El Bano

"El bano means the bano." (Anyone, anyone? No? Okay...)


Seriously, the bathroom warrants its own post. First of all, this is one of those countries where you don’t flush toilet paper. I’ve been in places like that multiple times over the years (Mexico and Indonesia were both anti-TP-flushing), but I never can seem to get used to it. You put the used TP in the trash can beside the toilet. Hopefully, the old system won’t completely deconstruct if I forget once or twice.

The real reason the bathroom warrants a post is that there is only one in the house, and the whole family shares it. That’s one sink, one shower, and one toilet (without a seat so the guys don’t have to worry about putting it down) for 6 people. The little house has three stories, and the bathroom is on the ground floor. My room is on the second floor.

I spent my first morning here sitting in my room at full attention straining to see if I could decipher whether the sound I could hear was the kitchen sink or the bathroom sink. (I should also note that the kitchen sink is more like a big cauldron under the stairs. Not a good back-up option for brushing teeth.) Anyway, I tried as hard as I could to try to tell whether the bathroom was being used. Finally, I decided I was going to have to go down and see for myself. Not knowing protocol, I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I get fully dressed first and then go down? Is it OK to leave my room in PJ’s just to use the bathroom? Who’s down there? If it’s occupied, do I wait, or do I return to my room? These may sound silly to you, but in a new house, with a new family, being unsure how to communicate clearly and not wanting to offend nor rush anyone, these are concerns!

I’ll spare you the details of my first few mornings, but suffice it to says that I think I have now found a good system. I shower at night. Then in the morning, I get up about 4 a.m. and use the restroom so that I won’t have to use it again until right before breakfast at 7. At 6:50, I go brush my teeth and put on my contacts and then head straight to the table. The goal is to be respectful and to avoid the line and the multiple trips up and down the stairs. I think I have it figured out.

Oh, and I should probably mention that I have decided to start brushing my teeth with sink water. That was a big decision. A girl can only go so long brushing teeth with a water bottle. I’m hoping I have given my body enough of a slow introduction to the water here in the past 10 days so that it won’t freak out about a little sink water.