Culture shock: how do I use it?

Friends, family, and colleagues, 

These posts titled "Culture shock" will include items that are starkly different from something we would see in the US. While I'm not necessarily shocked by them, I notice that they are very unusual compared to what we would normally see in everyday America. I hope you find these amusing and entertaining.

A few nights ago, Dr. Paret went to ask the front desk for an iron, and with a couple hand gestures, we both realized we are terrible at the game "charades":. I whipped out my mandarin phrasebook and pointed to the word for "iron". 10 minutes later, one of the attendants arrives with this item.

He stared at it for a second and asked "how do I use it?" She calmly demonstrated how you iron a shirt with it. Once he knew, it made a bit more sense. Neither he nor I had ever seen an iron like this one. Water goes in the bottom unit where it is heated and soon steam begins pouring out of the hose.

In the US, we are used to a hand iron with an ironing board (which I personally cannot stand). I might have to invest in one of these to make my ironing chore a bit more bearable.

Mason