This week's avatar: alternate headings

  Not being able to read Chinese, I would like to know....do I accept the picture and use this bathroom, or do I cross my legs a lot tighter for a while longer??

 The picture actually says "xi shou jian", which simply means washroom. Doesn't help much I'm afraid.

Amonk, what you do before you learn how to read (and if there is no helpful picture or English words, like in the photo  ), is wait until someone either comes out or goes in.  If they have the same plumbing as you, follow them and you should be okay.

Or just peek in  - if the first thing you see are pissoirs, definitely not your place! 

Amonk, what you do before you learn how to read (and if there is no helpful picture or English words, like in the photo  ), is wait until someone either comes out or goes in.  If they have the same plumbing as you, follow them and you should be okay.

Or just peek in  - if the first thing you see are pissoirs, definitely not your place! 

Thanks for the smiles, Ladies

It's either an offer or a display.

May be funny, but I can't tell you the number of times I relied on that method until I learned what the symbol for 'woman' is.  In the backwoods where I started my China experience, there were no fancy pictures or English words.

I decided that this was one issue where being completely illiterate in Chinese wasn't going to cause me any problems.  I'd been in China for less than a week when I went to one of the unused floors of the building before a night class and spent about 20 minutes carefully memorizing the symbols for male and female outside the restrooms.

male  男       female  女

and to show how wordly we are we have also provided special facilities for our scottish friends.

Or T-girls.

It's win a Michael Phelps autograph at the Water Cube day!

  That's what people must have felt during Noah's times...

Jiaozi in a pot.

There is a guy near the front right with what appears to be a mouthful of water.

I would sure be keen to drink that people soup. 

Ok, who peed in the pool.