Dear old Dad has recommended that I take requests what to write blog posts about since the absurdities of Nica have become to become routine. So, if anyone of you have any questions about life in the Land of Lakes and Volcanos, lemme know!
But let’s start with hygiene. It exists which is nice. Let’s break it down to the basics:
Showering: socially acceptable to be done once a day but is more common to be on the every other day schedule. I shower practically every day because the heat is suffocating. Taking a shower after dinner allows me to cool down enough that I can sleep, sometimes even without a fan.
Tooth brushing: it exists. Not sure how often the Nicas do it but I know it’s not three times a day. Flossing, I can nearly guarantee is completely absent. Nothing noteworthy about me with this one except it’s a heck of a lost easier to do with indoor plumbing (as opposed to the manual cup rinse I devised where I lived sans running water).
Shaving: I hate it. I don’t know how the Nicas (or fellow volunteers for that matter) do it. First, there’s no hot water which makes things difficult. Secondly, we only have a kitchen sink which I feel awkward enough brushing my teeth at much less shaving. I have NEVER seen either of my homestay dads shave so I’m in the dark on this one. All I know is that men are generally well shaven (minus some ridiculous mustaches) so maybe they all go to the barber? I, on the other hand, shave in the shower. Again, not sure if that’s a Nica faux pas but that’s how I operate. I bring a tiny mirror and grit my teeth till it’s done. No major accidents thus far, but it’s not comfortable.
In general, I’ve have to say I’m oblivious to women. I’ve yet to see any raging armpit or leg hair so they’re pretty well groomed too. I’ve only gotten one hair cut in the past four months. It was performed by my host cousin during training and he did a pretty good job. For $1.34, who am I to complain?
Smells: yeah there are some pretty rancid body odors from time to time. I have bought deodorant here so I know it exists but I’m not sure if people use it. Along those lines: toilet paper. I’m not exactly new to developing nations (this is my forth stint in Central America and I spent several days in Morocco) so I understand that toilet usage is different. First, you don’t flush TP, ever. If you have a latrine you can dump it there but otherwise, there’s a trashcan in every bathroom where you have to dispose of it. Issue one is that the trashcan is not always emptied regularly (maybe once a week) so use your imagination for that ever-so-pleasant odor. Second, TP is not always available. I’ve heard numerous conversations among my female volunteers who rant that TP is not adequately stocked in public (or is some cases, private) restrooms.
Soap: here’s a strange one. Of course there’s soap, but not in the form that you’re probably used to. All soap is in bar form, liquid soap only exists in high end public bathrooms. So that means that there’s a separate bar for washing body parts, clothes and dishes. The issue is, as far as I know, bar soaps aren’t exactly anti-bacterial (and I wonder why I have on-again, off-again severe bacterial infections…). Luckily, I brought down a gallon of hand sanitizer which has been infinitely helpful thus far.
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