Bathrooms...Klos....Banos...Loos

Spanish class is over. Oh, thank the sweet Lord. I thought I might die. But on the up side, I didn't. And you'll all be proud to know that I earned an 86%. Not that the grade means anything except for the mental satisfaction of passing.

In other news, I start back to work two weeks from today. Wow, writing that made it seem closer. Hate that. This week I'm hoping the guys will come paint my ceilings and that my landlady will give me the ok to buy the paint to paint my walls. I don't have anything on the walls in the meantime and I'm anxious to decorate a little.

Today in class we took a mini-field trip to an art museum and I used the restroom while I was there. It was so nice that I thought about the niceness factor for the duration of my visit. My visit to the loo, that is; not the museum.

It has been my experience that the term "nice public bathroom" is variable as one crosses borders. Here are some multiple-standard examples:

In the US: contradiction in terms; no meaning.

In the Dominican Republic: it is free of insects which are larger than my hand

In Germany: the lady cleaned the toilet immediately before I went in

In Russia: there is a toilet seat (not just the bowl)

In Argentina: you can flush the tp

In Romania: there is someone to stand where the door should be to block the view while I do my thing

In China: it's a western toilet (as opposed to a squatty-potty)

In Ecuador: it has have toilet paper

Anyway, back to today's art museum toilet. Not only did it have toilet paper, it also smelled good (especially good in a country where usually the pipes can't handle tp so everyone throws their used tp in the trashcan); flushed well; had locking doors and a hook for my purse; soap and water AND paper towels. I mean, high quality.

Makes you wonder which country's public toilets I'll get to critique next, doesn't it?

[Editor's Note: Leslie's experiences with public bathrooms are not necessarily representative of the average public facilities of each country.]