A new experience and a forgotten one revisited

I have never, ever been to a funeral, or wake until Friday morning. And, here everything is a little different than it is in America. So, I was not exactly sure what to expect as Dan and I marched up the road dressed in black (I knew that much was normal, and very much expected here!) But, I didn't expect to see the dead lady laying on a low table in the middle of the room!!! It's a little different that having a dead body set up in a coffin in the front of the room. All of her female family and friends sat packed in around her with barely enough room in between their knees and her 'bed' for us to wiggle through. And, of course, you much do the wiggle through in order to greet everyone in the room. How stressful is that? As if I weren't already weirded out enough by the dead lady laying in such a position that I am about to sit on her at the wrong movement, but I also have to try to think about how to greet these mourning women. Obviously, the typical greeting of 'Good day' wouldn't work, and I know that there has got to be something that they say traditionally, but dumb me, didn't ask the workers before she left. So, I really want to let these people know that I am sorry for them, but in between trying to keep my balance, have good manners, and kicking myself for stupidity, it is a little difficult. And, then, the clincher!!! A woman started to sing. Not a wail, not a crying song, but a very beautiful, slow, haunting song. After the first note, there wasn't a way that I was going to avoid crying, but (please, I sincerely do not mean this rudely!) luckily, I had already started concentrating on balance and manners for leaving.
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Turkish toilets, or the more fondly termed 'squattie potties', are something that used to be very normal for Kosova until some very smart people introduced the 'western toilet'. Squatties are holes in the ground, literally. Some are dressed up with a little ceramic. I normally don't have to go potty outside of my own home, but if I do, we have learned the places that have western toilets, so I haven't had to use one in a while. But, the other day, we were in a time crunch to get the director of our organization fed and to the airport, so we ended up at a less than desirable restaurant. I wasn't feeling that well to begin with and the food smells that greeted me started to turn my tummy and I suddenly had to go potty, too. So, I was stuck. As, I walked in, I looked for TP...none! Another interesting fact, in times before, women stayed at home so men were the only ones using the squatties, and I guess they didn't feel the need for TP. Anyhow. I turned around and got a napkin, then marched back in. But, first you have to go through the steps: Roll up your pantlegs - they drag in the "water" on the floor, then pull your pants down and squat. Don't forget - - face the back wall otherwise you will tinkle all over the "floor"(as if the last five visitors didn't already). This time had a new humiliation, though. As I relieved myself, a dog kept barking outside the open window at my head. Finally, I looked up to see what was going on, and realized that the dog was actually barking at me! The stupid thing was up on a higher floor of an unfinished building watching me going potty and telling the neighbors about it!!! How rude!