made vehicles when I arrived at Ghana, a small country in Africa. The taxis with model of Pony, Stella and Capital which are familiar with Korean are waiting for guests at the taxi stop in airport terminal.  Those automobiles were already stopped the production in Korea but popular here in Ghana with good shape.

 

Since Ghana is too poor country, the street at night is so dark and no likely building in spite of center of Accra, a country’s capital. There is only paved express way in country from Accra to Tema, an industrial city where the refinery facility is operating.

 

Many peoples from adjacent cities go to Tema through this express way.  They usually ride on truck to work. In some trucks, the man and animals are in same place or some people sit dangerously at the top of truck. 

 

Near the beginning of express way, the peoples get off the shabby bus and scattered somewhere. The man can have a piss anywhere though the bath room is not available. Then, how can the woman do when she is in hurry. 

 

One day, when I was entering into the expressway with white Leman, a model of Daewoo, I saw a woman among many peoples getting off the bus. She had a pack on her head and stood with her back to the unpaved street just after getting off.  There was no hesitation. She stood with half-rise. one hand to the pack on her head and the other hold the end of her front skirt.

I saw a straight stream of water between her legs.  It was surely her piss. This strange thing astonished me.  The woman can piss with standing? 

 

Startling at the sight, I opened my mouth and forgot to take a photo.  The local driver laughed me more funnily with white teeth as if I was surprised at the matter of course.  He explained me why the woman does like that.

 

Firstly, there is neither a building nor a bathroom and secondly, the woman cannot but piss with standing in spite of open area because there is so many harmful insects in a bush. I understood it with his explanation.

 

It is a fact that the woman in Africa is still topless in the street freely.  I think it would be better to change our stiffen mind. 

The local people do not understand our culture to use the table tools such as spoon and fork for dinner. They think the tools are insanitary because everybody put the used table tools in her mouth. His own hands would be rather sanitary than use the tools.

 

In bathroom, they make it clean with water and hand instead of toilet tissue because the tissue can not make clean a wrinkled skin. Even though the human being is proud of using tools, the real attitude of human being is to live with accommodating himself to the nature.