Bathroom Bonanza

We northern volunteers planned a Get-Together for all new new volunteers coming north. We rented out two houses at the Mzuzu University campus in the main northern city of Mzuzu. We all crowded into one house and were having fun. Volunteers were talking and socializing while other were cooking some food. Lentils, rice and chocolate cake, yum yum! Drinks were plentiful. I sat around and had a pleasant conversation with a new volunteer about the slaughtering of animals in Malawi. She is a vegetarian and very sensitive about the way animals are treated here. I told her it was better than hormone injections, maize food (Which cattle are not meant to digest ad gives then lots of stomach issues) and slaughter houses. Now the Malawian treatment of dogs and cats...don't even get me started on that!

The Tv was on but no one was watching it. It had been turned on more for the novelty of TV than any real desire to watch it. Everyone was having alot of fun. I excuse myself from the conversation to take a bathroom break. If you don't know me, I'm a very fast pee-er. SO in about a total of one minute i'm done. I go to unlock the door and its stuck. The key wont turn. No big deal, nothing works like its supposed to here. So I wiggle and twist the key some more. Then it snaps off. Fantastic. Now im exasperated rather than scared. This is is going to be one of those Peace Corps legends that gets told and retold and blown out of proportion.

All an all the experience was not that bad. I climbed onto the toilet and shouted to some volunteers to send someone to get me out of the bathroom. Jo comes to save me but she is struggling. She shimmies out the key, then finally the key bit.It falls to the floor with a small tinkle. She shouts victoriously that she got it out and then i have to remind her that the door is still locked! I shout out the window again and send Jo my leatherman. She sends t back saying its not working. SO I take it and go to work on the screws on my side. Im basically running the show telling her to unscrew the door handle. Unfortunately the screws are stripped on my side so i can only wait. Finally Im freed.

Of the 25 or o people at the party, maybe four say the incident and no one else noticed! In fact, my boyfriend Adam had been informed of my predicament...and just laughed! Leaving Jo to save me! (By the way the worst part of this situation was that the door was solid, no gap at top or bottom. Also the window was barred, It was out the door or not out at all)

Later on I heard the rumor floating around that someone had got stuck in the bathroom. I just calmly sipped my drink and said nonchalantly,
"Yeah, that was me."