Five More International Destinations–Heads-Up

The cyber-savvy teen has already read myriads of Google offerings in preparation for his or her Summer international mission. The prospective traveler may have learned cultural information about the specific geographical area of interest, such as food, language and medical services provided abroad, but how about details on just what bathroom facilities will be available? Having considered The Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and East Africa last week, I’m sharing five more international destinations—heads-up for rookies below:

1. West Africa—Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, I stayed in a home that had been built in the colonial era. Here, I saw what I’d only read about in books—a water closet (WC).

The sit-down part looked like the familiar porcelain fixture. When needing to flush, however, I couldn’t find the little lever. Alas, overhead hung the toilet tank, a metal chain dangled to one side. Pulling the chain released a blast of water and a loud flush.

Note travelers outside the United States: Restroom facilities in most countries of the world use WC to indicate the location of restroom facilities. This is especially important to know if you’re in a hurry to locate the nearest water closet.)

One hotel stay in Burkina Faso’s capital city offered running water for the shower, as long as we let the front desk know to turn on the water.

Unfortunately, as soon as I’d completely covered my body with soap suds, the stream of water ended. My colleague had been first to use the shower, so she sprinted down the flight of stairs to ask for the water to be turned on again. I learned to take really fast showers during that assignment.

The West African countryside offered the same hole-in-the-ground, squatty-potty facilities in every village setting. Sometimes the bamboo wall stretched around a two-section enclosure: the squatty-potty hole on one side and the shower space on the other.

If in the single-section facility, the person showering hugged the wall, avoiding the hole. The divided cubicle had a smaller shower space but, of course, had other plus factors.

To shower, one flipped a towel and clean clothing over the bamboo mats that formed the walls of the cubicle. A bucket of water sat in the middle of the cubicle—sometimes atop mud bricks. One splashed water to wet the body, soaped up and then splashed to rinse. For rookies, using a plastic cup, instead of just bare hands, served to stretch the water enough to remove the soap sufficiently.

2. West Africa–Guinea

For nine years I used dip showers. We did modernize our cubicle a bit. We strung a line across the space, flipping the towel over within easy reach. A chair next to the basin held our clean clothing. (The picture is our first jungle shower room.)

The Republic of Guinea, West Africa, has been my home for almost a quarter-century. In addition to the above countryside experiences, I’ve stayed in many hotels that had no running water. A small bucket is available to both flush the toilet and shower. Sometimes, we’ve had to choose which we thought most important for our overnight stay since only one bucket of water had been provided.

3. Asia–Thailand

There are hotels in Thailand offering western-style restroom facilities. Check to be sure that the sink has pipes that join the sink to a plumbing system before beginning to brush your teeth, though. My friends discovered that the sink in their room was only for decoration.

 4. Asia–India

The homes in some towns in India have running cold water. The flush of the toilet works in the familiar American way. Showering is accomplished using a bucket of water if one accepts the kind offer for the cook to heat up a little wash water. I preferred just to use the icy-cold water spewing forth from a short pipe that jutted out of the wall about two feet from the floor. Lots of bending exercise but very refreshing in that hot and humid climate.

 5. The Middle East

Many bathrooms in Israel are similar to those found in America, with one notable exception. The floor slanted slightly towards a drain near the center of the small room. A squeegee rests against the counter or wall so that one can guide the shower water to the drain once the task is finished–no shower curtain.

Bonus: Europe

Cement squatty-potties with a pull-chain flush serve the rest stops along highways crossing France.

The American-style restrooms can be found in most hotels and homes in the countries of England, Holland, Germany, Belgium, France and Switzerland. I’ve heard that Italy has squatty-potties in some touristy areas of the main cities, but I’ve not been to Italy to see for myself.

The biggest challenge related to European bathroom facilities has been due to my blindness. The variety of places the manufacturer can set the flush produced some frustrating moments. There are few who have chosen the location so familiar in America. Here are several options, in case you are a blind person planning a European visit this summer:

• Push the round dot in the middle of the lid. (If you feel the circular dot split, choose to push the right half if you need only a little flush and the left half if you need a stronger action with more water.)
• Pull up on the knob in the middle of the top of the tank
• Push down on the slightly recessed rectangle on the right side of the lid.
• Pull back on the lever on the left side of the tank under the lid.
• Push down on the lever sticking out of the left side of the tank under the lid.
• Snake the tip of your foot along the baseboard behind the toilet, until you locate an elevation on the left or right side. Push down on the raised metal circle.
• If you just can’t find a single indentation, lever, or dot/circle anywhere on or around the tank, place the back of your hand on the wall above the tank. You’ll find a rectangle on the wall. Push that in, and enjoy the flushing sound.

I hope the examples of these five more international destinations–heads-up for rookies give you some ideas of what to search for when planning that summer adventure. Be flexible and you’ll enjoy experiencing the features of another culture.

As the Apostle Paul wrote in I. Thessalonians chapter 5, “Rejoice evermore…in everything give thanks.” You’ll have a lot more fun if you follow Paul’s admonition.

Do you have any tales of past foreign travel you’d like to share? Are you gearing up for a short-term mission trip this summer? I’m always interested in hearing the stories of others.