Menstruating in a Developing Country

I have been on the lookout for my period for over a week now. I expected her to make her monthly visit about a week ago, but I think residing in a room with six other women caused her to lose her way. I have started drinking a lot more water to combat the constipation I was experiencing earlier this week, so this morning at the school I desperately had to pee. I pulled a piece of tissue from my purse and walked to the back of the school to "go" on the rock pile that is designated for the teachers (the area for the students does not have rocks, they piss on the dirt). I was especially dreading having to go because I wore jeans and pissing outdoors in pants is a lot harder than hiking up a dress. After a few drips, I aimed my stream of pee in the middle of two rocks (this reduces splattering on your legs) and I felt pretty good that this was going to be a quick and successful "restroom" visit. I whipped out my little piece of tissue, used it, looked down to discover that my period started. There I was, squatting, over a pile of rocks, with insufficient tissue. No toilet. No toilet paper. No trash can. No purse. I was screwed. I pulled up my pants and left the teachers "bathroom". I was disgusted. I walked over to purse and searched for the necessary equipment. Of course, it was not in my bag. I proceeded to ask every woman of menstruating age for a pad/tampon. After 7 attempts, I was successful in finding a tampon. Quick Advice: If you are a tampon user, bring a full supply of tampons with you to Ghana. They don't really sell them here. I headed back to the rock pile. I was disturbed and highly irritated with the situation. I finished my business and still had my "trash" in hand. I had to walk halfway across the school, to the one trash can, to dispose of my garbage. Imagine my discomfort at this point. This was not okay.

So here I am, in the internet cafe with slight cramps. I am hot. I am now resenting that I don't have air conditioning. The fan will not "get it" tonight. I am internally hot. Bucket baths just don't seem sufficient today. I will see how I feel about that later tonight. There are not enough clean/safe toilets in Ghana for me to look forward to the next four to five long, very long, days. I wonder how they local women deal with this EVERY MONTH! Fuck.