Using the bathroom, or comfort room (CR), in the Philippines is always an adventure. I truly began to look forward to experiencing and documenting the different kinds of bathrooms I would encounter in different barangays and government buildings. Every single CR is unique and yet all of them are clear representations of the socioeconomic status of the community and priority of sanitation in that particular area. Just like in the West, the more rural the bathroom the bigger the adventure.
CRs are generally the same size of single Western bathrooms, perhaps slightly smaller. In a corner lives a bowl, sometimes elevated and other times not. Close to the bowl sits a large basin filled with water. Over the basin is a spout with water dripping from it. Inside the bowl floats a large and plastic ladle. The room is simple yet meets all basic needs.
The system I first developed was to quickly get the job done without touching anything. I would use the TP that I brought in my purse and immediately soak my hands in alcohol hand sanitizer. It wasn’t clear to me at first what the large water basin was for. It took some practice and advice from others to figure out what to do with it.
I started to notice a reoccurring presence of these basins in bathrooms; somehow it was supposed to be a part of the elimination process. The water basin was something unique to the Philippines, at least as compared to other countries I have traveled to. Finally, after conversation with the other girls, I realized that it is the mechanism in which I am supposed to flush. How did I miss that? I finally got into the habit of using the ladle to back fill the bowl with clean water after use.
Although without indoor plumbing, this system of filling the bowl with a separate water source completely works. After the business in the bathroom has been done, whether in a Western bathroom or the CRs I used in Mindanao, I am still touching the same amount of surfaces. Yes, there is a skill that needs to be developed in Mindanao to decrease the instances of backsplash from the bowl, but otherwise, as long as I had the ability to wash my hands afterwards, I was satisfied.
