The Great Indoors

I just realized that I spend more time with dead people, than I do with just about anyone else. It is amazing to me that I'll be digging around some poor soul's axillary regions and two hours will pass. I don't even like anatomy that much, but I guess the old adage is true: time flies when you’re having fun (even when fun is being up to your elbows in a cadaver).

Some of you may be thinking that I actually get to enjoy the Caribbean...not true. Since classes started, I spend most of my time enjoying the great indoors: unless you count the bathrooms. See, here in Dominica, there are no bathrooms that have entries from inside. You have to go outside the building, walk around, and then enter in from the outside. I've seen a couple exceptions to the 'walk outside for the bathroom rule,' but in those cases the walls were shorter than the ceiling so you have a stream of light coming in from the outside. Pretty nice, hun? The only exception to both of these rules is my apartment, which has beautiful concrete walls, which are as tall as the ceiling. The only good thing about these Dominican bathrooms is that they are all clean. I do fell a bit like I’m going to the bathroom in a city park and once I saw a mosquito sitting on the toilet paper trying to outsmart me, but that is another story. At any rate, at least the bathrooms have toilet paper, soap and running water.

Speaking of bathrooms, when we were on the island tour I had to find a bathroom. To my dismay, they closed the bathroom near the tourist site we were seeing so I had to go into the little town and use one of these outdoor/indoor bathrooms that belonged to a bar. It was the strangest thing. Obviously with my fair skin, I stand out. As I was trying to find this bathroom, I was met with high-fives, handshakes and "hey, pretty lady you must need the bathroom" cat calls. Finally, I made it to the promised land: the outdoor/indoor bathroom. This one was a standalone building with teal paint. Sometimes at these tourist places, they make you pay $1.00 EC to use the rest room. I'm shocked that I managed to keep my $1.00 EC away from the high-fivers and handshakers (didn't need it for this bathroom). The bathrooms were not LABELED. I saw a gentleman near one entance, so I assumed that I needed to go to the other. Well, another guy came running and calling out to me, "wrong one, lady. The lady's room is the other one." It was nice of him to warn me and I'm sure the nearby locals were laughing at me.

I finally found my correct bathroom. Unlike every other bathroom in Dominica, this one wasn't as clean or well equipped. However, it wasn't the worst bathroom I've ever seen. As I was heading back to the bus, I had the strangest experience. All of the highfivers and handshakers wanted to know what I thought about the bathroom: "How was our bathroom, pretty lady?" What does a girl say to that? All I know is that this was more excitement than I ever wanted out of a trip to find the bathroom. But apparently I wasn't the only one who thought finding this bathroom was too much work: some of the local gentleman made their own bathroom... on the grass. I guess I should stop drinking so much water.

I dare you to find the bathroom here at the Carabantic....good luck and watch out for high-fives. They don't call it the "Nature Island" for nothing!