Something funny

I find this a comical aspect of what has become my everyday life, perhaps you will too...

My family only has one bathroom.  Entering the situation, this is something that I expected and was prepared for.   What I wasn’t expecting was that it would be in the kitchen situated right between the kitchen sink and wood stove, with nothing but a dinky door separating myself and my bowel movements from what’s going on in the kitchen.   In fact the other day I got was talking to my Gerardo and got up to go to the bathroom… instead of waiting for me to finish, we simply continued the conversation it was pretty funny.

What’s more is that as in the states, the kitchen is the center of family activity, it’s where they hang out, eat, and watch TV.  My diet consists mostly of rice and beans, as such there is not much I can do to be subtle.  The bathroom always kind of smells bad so that is not an issue I worry about.  It’s just that the door does little if anything to prevent unwanted sounds from traveling to the unsuspecting ears of my gracious host family. 

    I also live on the same piece of property as my host parent’s kids and grandkids so more often than not there are a lot of people around.  While on the subject I embarrassingly clogged the toilet and had to ask my padre for a plunger which they didn’t have.  So he taught me a good trick that I am sure some of you may put to good use.  All you have to do is fill a bucket with water and pour it in the toilet, it took care of the clog no problem.  When you think about it pouring water directly from a bucket creates a lot more power than your average flush.  Another thing is that septic systems don’t work like they do in the states so instead of flushing the toilet paper you simply put it in a trashcan right by the toilet.  Surprisingly it doesn’t smell bad.  In the grand scheme of things I try to keep in mind that since I am in Costa Rica I actually have electricity a TV and potable running water, even a microwave.  Which is a lot more than a lot of Peace Corps Volunteers can say.  I am glad to say that I have yet to wipe my ass with a leaf, though I am sure it will happen eventually.

Both of these photos were taken in my town