Bathing With a Bucket

It has been an adventure trying to adapt to the way of life in the Philippines. So much of my way of life in America I have taken for granted and have taken advantage of. One such example is a simple thing like a shower. In Damayang Lagi there is no such thing as hot water. Every shower is a cold shower. Typically it does not matter much as the weather outside is at a constant degree of sweltering, but sometimes it is a little cooler out especially when it rains and the cold shower just hurts. In fact sometime it hits you so much so that you will hear one of us yelp from the needles of cold water that pierce our skin. Also, the guys bathroom has no shower per say. In lieu of a shower, the men’s downstairs bathroom has the typical bathing rig as most of those who live in this slum. It is a faucet at knee level with a 5-gallon bucket and a small scoop. The process at first is daunting but now has become a typical part of daily life and can even be seen as a luxury, compared to how people live in other areas of Manila. The first step is a nice, cold set of water scoops, which are poured over the head and body. Once decently covered in water next is the lathering process. This is all done in sandals as the toilet is a mere 6 inches away from this lavish bathing rig and the ground is not completely sanitary. Once sufficiently lathered, next comes the scrubbing of the feet. Throughout a nice day the feet are significantly dirty and a small swipe of the cloth or of soap will not suffice. Once all lathered up and scrubbed down a second set of refreshing scoops of water are poured over to wash away the soap. This process is all done is a 3’x4’ bathroom, which also has a toilet, so moving around must be strategic. After all this is done you dry down, throw your shorts back on and walk out into the public space of your shared room. Now if your hair needs to be washed…well, have fun.

This all said, I have come to greatly appreciate the way everyone who lives in Damayang Lagi takes advantage of what is had, and shared. The bathroom is not only ours. It has become anyone’s who needs to bathe. Everything is done without complaint but rather with gratitude. This washing is necessary. Water is another expense and this way of life reduces the amount of water used. A typical bath, soak, lather and rinse will use about 10 gallons of water, total. This helps take advantage of every resource sparingly and wastes nothing. The men, women and children here cannot afford to waste. In the end it is a beautiful thing.

(Also, the flushing process of the toilet is not done by handle. You put water in the bucket and dump it in the toilet. Another way to conserve a valuable resource)