This post is not about poop . . . or at least not about my poop. There! I heard it . . . your big sigh of relief. It is, however, about dehydration.

James says he saw a large water rat in my latrine one night. I have no reason to doubt him, though I've never seen even a mouse. Still, it's a bit off-putting when I think about a rat during a quick dash to the latrine on a night with no moonlight. So what's the obvious answer? Fewer trips to the latrine. How is this accomplished? Simple, unhealthy, life-threatening dehydration. Or maybe not.

It's hot season. Think of what room temperature means in the States. Now imagine a glass of room-temp water when it’s 115 outside and probably hotter inside. Hardly thirst-quenching. Happily, I have a small freezer; and when the electricity is working, I have unlimited icy cold water . . . or Crystal Light (thanks, friends!). This means that I'm not in a constant state of dehydration. And that's a good thing . . . something that my PCMOs love. It's a healthy thing. Right? Or is it?

Living on the stipend of a PC volunteer isn't easy, but neither is it impossible. It's all a matter of priorities. Food isn't costly, especially when it's difficult to contemplate cooking during hot season. I sometimes make a bowl of popcorn in the mornings when it's cool (meaning about 95), and this serves as lunch and dinner. So spending money on food and chilled, expensive sodas isn't a high priority. However, toilet paper is . . . and it's not cheap here. In fact, a roll of toilet paper is somewhat of a luxury for most Burkinabe. Guess why.

And thus the toilet paper dilemma. Well-hydrated means more trips to the latrine . . . or to the large jar in the house if I'm feeling particularly intimidated in the dark by rodents-of-unusual-size. In any event, well-hydrated means more toilet paper usage. Swoooosh. Hear my thirty-dollars-a-week literally going down the toilet?

The paper money here is often very old, very tattered and, yes, I'll say it, soft! I could probably use old 1000 cfa notes in lieu of toilet paper, and the cost would be about the same. Well, maybe not . . . not to mention the sanitary conditions of paper money in Burkina. But you clearly see the dilemma. Hydrated = high T.P. usage.  Dehydrated = low T.P. usage . . . and savings.

Now it is universally acknowledged that I had/have the best PC Recruiter in the world. After all, I'm the Burkina PCV with the red PC book bag and the PC patches sewn on to my bucket hat. And, on the subject of toilet issues, I'm the PCV whose recruiter sent this video. I rarely do, but if called upon to do so, I absolutely can Poop In A Hole.

So, after seeing the Poop video, you think you want to join the Peace Corps? Have I found a way to reuse, reduce, recycle my T.P. usage? Does anyone even want to ponder that? Are some luxuries worth any price? We can only speculate.