Friday, February 16, 2018

The Toilet Story

There's been this 'toilet-issue' brewing for the last couple of decade in Germany, and it's amusing where we've arrived.  Most German kids will say that their German school toilet facilities are 'crap' (meaning unclean or marginally kept in sanitary conditions).

So here in Hessen, we've gone to a new trend.

For Americans who spent time in Germany on military tours, and experienced public toilet facilities...we are all familiar with the lady at the entry of a toilet, who keeps it sparkling clean and has a desk/chair set up....where you pay 'something' (20-cents is the usual....some guys/gals are guilty enough to pay 50-cents).

It is debatable about the amount made in one week, but at a typical public event, I would take a guess that the putz-frau clean-up lady would clear 200 Euro (tax-free, at least in my book).

So at the Alfred Wegener Comprehensive School in Kirchhain (Marburg-Biedenkopf), a visit to the school toilet will run you a minimum of 10-cents.  I'm guessing some of the kids throw 20-cents into the plate, just to be nice.

Parents?  Well, they don't like where this is really going.  If this trend would carry on throughout all German schools....they think it would NOT be a positive thing.

You can imagine Huns standing there in front of you at 7 AM....ready for school but he needs 30 cents to cover his toilet activity.  You get into this discussion...why three visits?  Huns remarks that he does the short liquid event at 7:55....then a full four-minute visit at 9:45....then one last liquid event at 11:55.  You start to add this up....it means you need to give little Huns 1.50 Euro per week, and in one normal school year....he'll need near 50 Euro to cover toilet expenses. For a marginal working-class German family....this adds up, especially if you have three kids. 

The sad thing is that if you don't go this way....the toilets stay at a marginal clean status, and Huns starts to whine about the toilet not being clean. 

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