Bathroom, Laundry and Heat

My hands are red and chapped right now because I just spent the last hour handwashing some laundry in the bathroom, so I've decided to dedicate this blog to all things related to the bathroom, which probably means this will be an awkward blog, but I simply cannot leave out this part if I want to really share my experiences with you.

I'll begin by explaning the bathroom. We have the largest sink I've ever seen, which is where I did my laundry. I do like the sink because unlike American sinks, you can actually get your face close to the water to wash. That's about the only thing I like the bathroom (which is why I started there).

Perhaps the most fascinating thing is the bidet. I had heard of these things before I came over, but of course had never seen one until I got here. I really don't want to have to explain what they are used for, so if you don't know, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet. So, I finally worked up the nerve to try it out last night. I will try almost anything once over here, just for the experience. (side note: Ours is actually across the room from the toilet, which makes no sense to me). Needless to say, I think this is the weirdest invention ever, and it's one experience here I will not be repeating.

Moving on, let's discuss Italian toilets. I really don't understand, but every toilet here is different. I have yet to encounter a toilet that is the same as another one I've seen. This is quite frustrating to be perfectly honest as I sometimes spend several minutes trying to figure out how to flush the darn thing. Some toilets have flush buttons on the back of the toilet, others are on the wall, some are actually camoflauged on the top of the toilet so you can't see it. On some toilets, you must hold the handle down for 10 seconds, for others three, and others you don't hold it down at all. Again, it makes no sense to me.

Now the shower situation. Our shower is very interesting (and again, it's not like other showers I've seen). The ceiling for the shower is very short. Now I'm not the tallest girl in the world at 5'4", and there is only about 3 inches between my head and the shower ceiling. I have no idea how taller people (which there's not too many here in Sicily) manage a shower like this one. Furthermore, the spout is even lower, so it's always a maneuvering game each evening. And the tub itself slopes up everywhere. My shower back home is flat. This one has a strip down the middle about 4 inches wide that is flat. Once you get on either side of those four inches, the tub slopes up, and I'll slip and fall. So essentially when I take a shower, I can only stand in one location, praying the water eventually hits me everywhere. It's very difficult.

Now I'll briefly explain the laundry situation. I have to pay my host family in order to do laundry, and it's 5 euro each time, so I prefer to just wash it myself, which is what I did today for the first time. In an hour, I only managed to wash two pairs of jeans, 10 pairs of underwear and three shirts. It's a bit frustrating, but really my only option (plus, it'd be weird for my host family to have to handle my personal items . . .). Once I finished washing, I then I have to try and hang it. No one here has a dryer. They all just hang their clothes out to dry, so everyone's underwear is just fluttering in the breeze over the streets. There is only a small line outside the window of one of the rooms on my floor, so only my jeans fit, which means everything else is drying in front of heaters or on heaters, which makes me wonder if they might catch fire, but surely if they're wet, they should be fine. Plus, the heaters here are different, which brings me to my last topic.

The weather here is very nice, so there isn't a need for the heat to be on all day, every day. Our family turns the heat on on our floor usually between 2 and 4 p.m., and it's turned off again before they go to bed. Sometimes they forget, and in that case, we freeze until dinner. Unlike heaters in America that give off hot air, these heaters are really just big rocks that heat up. So, it takes a while for the room to actually heat up. Normally when I'm cold, I climb under my covers, or just go stand against the giant rock. And because it's like a stone, I don't think my underwear will catch fire (plus my roommates have used the same drying method with no problems).

Ok, the school is closing so I must end this awkward post. But again, I simply could not leave Italy without explaining all this to you! Ciao, Ciao!