The rules of life are completely different in Egypt. Cross walks and street lights exist, but they are completely ignored. People go two ways on one way streets and motorcycles often drive on the wrong side of the road. Cats are everywhere. Some are pretty cute and really tiny, but I’ve been warned that if you pet them you’ll get more diseases than you can name. And best of all, the Egyptians don’t use toilet paper… and here's where the story begins.
The toilets in my dorm don’t have anything that resemble any flusher I’ve seen before. There are a couple knobs that look like they might do the trick. I’d put pictures to explain, but I feel like starting off my blog with pictures of toilets is a step in the wrong direction (this is supposed to be good for Grandma too... Nana, I know you'd find it funny, but we need to be reasonable). Anyways, I tried to turn one knob (the one in the most accessible position that I assumed would probably flush the toilet), but that one wouldn’t budge. I was afraid that I might break the piping system if I pushed any harder, so I didn’t try to force it. The next knob is basically on the ground and kind of behind the toilet. It looks like a regular sink handle, but it seemed strange to me that a flusher would be in such an inconspicuous position. But, I figured you could reach it while sitting down, so that must be it. Well, I turned it and water just started shooting up at me (at a high pressure!). My shorts got completely soaked and I would say I looked like I had been a little too well hydrated.
At this point, I had to ask how to flush the toilet, but of course, the only other person that speaks English is asleep, and I have no idea how to say "flush" in Arabic, so I approach one of the Egyptians in the dorm and I say the closest thing to asking how to flush… “I don’t know how to use the bathroom.” The guy gets this huge grin on his face and he tells me that the first knob I tried to turn was the correct knob all along. I just had to turn it really hard.
After recounting my story to another guy on my trip, I learned that Egyptians spray themselves with water after going to the bathroom (they just don't usually stand up with their clothes on before turning the switch). Maybe I should bring this idea back to Middlebury... we might reach carbon neutrality even quicker.
