Part of blogging is trying to decide what is blog worthy. One could argue, not much generally but there are just some “moments” that beg to be captured. I had one of those today.
Many Central and South American cities don’t have robust sewer systems. Often times there’s a sign posted near the toilet telling you to put your used toilet paper in the trash bin that is conveniently located nearby. The English translation can be comical yet, suffice it to say, they are always much better than my English to Spanish translations would be. I always appreciate the illustrations. There have been some that really do grab your attention and make it pretty clear what’s expected.
Generally it takes a few days to remember to put your toilet paper in the bin. For a life time, you’ve been dropping the paper in the toilet mindlessly, so having to break that habit means you really have to concentrate when using the toilet. And who wants to do that? Then of course when you return home, you likewise have to engage in some reverse retraining. It all conspires to kinda throw your bathroom routine into a bit of an upheaval coming and going.
Usually there is some conversation about the topic with whomever you happen to be traveling with when you first arrive.
Me: “Oh dang, I keep forgetting about the toilet paper.”
Traveling companion: “Oh me too!”
And then you move on to more important topics….like lunch.
Today though, I have spent considerable time talking with a Canadian couple about this … you know, toilet paper thing. They are here for a family wedding. They haven’t been out of their country much and they certainly have never encountered, you know … the toilet paper thing. Well suffice it to say, the gentleman can’t stop talking about it. The first time he brought it up was when we first met and were talking about the hotel swimming pool. Like a blind tackle from the left, he sidelined the conversation with, “And what the hell is up with the toilet paper thing? They don’t mean that you put your paper in the wastebasket after you’ve used it do they? I AM NOT doing that. No way!”
Over the course of the day I’ve now been asked to explain why this is important at least three times. We are making progress though. With each visitation of the topic his face hasn’t turned quite as red as the first time but he remains steadfast in his refusal to do anything with the paper other than drop it in the toilet. Yet I remain optimistic, a bit more discussion of the topic and another bottle of tequila and he might just embrace the, you know….toilet paper thing. Either that or he isn’t going to poop for the entire time he’s here. That’s a real possibility too.
