Looking at the Loo

A couple weeks before starting my senior year of high school I checked into a hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to wait out at 24 hour layover from Uganda to New York’s JFK.  It was a nice place, and upon entering the room I immediately checked out the facilities, excited to see that, for the next 24 hours, I would have the luxury of sitting on a porcelain throne instead of squatting into a dirt hole. (There is no way I can describe to you what a relief this knowledge is.)  Unfortunately, my momentary joy was shattered when I turned around to see that, directly across from the toilet (and in full view of my shower) was a window.  And not just a little shaded one either.  It was huge, and in my direct eye line were a cluster of businessmen relaxing in the hotel courtyard before heading off to a meeting.  I, a very awkward and not even close to her blooming years 17 year old, was mortified.  

I immediately flashed back to a moment in my childhood when, while traveling around Europe, I was sitting “on the potty" when I looked up and realized that the ceiling was, in fact, a giant mirror, which gave a very interesting perspective not only on the lady in the stall next to me but also the gentlemen in the bathroom beside us.  I assure you, it isn’t exactly an image you want burned into your five year old’s memory.  

The grand lesson?  Beware of foreign bathrooms.  As Americans we tend to like our privacy in a bathroom.  We not only want stalls but also doors and locks and a few extra barricades in the way.  This is not so much the case for the rest of the world.  

Don’t believe me?  Here’s my proof: (bear in mind that these are just the highlights and in no way are they the only examples that I’ve seen since being in Europe)

This is outside a cathedral in Brugge

And this one was taken while in a parking garage.  Yes, the “wall" is made from glass.  Oh, and it faces the street.  

Lest you think that this “open door policy" is only for the dirty tourist, I give you this last example:

 

This one was taken at the Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco.  They have the money for marbled floors and self cleaning toilets, but apparently DOORS were superfluous. (And yes, i did wait until the guys had cleared out before i snapped the shot.  And no, I did not use a zoom nor was did I enter the men’s room to take this shot.  I’m actually standing out of the room and on the stairs leading to the casino.   

God bless America.