My MoM tells me that in America we say "bathroom." She says I sound European saying "toilet."

She points it out to me every time I say it. I just have to smile at her because I am not sure when I picked-up this habit and now I don't even notice when I say it. It's become second nature. And frankly, I think it's a lot more reasonable than asking for the WC.

My MoM says that people look at me funny when I ask: where is the toilet? <em>Oh</em>. I had no idea.

She's probably right though. The question that waitresses are used to hearing is: where's the bathroom? So it probably takes a second longer for the other question to register.

But it's funny. In the States, we say bathroom even when we don't intend to take a bath--when in fact, we only intend to use the toilet. Moreover, most places you'd inquire about a bathroom (restaurants, cafes, shops, airports) don't actually have a bathtub or shower for the public so the only thing you can do is use the toilet.

Still, we insist on asking: where's the bathroom?

Luckily I am heading back to Europe now and shortly I'll once again free to call a bathroom a toilet.