A trip on a train is both a lesson in hygiene and a busy parade of railway employees. Every half hour, someone brandishes a rice straw broom under all feet. This is followed by the ballet of the tea ceremony. One employee distributes the cups, another the tea leaves, a third pours boiling water over the leaves. Meanwhile, the constant blare of the loudspeaker serves up the ever-present lessons in hygiene, or the latest agricultural techniques, or patriotic songs, and so forth.