You cannot make this stuff up. I am sitting on the deck of the resort we are at looking at a watering hole where zebra, elelphant, warthogs, water buffalo, wildebeasts, a hippo, giraffe and now ostrich have all come up to drink. We barely need to get in the vehicles to have an experience but we did manage to come across some lions this morning and one was feeding on a water buffalo. Amazing. Beyond my wildest dreams that I would ever actually do this and yet here I am.
It was a little shocking to transition into the vacation portion of this trip but now that we are here we are all enjoying it. The first week was amazing in such a different way. It was a time of giving and experiencing the poverty of living in a 3rd world country. It was wonderful but emotionally draining. It is a relief to have time to process it and relax before returning home. I won't share all the details of what we have done since I am sure you are all reading the trip blog. Instead I will share with you how much I love the toilets back home at the gas station.
Oh how I love public restrooms in American let me count the ways:
I love the plumbing and sewer systems that go to each of them
I love the fact that there is a toilet seat on top of the toilets
I love that there are actually toilets
I love the air fresher that sprays into the room periodically
I love the toilet paper that is reliably in every stall
I love the fact that they flush every time.
I love that they flush repeatedly without a long period of refilling the tank.
I love that restroom I used last spring that had cracked tile and needed to be cleaned.
I love that restroom I used years ago that only had a curtain for a door.
I love that there is running water in the sinks and always soap and a towel to dry my hands with.
There are no pit toilets.
I never have to squat over a hole.
I never have to hold my breath or breath into my sleeve.
I never emerge from a stall with my eyes watering, coughing and gagging.
I actualy found myself excited yesterday when we had flushable pit toilets. A flushable hole in the ground. But then reality came when it didn't actually work. but there was toilet paper! My standards are changing.
Wow, I feel (just a little) guilty that I'm sitting here in my perfectly climate controlled home, eating an apple I just cleaned with sparkling clear water from a reliable faucet, and symmetrically cut slices with my apple slicer. What we take for granted, huh? :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, what a life changing trip. I'm so glad you were all able to experience this and be able to get outside of the suburban bubble that we are all in. I can't wait to see pictures and hear the stories. I can't wait to see you! I'm sure you just LOOK different after such an amazing trip!