Sofia Lex, Exploration of Energy and Electrification: Brazil Summer 2023
As soon as I stepped foot in Brazil, I began to notice a trend emerge. Each time I went to use the restroom, I spotted a small trash can lingering next to the toilet. I did not question it at first because our first destination in Brazil was the Sao Paulo airport, where it seemed to make perfect sense. With a high volume of travelers, it could be a better spot for feminine hygiene products than the small boxes typically affixed to the stall walls in the US or an option for those who may have stuffed their traveling trash into the pockets of their carry-on luggage. When we arrived at the Work + Hotel in Sao Leopoldo, however, the bathrooms each had their toilet trash can. For each site we visited through the program, for every restaurant, and every store, the restroom had a trash can directly beside the toilet. This stirred some questions in me, as it was a practice not common in the US. While bathrooms have trash cans of course, it was all in the placement – one trash can by every toilet felt very suggestive. What was I supposed to be throwing away?
My curiosities were quickly answered about five days into the program. A group came to the front lobby attempting to explain through Google Translate that their toilet needed to be fixed. It was not flushing and appeared to be clogged. The staff of the hotel worked while we were on our site tours to fix it and the group returned to a functional bathroom. It seemed like the end of the story, but not entirely. The next morning, our tour guide and translator made a broad announcement to our entire study abroad group, “You do not flush the toilet paper, you throw it in the small bin by the toilet.” Oh no! I had felt like the paper was difficult to flush, sometimes taking more than one pull at the handle, and had felt like the bins were for something, but I never asked! I could have been causing clogs all over Brazil!
This story may seem silly, as it is toilet talk, but I think it brings up two important lessons. The first is that sanitary and hygiene practices are different all over the world. In some parts of Europe and Japan, bidets are the norm, you may be expected to squat in Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, and in many Eastern European countries and Brazil, you might be expected to throw away your toilet paper [1]. Not all countries set up their wastewater systems the way that we do, and their customs follow as a result. This was not a problem I ever considered before entering the country, but it does tie in with the second lesson: always ask questions about culture and practices in the country you are visiting. I was uncertain about something I had repeatedly seen, but I did not ask about it. I perhaps could have saved some toilets if I had.
[1]https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/travel-etiquette/bathroom-etiquette-around-the-world
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