Defecating in Peru: A users guide.

I have been in Peru for a little over two weeks at this point. The largest culture shock was going to the bathroom. As opposed to Japan, no one warned me about going to the bathroom in Peru. You can't wipe and flush it down the toilet. It really isn't all too shocking. It makes sense when you think about the piping here, which isn't very good. It is simply something that you have to think about. Wiping and then throwing the shit-stained paper into a small trashcan placed neatly by toilet. I am certain this is the case in many parts of the world, not just Peru. The rest is pretty much what you will get when you travel outside the United States. People warn you about what can go wrong, but it isn't really much different than what can go wrong at home. You have good people, and bad people. You just know less people when you travel away from home. Depending upon your circumstances this can be a good thing.

I noticed something else about the toiletries here in Peru. Nothing has a child safety mechanism. They aren't nearly as hyper-paranoid about their kids getting into things and liability. It is actually somewhat refreshing. I have been traveling on the bus for a lot of the trip. They don't really have a vast train system or anything like that. Just bus and taxi and motorcycle-three-wheeled-thing. The bus is a very interesting place to meet new people. I was in the middle of this on my first bus when a lady in an official looking uniform came by to videotape me. She moved from seat to seat, zooming in and out of peoples faces. I asked what it was all about in broken Spanish and the girl I was talking to pantomimed a bus going off a cliff. Apparently they hope to identify charred remains with a videotape after the bus crashes and we meet our deaths. This is standard operating procedure. I thought it was nice of them to even think about it, but I also know my forensics. If a bus goes off a cliff they will need dental records at the very least. More than likely they will need DNA. I think it is just there to make the people think that their remains will be properly treated if they die. Eschatology drives humans to some stupid ends, doesn't it?