The Blondes DR Blog

Bathroom Blogging Blonde says Hello.....

First of all, let me clarify that this information is not what I read on the walls of the bathrooms here, but rather some of the observations that I have made while visiting this too tiny space in this country. Sometimes I can have a “potty mouth” but also, not the reason for my “pen name”. I guess this name has been derived from the number of times I am so amazed by what I see and what I learn when visiting this very busy place.

So where do I start. How about the general observation that toilet seats here are a luxury? When the new club La Canita opened, all three stalls in the ladies washroom had seats. As of last night, there are two remaining, and I find it interesting that most of the time upon entering, the seat is up. Okay ladies, we all know what an annoyance that is, how many of you have significant others who do not put the seat down? I suspect the local “mujares”, women, have thigh muscles to envy because squatting over the toilet is a fact of life. My observation is that most of the women here spend more time in the bathroom than they do at the table.

The mirror in La Canita is about 3 feet wide, but does not cover the entire vanity area, which has two sinks, one at each end of the 7 foot area. Boy, who ever named this a vanity area, had been here more than once. Of the 15 to 20 people in the washroom at any given time, only 4 really need to use the toilet, the others are putting on makeup, fixing their hair, toweling off after dancing, or just primping, all activities which require mirror space. There are as well the support groups of women who all need to go to the bathroom together, just because they can.

Things I have learned so far are that if you stand in line for to use the toilet, you are fooling yourself, there is no line, basically, choose a stall, put your hand on top of the door, and that ensures you are next in. The other night I was actually invited to share a stall with a Dominican girl who spoke enough English to tell me that we were both the same and so it was okay for me to come in with her rather than waiting, I politely said that I could wait for her to finish.

Also note, that toilet paper does not go into the toilet to be flushed away, it is put into the garbage beside the toilet. There is a bathroom attendant, she sells cigarettes, matches, Halls single packs – candy here, as well as Clorets, called Chiclets. In the beginning she was very helpful, and ensured that I did not wait too long in line, and that I could always find space at a sink to wash my hands. Now, she just says hi and makes sure I have no bra straps showing or tags popping out of my shirts, as she is comfortable that I have learned, some by trial and error, how to survive this necessary experience.