Happy Thanksgiving All!
On this annual feast for gratitude, we find ourselves celebrating with a fine meal of conger eel. It sounds horrifying but it is a delicious, local white fish here in Chile. Yum!
In our first month of travel in Costa Rica and Chile, we have often been reminded of how truly wonderful American plumbing is. If you are too delicate to partake of my toileting ramblings, stop reading now and have a great day giving thanks for your good fortune!
OK if you are still with me I will be ranting about only 3 of the foreign toilet issues only of these 2 countries.
FIRST: toilet paper needs to go in the toilet!
Part of our orientation into our homestay in Costa Rica was a graphic entreaty to not put toilet paper into the toilet and the perils of trying to fish it out later. Sincere promises were made to be careful. But of course, at some point you forget and drop the offending paper into the toilet. OH NO! You stare into the toilet in horror. Your guilt is huge. But then figure, well just one little bit won´t hurt too much... But, strangely enough you forget the very next time. OH CRAP! As you leap up to stare again! Then you find yourself reaching forth to try to catch the offending bit by a dry corner. PLEASE! I long for my toilets of home.
SECOND: (and I will make this short) padded toilet seats are sick and wrong.
THIRD: The issue of PAYING to PEE.
I don´t appreciate paying. This is arrogant, but it seems like a basic right. But let´s accept the concept of paying. At that point, shouldn´t there be a minimum expectation of paper, cleanliness, and soap to wash up? Recently, we were charged 150 pesos at which point a dirty old man (literally, he wasn´t a perv) handed out 30 sheets of toilet paper. THANKS. Upon entering the tiniest, filthiest little compartment, I was greeted with no toilet seat. Nice. OK, so you hover. Once business is complete, not wanting to touch anything, I use my foot to flush at which point the door to the compartment busts open violently, revealing to a staring public my judo move on the toilet handle. Oops. And to top it off, instead of going down, gravity fails me and the water starts rising. OH NO, RUN LIKE THE WIND!
So this year I am giving thanks in absentia for the art and science of plumbing in the United States. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Too funny! One of my favorites was when we were in Thailand and we were eating at this little shack of a restaurant. Instead of a toilet, they just had a hole in the ground. Ok, that's not so unusual for that country, but the hilarious part was that the door to the bathroom was one of those saloon doors - you know, the kind that starts about two feet off the ground. So it really didn't give ANY privacy in the area that was important!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that almost one month of your trip is over already! Sounds like you're having a great time (minus the toilet issues!) Keep the blogs coming!
Joan
Daina,
ReplyDeleteCheryl, Niki, and I are laughing hysterically and rolling on the floor. We can just hear and see you on this one. You are too much. We miss you lots.....there have been too many days with no lunch or late lunch because no one had time to go get it and you weren't here!!!!! It sounds like you guys are having a blast. Take care....I have to go now, I need to use the nice clean toilet and then wash my hands with the hot soapy water and dry them with the paper towels....oh yea, that's AFTER I throw the toilet paper into the toilet!!!! Love you.....The Girls @ Savage
Ah. The filthy toilet dump trick. Hovering. I've been in toilets where I was afraid my shoes would be permanently contaminated or the soles eaten off. The human immune system is truly a miracle.
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