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by Crisco 2998 days ago
I lived in the Dominican Republic for a few years, and it was a little weird to me at first, but after a while you get used to putting dirty paper in the trash. I never once had to deal with a clogged toilet.

After moving back to the USA it was just as weird to put paper in the toilets (though drinking the same water you bathe in was the weirdest part).

I think people exaggerate the weirdness and difficulty of adjustment, because in both instances it took me a week at most to get used to either way.

2 comments

> though drinking the same water you bathe in was the weirdest part

Surely you mean the water that enters the house via plumbing, is used for both bathing and drinking from via a faucet. As opposed to drinking bath water.

Is the weirdness of that because they don't drink tap water in the Dominican?

> Is the weirdness of that because they don't drink tap water in the Dominican?

Yes, almost nowhere in Central America would you (or locals) drink water from the tap. Things like brushing your teeth are a grey area.

Unless you are on well, you don't drink tap water in most places in the DR
The fact that the vast majority of people don't travel more than a week or two (if ever) probably contributes to the lack of perspective.