Sunday, April 06, 2008

What's a bidet, anyway?

If you're not American, you might be wondering: Why would she post a photo of a bidet on her blog? If you are an American (like me), you may be asking yourself: Why is she posting a photo of a mini bathroom sink on her blog? Before I lived in Europe, I'd heard the word bidet (pronounced beh-DAY) but didn't exactly know what it was used for. Okay, I had NO idea what it was used for.

Now I do.

Ew.

But in our house, the bidet is not used for its intended purpose. In fact, it's been taken over completely by my three kids, who have come up with...shall we say...unique uses for the bidet.

Tune in tomorrow for the photos...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember being introduced to the bidet many years ago and thought it was quiten odd. But I love what you've done with it. LOL


W.L.Decker

Anonymous said...

When I told my friends that in US there is no bidet in bathrooms they replied "eeww! how can you live without a bidet?", lol!

Katia said...

Hey, Natalie, here I am. And what do I find? A post on THE BIDET. Now, I have to comment. I'm French and Spanish, as you may remember, and even though I grew up with bidets in our bathrooms, frankly, I don't remember ever using it the way it was originally meant to be used. We'd use it to soak clothes that needed quick washing, we used it to wash our feet, sometimes. Definitely to spit when brushing our teeth, like your kids, if someone else was using the sink (five people in a bathroom, or at least three kids brushing teeth at the same time, believe me, the bidet IS useful). In spite of the fact that I never use it for much else, I must admit that I've always been puzzled by the strong reactions of North Americans, when they talk about our bidet. I mean, washing is washing, right? As long as you're clean, does it really matter whether it's done in a bathtub, in a bidet, or standing by a bucket of water, using a large cup to rinse yourself, the way it's done in Asia? One of those inexplicable things that mean that the number of years spent living with and close to Americans will never make an American out of me :)) Not that it matters. Who wants a world where everyone reacts the same way to everything? But it does strike me as funny.

Natalie said...

Glad you liked the photos, Wendy! And those are only the tip of the bidet iceberg!

Kia--the world would be a boring place if we were all the same, wouldn't it? When I lived in Japan, they had toilet seats with a built-in bidet function, and electic seat warmers!

Katia, it is funny what we react to, isnt it? In Japan I always thought it was funny that they wash themselves outside of the tub and then get into the bath to soak. It makes sense, though, if the whole family uses the same tub water!