W.C.

Tried a new toilet this morning. I was recently informed that they built a WC behind the mosque next door to us. I trotted/ trekked through the jungle behind Mindy (my 7-yr-old buddy who lives next door on the other side) to try it out.


She hopped in the first "stall" with a torn curtain, so I went round to the next one. Turns out a torn curtain is better than no curtain, which was the fate of stall #2. I stood there, considering for a moment whether or not to go. I decided to risk it. After all, there was a fair amount of jungle foliage near the "doorway," and I was wearing a sarong.



After a few moments Mindy called out, "Kak" [term for older sister], "you finished yet?"

"No, go on ahead of me."

She appeared in the doorway. "Are you done?" she asked again.

"No, go away! I can't poop with you standing there!"

As she stood there observing my squat, I tried not to die a thousand deaths and made sure my sarong had my behind covered. Sarahjoy, let go of your privacy. Let it go, let it go, let it go. Don't let her know you're mortified. Die, mortification, die. Perspective, SJ. Keep it in the balance. This is no big deal to her.

"Do you have water?"


"Yes, now go away so I can poop!!!
I'll be along in a minute. You go on home ahead of me," I tried to reason with a firm voice.

She stepped inside to look in the bak [water storage] and assess my water situation for herself and then stepped back.


After looking at me for another moment, she said, "Kak, I'm gonna go on home first, ok?"

"OK!" Great idea. Who thought of it? :)

I took care of my "reporting" in grateful solitude and trekked the 10 yards/meters or so back home, deciding, I think I prefer less adventure for my morning constitutional. I'd rather walk 3 doors down the other direction and tell eveyone I pass where I'm going and what I'm going to do and then have a secure door to hide my behind behind.

*** By way of a disclaimer, I have used the word "poop" freely here to give you a taste of conversational life here (not saying life tastes like poop--maybe poor word choice?). People talk about it as casually as we might talk about brushing our teeth in the U.S.