I read a quote once that said, An optimist sees the glass half full, a pessimist sees the glass half empty, and a Peace Corps volunteer sees the glass and says, “Hey I can take a bath with that!”

Truer words, my friends. That said:

I’ve mastered the art of taking a shower.

Now, let’s start at the beginning. I am so lucky and thankful that not only do I have an honest to God shower, it has freakin’ HOT water. SWEET. No bucket bath for this volunteer.

But even with all those pluses, there are still some tricks. For one, I’ve only seen one operating shower curtain since I’ve been in Ukraine. They just don’t use ’em. So to take a shower, I get in the tub, crouch down and aim the showerhead toward the wall, away from the floor. Then I sort of half get under the spray, half block it with my body to keep the water from bouncing off me and splashing over the tub. It’s awkward, but it does make you rush. I’m always excited when I’m able to do it without getting water all over the place. Nothing worse than wet slippers.

Hygiene in general is a challenge. First, Ukrainians don’t bathe nearly as much as Americans do (sometimes making the bus ride a rather ripe trip). But since appearance is SO important here, everyone manages to look their best despite the lack of hot water. On average, I take a shower maybe every other day or every two days if I can stretch it.

So you get creative. The first day of a hair wash, it’s down. The second day, a ponytail. The third, twisted into a barrette. I wash my face every morning and evening. Keep my hands clean and nails groomed. And oh crap, that reminds me I need to clean my boots. :(

This topic became more boring than I thought it would.