After such a long entry yesterday, I thought today could be light hearted and well, shorter.
When we were not in Bugenyuzi (the village) we were in Bujumbura (the big city). We stayed in a place that had me reminiscing about my college years when I spent all summer at church camps. There was a building for eating, a building for sleeping, and a building for bathrooms. Each bedroom had either a few twin size beds or bunk beds, all covered in a fancy princess like canopy that some refer to as a mosquito net. My roommates and I had the pleasure of sharing a table and even a fan. As if that were not enough, each room also had a few resident lizards. Had I not been so shocked and worried about the little guys slipping into my suitcase for the ride home, I would have given them names. Good times.
The dinning hall was fabulous really. There was a kitchen area that I never had to enter. My family thinks the magic food fairy lives at our house, but nope, evidently it lives in Burundi. Who knew? The eating area was outdoors. It had a roof but was not all the way enclosed. Al Fresco every meal! Fantastic! The bathrooms were mostly a nice surprise. The showers were cold but worked. The toilets were functioning and complete. Each shower and toilet had its own stall. What more could one ask for in Africa?! We quickly divvied up rooms and designated which side was the boys bathroom and which was the girls. Not too bad for a home away from home.
Sadly, our accommodations were only temporary. The next morning we left for the village. We stayed about 15 minutes out of Bugenyuzi. The bedrooms were about the same as before, but the bathrooms were slightly different. Our toilet had half of a seat while others had none and you never knew when it would flush. The showers consisted of a bucket of water. I suppose still an upgrade from the village we were about to enter.
Being partially clean and still unsure how to use a toilet without a seat we were able to return to Bujumbura where our luxury nets, showers and toilets awaited us. We were all pretty exhausted and went to sleep rather quickly. Friday morning when I woke up I left my room to go enjoy a full toilet seat. So nice, and it flushed! I left the little stall and walked by the sink where a older man was brushing his teeth. Through the spit and foam I think he looked at me and slurred out, "Good morning".
Keep walking, make no eye contact, "Uhhh, Good Morning".
I walked rather quickly back to my room. "There is a guy in our bathroom!" Donna and Anna looked at me only slightly concerned. Anna said, "well, if he was brushing his teeth, then I bet he is almost done and you can take a shower." Thanks Anna. Maybe taking advice from a teen was a bad idea. I paced my room, which was more like spinning in place, and waited to see the intruder walk out. I told the girls I was going back in. I grabbed my shower items and clothes and boldly took off. As soon as I walked in the door I was face to face with a guy covered only by a skimpy towel. I noticed his eyes were rather large at this point but I did not stay long enough to see the size of anything else. Thanks to my marching band days, I was able to quickly do a perfectly executed about face and get the heck out of dodge!
The whole team was trying to figure out what to do. We came to the conclusion that we would just switch sides with our boys and call it good. But God bless Gary. He was talking to the other team that was staying there and he asked how their stay was going. The guy that was brushing his teeth last I saw him said, "It is great, except I can't get over the coed bathrooms!" In a gentle tender way that only Gary could do, he told them that actually there are two sides to the building and the other side is the boys.
Note to self, add "Girls Bathroom" and "Boys Bathroom" signs to the packing list.
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