Bathrooms for Women

Jorge Milanes Despaigne

HAVANA TIMES, Jan 5 — Among the different alcoholic beverages, beer is one of the types most enjoyed by Cubans, without overlooking rum of course. It enriches those moments in our lives that are pleasant and not so pleasant, but apparently the two have joined sides today.

Exhausted after finishing our class at the university, several of us students left the lecture hall and headed for the bus stop. After waiting for nearly an hour, one finally showed up.

“Nothing like a sardine can for traveling,” I thought.

But I was a lucky guy. Once inside the guagua (as we call buses), I moved up against a window for some fresh air and to make room for one of my co-workers who seemed short of breath. Meanwhile the other passengers piled on in to the center of the bus, like potatoes in a sack.

From the window I could look out at the city, its streets, people, and everything that was going on…

Across the park, two women came staggering out of a bar attempting to cope with the usual effects of beer. One of them led the other a supposed hiding place, though from the bus everyone could see them.

One lady on the bus who was looking at them said from her seat: “Women have to hold their bladders longer, given how difficult it is to find a bathroom. We delay our intoxication and after the fifth beer, ‘it occurs to us to go to the bathroom.’ You guys, men, you can’t hold it for more than three or four beers, but on the other hand, they make it easier for you to find a place to go.”

Amazed by such an unbelievable spectacle, I burst in when I saw the two women pull down their pants:

“Hey, look at that.”

The response was immediate:

“What the hell did you say? What do you want – drunks?”