Americans grow up knowing that brushing teeth is a natural part of life. However we have a tendency to do so in the bathroom where no one can watch us. Call it the private side of Western civilization. It is just the way we do things.
In Korea, brushing one's teeth is a social experience and not to be done alone. My students are a prime example of how to accomplish this. Brushing in the classroom, holding hands or linking arms as a pair brushes their teeth down the hall, a group gathered outside the bathroom brushing as their eyes talk to each other. They definitely get their two minutes worth of brushing in, if not five.
The teachers are very similar, though they tend to stay in the bathroom instead of wondering all over the school building. I tend to keep my toothbrush at home. I prefer it out of site. I'm American. I live on campus and can easily access it since my apartment is beside the cafe.
Walked into the school this morning and found a toothbrush case with a toothbrush and toothpaste sitting on my desk. Evidently my absence at the teacher teeth brushing function was missed. However it does make life easier to not have to go to my apartment. Gave it a try to see how it compared (by myself when no one else was around). The toothbrush is a lot softer than our American toothbrushes. The paste is the same to me, and not the horrible stuff that I have heard foreigners complain about.
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