Additional Bathroom Conundrums*

You last read about the hole-in-the-ground toilets and Kwame's distaste with the thought of going #2 in there. (He forgets that girls get to squat no matter what!). Along with the hole-in-the-ground, you can find the traditional tank and bowl version here as well. While that may seem safe and normal, there are several types of flushers. The small button on top, the knob that requires turning on and off, two buttons (a small one for #1 and a bigger one for #2), a funny little knob above the toilet that requires weight training to push, etc. If you are like me and don't like to touch a flusher with your hand, this can cause a problem. It is difficult to get a foot at some of those angles (especially if you are pregnant)! Keeping all of that in mind, here are our two latest toilet stories.

1. When we were eating lunch in Udine, Kwame used the restroom. He came back telling us to be careful of the broken flusher. We asked him what he meant and he said that it was booby trapped. As he was trying to flush the toilet, the flusher fell off and went right into the toilet. He then had to fish it out - unflushed - and try to reattach it to the wall. Maybe this was a time he would have preferred the hole-in-the-wall! Moral of the story: flush lightly or hope that there are adequate hand washing facilities nearby!

2. As I mentioned before, there are many different mechanisms for flushing a toilet. However, the flusher is usually near the toilet. I was in a handicap bathroom on base. After using the toilet, I looked all over for the flusher. It was not on the toilet, not on the wall, and not in the remote vicinity of the toilet. There was a string coming out of a button on the wall. Now, I know what you are thinking: it is the emergency pull for the bathroom. I thought that too but had no idea how to flush the toilet so I thought I would give it a chance. Of course, as soon as I pulled the string a loud buzzer went off. I tried to pull it again to stop it but it didn't help. At that point, I turned around and found the flusher on the other side of the stall! What the heck what it doing over there? So I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and tried to decide if I should run off or wait until someone came to check on the buzzer. At that moment, I noticed a buzzer reset button near the door and hit it. The noise stopped. I snuck out of the bathroom and went into the office across the hall. Kwame asked if there was a loud hand dryer in there. I told him what happened and we both laughed that no one even bothered to check if there was a problem. Moral of the story: don't need help in a public restroom.

*Kwame may kill me when he realizes I wrote about this. . .