I arrived in my new neighborhood, Sector Don Bosco in Mao some time back in October. By that point I had some time under my belt in the country. I was at a healthy place in my relearning of how to do everything; including/ especially basic tasks.
When one enters a new living situation they normally take things slowly. This is the ideal. But when you are super sweaty (being in the Caribbean) and also have the bubble guts you are required to tackle the two perhaps most difficult tasks to do when new in a house. Shower and shit. I was familiar with the normal showering and toilet procedures in the DR. There was one thing I was not prepared for: the chamber pot. Normally homes with a bathroom inside of the house do not require a chamber pot. With latrines or living situations with out a sanitary system, yes. A house where the bathroom is the next room down, no.
I enter the bathroom and begin my S and S. Successfully completing one S I moved on to the other. In the shower area there was a large bucket with the water in it. Normal. Accompanying the large bucket were two smaller ones used to dump the water over your head. One was smaller, metal, and had no handle. The other was larger, pink and plastic, and had a handle. I had all the information I needed. Obviously, the pink bucket was for bathing. I mean it was clearly the best candidate. Decided, I bathed happy that I passed my first bathroom encounter with no issues.
That night as I am preparing to go to bed my host mom comes into my room. She says goodnight and I notice something in her hand. It is the pink bathing bucket. I ask her what she is going to do with it. Simply she tells me its the chamber pot. I smiled, wished her sweet dreams, and entered the bathroom to bath.
