Period. Full stop. The end.
The lovely Whangarei Falls in New Zealand are not the flow I'm talking about
Nope, not that period. I’m talking about that enjoyable time in the heroine’s journey, whether she is home or traveling abroad. You know, the one that comes monthly — or 3 times in 10 weeks if you’re super lucky (or perhaps half empty).
If you read my packing list, you know that we had small bags — certainly not enough to last for 10 weeks. The plan was to do laundry frequently and replenish toiletries along the way. This included feminine products.
Our quest for feminine products ensued late one night after driving all day through New Zealand. We were starving in the wintery darkness, but I wanted to make sure we found a store before closing time. Thankfully, the first shopping center we stumbled upon contained a huge store called The Warehouse, akin to Target in America. We found the appropriate aisle with a wide array of products. Most of the brands were unfamiliar, but I wasn’t too worried because they all seemed similar to the products that Mr. HalfFull buys for me at home.
However, I did find it odd that the tampon packages were so small. I checked the count on several boxes of various brands, which all seemed to be about the same. I was slightly suspicious, but at this point I was too tired to care and figured it was a first world country with similar products; everything would be fine.
I didn’t end up opening those Kiwi tampons until Australia, nearly a month later. Yes, they were indeed different; these did not include an applicator. What?!? I’ve NEVER seen a tampon without an applicator. I’ve seen cardboard applicators and plastic applicators and even ones that collapse into smaller packages, but never NO applicator. Hmm…this seemed a bit tricky.
Ms. HalfEmpty midair in a remote, restroom-free area of Mount Kosciuszko in Australia
We haven’t told you much about our adventures in Australia, but it included a bus safari through the mountains between Sydney and Melbourne. What’s along the twisty, winding mountain roads from Sydney to Melbourne? Exactly, my point — not a lot of towns. For much of the safari, we were bouncing along dirt roads on mountain cliffs that require a special driver’s license. In other words, we were in middle of nowhere.
You might be asking, “What kind of bathrooms do they have in the middle of nowhere?” Answer: the porta-potty sort, with no running water. So no running water and no applicator? Way to think this safari thing through Mr. HallFull! The same man who convinced me to walk out of an international airport had now stranded me in the rugged wilderness along the banks of the Snowy River during my visit from Aunt Flo.
At least I had the foresight to save hand wipes from airplanes and brought along antibacterial gel from home. But yes, it was gross and uncomfortable, especially with one porta-potty and a busload of people waiting for me to figure out how to use an applicator-less tampon.
Fun facts on the maxi liner!
Although I didn’t run out of my American tampons until Australia, I needed the new maxis in New Zealand. These too were different than the ones I’ve seen in the US. But this time, the difference was fun! The throw-away sticker liner included trivia; Mr. HalfFull and I learned all sorts of silly facts. For example, did you know that in Pacific Grove, California, it is a misdemeanor to kill a butterfly?
So I guess my experience with feminine products in the South Pacific was half empty and half full.
- Does your husband/boyfriend buy your feminine products?
- Have you ever seen a tampon without an applicator? Is this typical in foreign countries?
- Do you think the lack of applicator is for environmental reasons?
- Do you travel with hand wipes and antibacterial gel?
- What products (or lack of products) have complicated life while traveling?
- What products have made you chuckle?
#1 by Sarah P. on September 19, 2011 - 10:37 AM
Quote
Hahahaha! Oh, you poor soul. I feel for you. I see tampons without applicators all the time, in the natural aisle. So yeah, I think it must be an environmental thing. I myself do not love the earth THAT much.
I was not so brave when I went to Italy for six months. Believe it or not, I actually stocked up on enough feminine products to get me through that entire time. I was too wedded to my particular brand and too scared that I wouldn’t like what I found. I think I could handle the adventure now… But using it all up over that time meant that I had extra space to bring home all my shopping purchases! Win-win.
Buying that many boxes of feminine products at once, though, was mortifying. True story; I actually did the buying at a Wal-mart while visiting a friend in West Virginia. I figured I would never in a million years run into anybody I knew there. I didn’t; I was still mortified!
#2 by Ms. HalfEmpty on September 19, 2011 - 10:48 AM
Quote
I guess I’ve never visited the natural aisle.
That’s hilarious that you traveled with a six month supply! It’s probably only possible when you have a permanent place to stay and are not schlepping a bag with six months of feminine products all over the world.
Too bad you couldn’t send Charlie to buy your six month supply. =)
#3 by Miranda on September 19, 2011 - 3:19 PM
Quote
I too had a no applicator fiasco while traveling. Except I had just graduated from high school and was visiting my then boyfriend’s family in Germany. I asked my boyfriend if his mom had anything and he said yeah in the bottom drawer. There were about 100 non applicator tampons. I somehow made it work but was super uncomfortable and embarrassed. But now I have come a long way and save the enviroment one O.B. non applicator tampon at a time!
#4 by Ms. HalfEmpty on September 19, 2011 - 3:34 PM
Quote
At least you had running water in Germany. The lack of applicator can get a little messy!
I don’t think the environmental difference is really that great especially since many applicators are made of cardboard, which is biodegradable.
#5 by Tracy on September 25, 2011 - 1:58 PM
Quote
Yikes, what a story!
I’ve seen applicator-less tampons but I just can’t even imagine the horror of being stuck using one, particularly not in your particular situation. I semi-recently went from quarterly periods due to Seasonale to periods whenever the hell they feel like coming and the worst thing about not being able to predict when Aunt Flo is coming is planning vacations.
I had a totally anal spreadsheet going a few months ago when I was trying to plan our beach vacation and although all reasonable scenarios I tested pointed to the week I chose being safe, I had a couple of ridiculously short cycles and now it looks like I’ll have my period at the beach because Mother Nature hates me. Oh well, at least I’ll have access to my brand of tampons.
I can’t believe I just wrote such a long comment about this.
#6 by Ms. HalfEmpty on September 26, 2011 - 8:53 PM
Quote
Tracy, thanks for sharing! I guess over-analyzers/planners like us might have to learn to just let things happen because our over-efforts are futile. Good luck on your beach vacation.