The Bathroom Situation

At some point during one´s tenure in a foreign country, it behooves one to write about how people go to the bathroom.

The toilets here in the city are normal sit-down, flush toilets we have in the States. The one difference concerns toilet paper: Instead of flushing the toilet paper (and adding to the already stressed sanitation network of this country), it is customary to crumple the uses paper into a little ball and toss it into a wastepaper basket located next to the toilet. Because of concerns about clogging the system, this seems to me a sensible idea.

The showers are normal showers, though there is no hot water and not much water pressure. It´s really more of a thin stream of liquid. Still, after a long day in this heat, a cold shower feels quite refreshing.

In rural areas, latrines and bucket showers are increasingly common.