First time in Buenos Aires

[mattkitson]

Hi

I'm passing through Buenos Aires with my wife for a week or so to learn a bit of the language and get a feel for the southern half of the continent before a bit more travelling. We've just spend a month in Brazil and already are feeling less culture shocked here!

I've had a quick look through your site and it looks very helpful, one quick question though, what do you do with toilet paper?!

Matt

 

[RichardP]

Hi
I've had a quick look through your site and it looks very helpful, one quick question though, what do you do with toilet paper?!
Matt

Just toss it in the toilet. It used to not be this way 20 or so years ago.

 

[NoPat]

20 years ago, 40 years ago, 60, dare I say 80, paper was thrown into the toilet, and I'd love to know where RichardP gets his BS gossip from

 

[cabrera]

People who use too much toilet paper are not being as clean as they should . Bidets are a great invention and highly recommendable.

 

[mattkitson]

Thank you, I've just come from Brazil so I thought it best to check, I'd hate to make an embarrassing mistake!

 

[AlexfromLA]

 

[fred mertz]

Where are you from? I thought that by the 21st century everyone knew the usage of toilet paper, except in remote regains of Africa or Asia. Toilet...paper. Surely you can figure it out. If not call 4812----.

 

[mattkitson]

Hey, you say that, but the South American rules for the new traveller seem to be pretty vague. So far it's "Is there a bin? Put the paper in that!". Brazil you mostly put paper in the bin and I'm completely new to Buenos Aires so thought I'd check with people who knew!

If I block up the whole system, I'll blame you lot

 

[Lucas]

Hi

I'm passing through Buenos Aires with my wife for a week or so to learn a bit of the language and get a feel for the southern half of the continent before a bit more travelling. We've just spend a month in Brazil and already are feeling less culture shocked here!

I've had a quick look through your site and it looks very helpful, one quick question though, what do you do with toilet paper?!

Matt

Matt, the first time I saw it I was horrified as you were of this shocking an uncivilized behavior it doesn't make sense what you see there, so I asked the same question to the cleaner's chief at Coto's Belgrano supermarket, why there is the need to keep a container in one corner with all that stuff on show?... and he responded with a sad smile on his face combined with an embarrassing grin, we have to do it because there are so many migrants from neighboring countries who don't have the cultural nor the education to do the right thing that we need to keep some control on this I know it's disgusting and I apologize for that but we tried almost everything and still occurring so the only solution was to position these containers on the corner and keep on emptying as soon we see them, sorry for that sir...and that was it, I thanked him for the explanation and wondering why this type of things keep happening.
I was shocked and disgusted at first but there is nothing I can do to reverse this, it's a powerless feeling not to be able to change things like that in this city, It wasn't this way before it never was, apparently this happened in the last 10-15 years unfortunately nothing was done by the authorities in the beginning to change or improve this behavior, and yes the toilet paper is going straight to the toilet as it normal should be, I only hope that those people learn something more civilized and that in the future won't be necessary to put up with this situation anymore.

 

[pauper]

Isn't it less about these immigrants being uncivilised and more about the pragmatic habits acquired in their countries of origin? (ie: the pipes can't handle it, everything gets blocked up.)