Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Adventures in Toiletland


Another fun exerpt from one of my Japan emails. This is just "typical" Caitlin traveling ;) Lord knows nothing is ever simple when I travel. Hahaha.....

8/7/06
Alright, actually, the bright lights were the 2nd hardest thing to get adjusted to.....some of you may want to skip reading this next paragraph (there might be a few bad words or mental images you don't want....you've been for warned. Read at your own risk, Grandma and Grandpa, I'm sorry :) ) Ok, with that warning....the hardest thing to adjust to is the toilets. My first encounter was at the airport. I walked into the stall and there it was, my biggest nightmare....the squat toilet. Luckily there was another stall with a western style toilet, but I knew I was in for it when I saw that 1st
toilet. My next encounter was at the hotel in Tokyo. I figured I would be problem free here because it was a hotel catering to Western tourist. Little did I know :) The toilet in my room had more buttons than a (computer) keyboard. It took me 10 mins to look beyond all of the buttons and flush the toilet. Everyday in Tokyo presented me with a "toilet adjustment". First it was the running water. When you sit down water starts to flow. At first I thought it was because I was heavier than most Japanese people and it was automatically flushing....but there wasn't enough water for that to be true. After
doing some "research" I found out that this happens to cover up whatever unpleasant noises might come from your roommate (I NEVER do anything as unpleasant as this! Haha). So after the first day I thought I had it all figured out. But then the next day my eyes were reopened. I stopped in the lobby bathroom, thinking I was safe. As I sat down, I thought "Damn, the person in front of me must have been here for HOURS! They could have read a few novels in that time". The seat was burning hot! After a few grossed out moments I realized the toilet seat was heated and no intestinal distress had taken place. The final test has been at my place of work, the Board of Education.....all I will say is squat toilets. It makes me shutter just to think about it. And I thought Belize was the end of this "uncivilized" way of living :) You've survived all of my bathroom talk....hopefully I didn't make anyone gag. Haha :)

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