lunes, 25 de agosto de 2008

Where do I put the toilet paper?

Just got back from a job interview. I had to give a demo lesson. I killed if I may so myself. After doing it for two years in Japan and three years in Vancouver, I could teach English in my sleep. On the way back to my apartment from downtown I had an interesting culinary experience in a local restaurant. Here in Toluca there are a lot of places that have only one set menu for 35 pesos (about 3.50 Canadian) and my curiousity led me to check one out. I love eating here; since most of the items are names in Spanish I´ve never heard of, I never know what I'm going to get. Like Forest Gump´s proverbial box of chocolates.
First the lady brought me a out a plate of rice with bread and this salsa called ¨chile manzano.¨ Then a bowl of meatball soup. Then a bowl of beans and a basket of tortillas. And finally pineapple for dessert. Plates arrived at my table one after another, all with a friendly smile from the waitress. She seemed happier than I was that a ¨norteamericano¨ was actually sitting at her table.
Then things got really interesting. I had filled up on beans and bread and needed a place to relieve myself so I asked the lady where the bathroom was. She pointed to the back of the restaurant. So I politely excused myself and went in and did my business. It was only after I sat down and made use of the paper supplied on the wall did I realize I had nowhere to put it. There I sat in the most vulnerable position possible with a pile of used toilet paper in my hand...
In Mexico they have a real sewage problem. When I was in Leon last week it rained heavily and when I asked my friend why the streets were flooding so badly he told me because the water had no place to go because the drains were all clogged. To prevent this a person generally has to put used paper in a waste basket next to the toilet. Only there was none to be found! Luckily, I found what looked like a mop bucket where I stashed the evidence. I gave the lady a hearty tip knowing full well she deserved double for putting up with an ignorant gringo such as myself. It´s always an adventure using the bathroom here. You really never know what to expect. Even the places where you pay 3 pesos to get in (which is almost everywhere) you´re not guaranteed there´s going to be ¨papel¨ in the stall, nor soap to wash your hands when you´re finished. The things the guidebooks don´t tell you!

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