(My roommates forced me to write about this experience.. I hope you enjoy it hahah).
Toilets in America are beautiful. They are porcelain thrones of comfort! Sadly as the book Little Princes describes they are the exception rather than the rule. For those of you who have not been to a third world country I will describe to you what a “toilet” is like here. It is a hole with two places to put your feet on either side. They are known as either “squats” or “squat pots” for obvious reasons.
In Bangladesh you don’t want to have to go to the bathroom if you are a lady in town. This is because there are no restrooms for ladies. Men are allowed to go wherever they please and women are supposed to let it “run down their leg” or wait till they get home.
Last week Lauren, Heather, Mrs. Waid, Kerri, and I went to Joypurhat to do some shopping. Joypurhat is about an hour from where we live and is a lot bigger than Hili (the town we live by). We had done all the boring shopping and were just starting to shop for things that Lauren, Heather, and I wanted when I realized something horrible. I had to go to the bathroom. At first I tried to think of happy things like butterflies or puppies but the sense of urgency wouldn’t leave. Plus we were supposed to be there for another several hours. Finally I brought up the fact that I needed a bathroom and Mrs. Waid just looked at me and said, “uh-oh.” We wandered around till we found a man and then we tried to explain to him that I needed a restroom. He turned to the men beside him and they began talking really fast and debating something and then he told us to follow him.
I was right behind him not sure where he was taking me but I hoped that it was somewhere private. The rest of the ladies followed 10-15 feet behind me… obviously they didn’t share my urgency. Finally the man stopped and I kept going and walked right into an open men’s restroom with men going to the bathroom right in front of me! Horrified I handed my bags to someone and saw that on the other side there were enclosed bathrooms (Thank goodness). I tried not to notice the men’s eyes following me and entered into a tiny room and struggled with the lock. As my eye adjusted to the dim room I saw a spider about half the size of my hand just inches from my face. Then I realized that there were dozens more and I just sighed at my predicament. When you got to go you got to go.
When I came out I realized that the bathroom had gotten increasingly more popular. I think the men in there were more embarrassed then I was as I walked as fast as I could out of there trying to avert my eyes. When I got out of the gate I saw Lauren and Heather and they just smirked at me because of my horrified facial expression.
As we walked away from the men’s room I silently thanked God for that dirty little squat of a bathroom.
Toilets in America are beautiful. They are porcelain thrones of comfort! Sadly as the book Little Princes describes they are the exception rather than the rule. For those of you who have not been to a third world country I will describe to you what a “toilet” is like here. It is a hole with two places to put your feet on either side. They are known as either “squats” or “squat pots” for obvious reasons.
In Bangladesh you don’t want to have to go to the bathroom if you are a lady in town. This is because there are no restrooms for ladies. Men are allowed to go wherever they please and women are supposed to let it “run down their leg” or wait till they get home.
Last week Lauren, Heather, Mrs. Waid, Kerri, and I went to Joypurhat to do some shopping. Joypurhat is about an hour from where we live and is a lot bigger than Hili (the town we live by). We had done all the boring shopping and were just starting to shop for things that Lauren, Heather, and I wanted when I realized something horrible. I had to go to the bathroom. At first I tried to think of happy things like butterflies or puppies but the sense of urgency wouldn’t leave. Plus we were supposed to be there for another several hours. Finally I brought up the fact that I needed a bathroom and Mrs. Waid just looked at me and said, “uh-oh.” We wandered around till we found a man and then we tried to explain to him that I needed a restroom. He turned to the men beside him and they began talking really fast and debating something and then he told us to follow him.
I was right behind him not sure where he was taking me but I hoped that it was somewhere private. The rest of the ladies followed 10-15 feet behind me… obviously they didn’t share my urgency. Finally the man stopped and I kept going and walked right into an open men’s restroom with men going to the bathroom right in front of me! Horrified I handed my bags to someone and saw that on the other side there were enclosed bathrooms (Thank goodness). I tried not to notice the men’s eyes following me and entered into a tiny room and struggled with the lock. As my eye adjusted to the dim room I saw a spider about half the size of my hand just inches from my face. Then I realized that there were dozens more and I just sighed at my predicament. When you got to go you got to go.
When I came out I realized that the bathroom had gotten increasingly more popular. I think the men in there were more embarrassed then I was as I walked as fast as I could out of there trying to avert my eyes. When I got out of the gate I saw Lauren and Heather and they just smirked at me because of my horrified facial expression.
As we walked away from the men’s room I silently thanked God for that dirty little squat of a bathroom.
So glad that you didn't fall in...splat...and you did wash your hands. Right?
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