A disgruntled librarian packs it up and leaves fabulous New York City behind,
going on random global adventures,
while simultaneously promoting literacy
and spreading the love of the written word.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

a helpful message to the women of buenos aires

it has happened several times now that i have opened a door or stall in a public bathroom only to find an embarrassed woman already inside there.  then there is a whole string of phrases like "lo siento!"  "perdon!" on my part.

at first i blamed myself.  but now i have come to realize that it is not my fault.  it is the fault of las mujeres.

the other day i went into the bathroom at a cafe and i pushed on the stall door only to have it bump into the woman inside and have her shout out "occupado!"  of course, the first thing i thought was that the lock on the stall must be broken and this poor woman is the innocent victim of poor door design.

but oh no!  that was not the case.  when it was finally my turn and i entered the stall, i saw that there was in fact a lock on the door and it was fully functional.  i even tried to force the door open once i had locked it, and it was impossible.  i would've had to kick down the door like they do in the movies.

then, thinking back to my other bathroom encounters, i realized that all the bathrooms i had been in had locking stall doors.  why would you choose not to lock the door in a public bathroom stall?  i can understand if you're in the privacy of your own home, but in a cafe or restaurant?  is this a cultural thing?  i don't know, maybe it's just me, but being walked in on in the bathroom is definitely one of my top fears, right up there with spiders and death.

so women of buenos aires ... let me give you some advice. because as much as i love you portenas, i don't need to see your ass every time i have to pee.  SO when you enter a bathroom stall:

1.  check the door for one of those little metal bars or "locks" as we call them in english.
2.  once the door is closed, slide the little metal bar from the door into the "locked position"
3.  the door is now locked.  you can pee in privacy

2 comments:

  1. haha i'm lol ! funny post ! i'll be in argentina really soon, but i don't think i'll have the same problem. I have been looking for a buenos aires apartment to rent, do you recommend any zone ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nick,
    I can't help but notice that your comments always contain a link regarding buenos aires apartments.

    I don't mind the spam, but if you are going to comment on this blog specifically to promote yourself, I will require more witty comments. Step up your game, Nick!

    Bueno. As for neighborhoods, I live in Palermo which I enjoy very much. It reminds me of a cross between Williamsburg, Park Slope and maybe some other cutesy Brooklyn hoods. I would also recommend Recoleta, San Telmo, or Barrio Norte.

    Chau!

    xoxo
    Miss Dewey D

    ReplyDelete