Bathrooms
Perhaps it is three years of living overseas and learning to live with the body’s ways of adjusting to a new culture or having an infant that brings me to this topic. But since being back in North America, I’ve grown to see bathrooms differently.
When I am in Mozambique, I do a 6 point check on public restrooms:
1. Is it clean?
2. Can I lock the door?
3. Does it have a toilet seat?
4. Does it have water (to flush and to wash my hands)?
5. Does it have toilet paper?
6. Does it have soap to wash my hands?
I’ve learned to carry some toilet paper and hand sanitizer to cover if the bathroom lacks those necessities, and for the most part, I’ve rarely had to forgo using the facilities. I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by public restrooms’ cleanliness.
Here in North America, I don’t usually have to do the 6 point check most everything is present (though sometimes the automatic dispensers or switches on the tap do not always work). Now I have to add another check pointer: is there a place to change diapers? Sometimes there is and sometimes, there is a place in the men’s room to change diapers, so I don’t have to be the only one who can change Nadia’s diapers when we’re traveling.
I’ve also noticed something in our travels. Most people have a good shower head. Since moving to Chimoio last February, we have a shower and it is a good one. It is hooked up directly to a hot water heater and we can adjust the temperature mixing hot and cold water. Some people have what’s jokingly called a “widow maker” – an electric water heater that heats the water as it goes through the shower head. It can be switched on and off (depending on if you need hot water). The temperature is regulated by the volume of water flowing through. So if you want a hot shower, there won’t be a lot of water running through the shower head. Pressure for the shower isn’t always great either. Not in North America, most of the showers I’ve used have good pressure and I can mix the amount of hot and cold water to a temperature that I want.
Perhaps it is three years of living overseas and learning to live with the body’s ways of adjusting to a new culture or having an infant that brings me to this topic. But since being back in North America, I’ve grown to see bathrooms differently.
When I am in Mozambique, I do a 6 point check on public restrooms:
1. Is it clean?
2. Can I lock the door?
3. Does it have a toilet seat?
4. Does it have water (to flush and to wash my hands)?
5. Does it have toilet paper?
6. Does it have soap to wash my hands?
I’ve learned to carry some toilet paper and hand sanitizer to cover if the bathroom lacks those necessities, and for the most part, I’ve rarely had to forgo using the facilities. I’ve actually been pleasantly surprised by public restrooms’ cleanliness.
Here in North America, I don’t usually have to do the 6 point check most everything is present (though sometimes the automatic dispensers or switches on the tap do not always work). Now I have to add another check pointer: is there a place to change diapers? Sometimes there is and sometimes, there is a place in the men’s room to change diapers, so I don’t have to be the only one who can change Nadia’s diapers when we’re traveling.
I’ve also noticed something in our travels. Most people have a good shower head. Since moving to Chimoio last February, we have a shower and it is a good one. It is hooked up directly to a hot water heater and we can adjust the temperature mixing hot and cold water. Some people have what’s jokingly called a “widow maker” – an electric water heater that heats the water as it goes through the shower head. It can be switched on and off (depending on if you need hot water). The temperature is regulated by the volume of water flowing through. So if you want a hot shower, there won’t be a lot of water running through the shower head. Pressure for the shower isn’t always great either. Not in North America, most of the showers I’ve used have good pressure and I can mix the amount of hot and cold water to a temperature that I want.
(our bathroom in Chimoio)We also have a bathtub in Mozambique and Joél’s mom has a beautiful claw foot tub. There is something really relaxing for me of laying in a tub of warm water, especially when I can add more warm water at will.
During our first year in Moz we traveled quite a bit to the sand dams communities. There people have to walk kilometers to fetch water and though it is super hot, they do not have the opportunity to bathe. I’ve noticed since moving to our house in Chimoio, I am more likely to dawdle in the luxury of perfect temperature water flowing over me or soaking in a bath. Sometimes it is as if I’m making up for the two years without running water. We had a MCC colleague who said that one of the crown achievements of Western civilization was running water.
I wonder how many people in the world have ever experienced being immersed in water. When we lived in Gondola without running water, it took several months for me to become accustomed to taking a bucket bath and feeling clean afterwards. For most Mozambicans, that is their reality. Those who have unlimited access to water, bathe frequently, considering the climate and amount of grime. After seeing how little water some Mozambicans have, it’s rare that I do not think about them as I shower, though I have to confess sometimes I push the thought aside and linger a little longer.
My years of living without running water has made me double check myself and my use of water. I still try to conserve water. I cringe when cleaning up after a meal, I have to throw out the water that someone did not finish so I can wash the glass. In South Africa, many showers had a knob that would shut off the water but retain the same temperature. That way, one could keep the temperature, but turn the water off to soap up, thus conserving water.
All this said, I’m very thankful for clean water and working bathrooms.
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