Archive for the ‘Avis’ Category

Last Friday while I was waiting in Traverse City for my flights to Reno, I ran into Christine, aka TC Fly Girl. We ended up talking about Katy’s experience with the Chinese lavatories in public tourist areas. Christine reminded me of a magazine piece she did previously, re: her experiences with something we take for granted. Here is her article:

I would venture to say that most of us take our American toilet for granted. We can thank the English for this sacred invention; initially with a crude model back in the late 1500s and the more modern flushable version a couple hundred years later. I just want to thank the English publicly for this indispensable invention.

You see, most people in the world lack the convenience of a modern toilet like ours. I remember the day, the exact day, that I first became aware of this fact and personally experienced this cold reality. I was traveling in Africa in the back of a pickup truck when nature yelled at me, “You need a bathroom FAST!”

The truck pulled over and I was immediately escorted to a strange wooden “room” in the back of a very modest restaurant we might in America refer to as a roadside shack. I’m sure the cuisine was exceptional as the “bathroom” was certainly a room with a view — a 4 ft x 4 ft stall with a hole in the back wall right at eye level where you could see the mountains or, conveniently enough, the mountains could see you. The jagged hole in the wood was strange enough, but as I instantly scanned the micro stall, I could find no suitable, let me rephrase that, no freaking place to sit whatsoever. No time to ponder the circumstances however, I needed to grasp the situation quickly and get down to business.

Now, I’m a fairly limber person but the gyrations needed to navigate this toilet were more than demanding. There were two porcelain foot markers, which I brilliantly determined were where my feet should be placed although, inconveniently, they were not marked as to which foot should be placed where. Continuing to be puzzled, I asked myself: Do I stand facing the mountain-view hole or facing the door? Both positions seemed so very wrong, yet each had its logical and compelling reason for being right. One thing was for sure: Squatting was going to be required, very deep squatting.

There was a lovely, although smelly, hole situated between the two foot markers, dug, I presume, for the very purpose I was there for, and somewhat familiar as I have used an outhouse before. Holding my purse firmly in my teeth and clutching my clothing with both hands, I squatted the best I could and as you can imagine (but I beg you not to), I was soon in need of toilet paper. It didn’t take long to realize there was none to be had. Perhaps there was some in my purse as I pride myself in anticipating these sorts of situations. But it might as well have been on the shelf at Wal-Mart as there was no way I could reach it without something touching the floor, and for many wet, fragrant, and regrettable reasons, it would not be prudent to let that happen.

Scanning my surroundings, I noticed a bucket of water in the corner which I guessed was for “flushing,” but do you use the whole bucket or just a little? Or do you pour a small amount on your hand, I wondered. Yeah, like that’s possible in my current contortionist position. If I used the whole bucket, would people who peed there the rest of the day be without? Would I be the subject of African conversation for weeks to come — “the stupid American used the whole damn bucket of water; what was she thinking?” Is it possible that you would dip your hand in the bucket and then….oh gosh no, that couldn’t be right! And why aren’t there instructions written on the wall in several languages? This isn’t like riding a bike, for gosh sakes. Then I see it — a sliver of tissue sticking out of my pants pocket. But how do I reach it? Let’s just say something got wet. Something always seems to end up getting wet, doesn’t it?

This was my virgin experience with a toilet unlike our American toilet. But whether it was a bidet in Europe (what are those prissy things for anyway?!) or a squat toilet in China, I have realized over the years that we are blessed to have indoor plumbing, a toilet that flushes, and the modern facilities we do. I feel like kissing the American toilet every time I return home.