The Toilet Works!

written January 17, 2009

I count myself among the lucky here in Kazakhstan. I have an indoor toilet*. And, while this may seem quite luxurious (well, to other PCVs) it wouldn't be considered such in the United States. But, like many other things, I have learned to appreciate the little luxuries here in Kazakhstan and I am trying to forget about my heated bathroom, jacuzzi bathtub and shower with water pressure (wait - just the shower period).

When I moved into my house in Merke, I was very aware that most homes in this town don't have running water. For my more intelligent readers, you surely recognize that this means no indoor plumbing. Well, sure enough, I am currently living without running water. So, you can imagine my surprise when I was shown the indoor toilet. With no running water... how exactly does this contraption work? (On a side note, let me mention that being shown how to "use" the toilet is a very surreal experience at the age of 24.)

Well, our toilet is really basically an indoor outhouse. The toilet has been placed in the entryway, behind a couple of doors that don't actually close. There are pipes running to the toilet and to the sink, but as far as I'm concerned, they serve no purpose. To "flush" the toilet, there are two handy buckets (which we regularly fill with water). You simply pour the water into the pot (no, not the tank) and it magically "flushes" the contents. Now, to the average American, this might seem slightly savage, but the alternative is the wooden structure about 20 yards from the door covering a hole in our yard. In the winter, when we have a significant amount of snow on the ground, this slightly chilly toilet in the entryway is greatly appreciated, especially after being forced to drink at least three cups of tea before bed.

Imagine my surprise, when my host mom mentions something about the toilet working during our fragmented dinner "conversation" last night. As far as I was concerned, the toilet had always been "working" just fine. Responding to the look of confusion on my face, we took a little field trip to the toilet. She pushed the flusher on top of the tank and Ta-Da! the toilet flushed. She pointed at the pipe leading to the toilet and said something about water. Now, don't ask me where the water comes from, in a house with no indoor plumbing? This is a question for another day, or another year (depending on the progression of my Russian language skills).

But, as of yesterday we officially have a toilet that flushes without involving me carrying a bucket full of water through the house. I'm under the impression that this magical flushing capability I have grown so unaccustomed to is temporary and that at any moment the water will no longer exist. This leads me to feel as though I should take advantage of the toilet situation as much as possible having been granted such a luxury. As a result, I find myself drinking more than my average three cups of tea at any one sitting. I mean, how cool is it that I can simply push a button and the contents of the toilet are replaced with clear water? Pretty freaking cool!

*Talking about bathroom issues is no longer something that we PCVs consider "unapproachable territory". I apologize to my readers who find such topics displeasing. But trust me when I tell you that this is one of the most tasteful bathroom antics I could share. :)