Culture Shock in Public Bathrooms – Oaxaca, Mexico

Oaxaca is a paradise in many ways…beautiful valleys, delicious food, exciting trails, ancient Zapotec ruins, colorful traditions and warm and friendly people…but in the end you will have to go to the bathroom!

Now if you are in places that cater to international tourism there is no culture shock involved when you 1 and 2. You go to the bathroom just like you would anywhere else in the US the only difference is the little figures that usually are used to distinguish between the men’s room and the ladies’ room are a traditional hat and dress (not always in that order). However, if you are in Oaxaca, chances are you are looking to experience the real Mexico. If not, would you go to a place like Cancun or Acapulco where everyone speaks English and you can pay in dollars. But if you’re going to be here in Oaxaca, you have to accept the “obstacles“, (obstacles), here. Let me tell you a little story:

A few years ago I was sitting at the ADO bus station in Oaxaca on my way to the Mexico City airport where I needed to catch a flight to Miami to visit my dad. (Flying out of Mexico City instead of out of Oaxaca is a good idea if you’re on a budget and want to save money.) Anyway… I was sitting in the terminal eating a Twix bar, when I saw a tall, skinny woman with blonde hair run past me towards the toilets, obviously in a hurry to get there. Completely dismissing the woman who was sitting behind a desk across from the restrooms, she hurried to the ladies’ room. Taken by surprise, the short, chubby, dark-skinned woman behind the desk stood up and yelled at the foreigner, “Miss! Miss! MRSOOORRRIIITTTAAA!”

Half frightened, the blond-haired woman poked her head in the bathroom door, but before she could say anything, the attendant said firmly, “5 pesos please!” Coming completely out of the bathroom now, the foreign woman approached the desk where the attendant sat and pointed to a sign over her right shoulder that read, in English, “YOU MUST PAY 5 PESOS TO USE THESE FACILITIES.” Upon reading that sign, obviously not seen due to the urgency of the situation, the foreigner got angry, said something uncomplimentary to the restroom attendant, and returned to her seat in the terminal. I watched her as she flung herself into her chair and began to mutter, tight-lipped, to a gentleman next to her who could have been hers hers brother because he looked like the version of hers. masculine of her

I sat there watching the show because I had forgotten to bring a book or buy a magazine and I was terribly bored. After about 20 grueling minutes in which I could watch the foreign woman’s face get redder and redder, she reluctantly stood up and headed for the bathroom. Arriving at the assistant’s desk where the assistant, obviously aware of the situation the foreign woman was in, cracked a triumphant half-smile as she tossed the 5 pesos on the desk and walked into the bathroom without even receiving the toilet paper she had received. the assistant gives you. outside at the door

I just shook my head and acknowledged the difficulties that many foreigners encounter when they come and participate in Mexican culture for a while. I know it’s not always easy, but you CANNOT come here and be inflexible in situations like this. Patience, understanding and then more patience is needed if you want to enjoy Oaxaca or Mexico in general. You have to accept these cultural differences if you want to enjoy the culture and believe me, the pros outweigh the cons 100 to 1. Now let me tell you about other “inconsistencies” when you go to the bathroom in Oaxaca just to save yourself. trauma:

Aside from the fact that you might have to pay 2-5 pesos to get into a “public” bathroom, they can also give you a moderate amount of toilet paper upon entering because there are no toilet rolls in the stalls. In most cases. Now let me tell you, they do this to save money, so sometimes they give you a very, very small amount of toilet paper which isn’t much of a help if Montezuma is visiting. So please learn from my not-so-pleasant experiences… Always carry extra toilet paper with you wherever you go. You may notice that many bus and taxi drivers in Oaxaca have toilet paper between the dashboard and the windshield. Well… that’s why!

Now, upon entering a toilet stall and closing the door behind you (which may or may not have a lock), you may notice that there is no toilet seat. That’s how it is! You’re going to have to sit directly on the china if you’re going to sit. If you do, you need to hurry because the rim of the toilet is going to cut off your circulation pretty quickly, making it hard to walk when you’re done, trust me. Ohhhh… and when you’re done and try to flush, there may be no water. In these cases, restroom attendants leave buckets outside the cubicles and provide a place for you to dip your bucket in and get water to flush down the toilet.

When you finish using the necessities and you go to wash your hands and… oooopppssss…. I forgot… no water! That’s when you get the “gourd“, (plastic container), and return to where you got the water to flush it down the toilet. Fill your gourd and go back to the sink and wash your hands the old fashioned way.

Now I don’t want to scare you. If you only come to Oaxaca to sightsee for a week or two, you won’t find much of this. But if you’re going down for more than a month or for a living, like I did, you’re definitely going to have to deal with this at one point or another. After a while, believe it or not, it all becomes pretty natural. In fact, so natural that when I return to the States, I’m sure I’ll be sitting on the china, leaving 5 pesos outside the bathroom door, washing my hands with a bowl of water, and filling my bucket in the shower 🙂

I hope you have enjoyed this article. Stay tuned for more that are sure to come.

Until next time write us!