The 34-hour bath

Adjustments? What kind of adjustments do you make when you move to another culture? 

How about something as simple as taking a bath? All you have to do is run the tap hot and cold to suit yourself, right? And when it cools off, you add hot water from the faucet.

That's how it used to be on any day in Canada or the USA. I sit in the tub with a book when I have to study. 

So, why does it take 34 hours to set up a bath here? (Or, from the time we put the tub outside, 48 hours?)

Tuesday, May 2, 2022

I'm thinking ahead. In fact, I've been considering this for a few weeks. "When we get back from our Thursday walk, I'd appreciate a bath to soothe my muscles."

Plus I have to study the language. We bought a portable Japanese style sitting tub a few years ago and we poured a concrete slab over the mud at the end of the terrace this year.

There's no overlook so it's private in the corner but a bathing suit seems wise. I pull the bathtub from the back of the closet to the slab outside.

Wednesday

A bath starts with filtered tap water. You wouldn't consider bathing in what comes from the city, though we use it to shower. W gets out his RV-type filter and hooks up a second filter to catch leaves and bigger debris.

This is the gear for a bath: a portable tub, connectors plus hoses to reach the faucet, a heater and extension cord, a plastic stool for inside the tub, a yardstick or a floating exercise ball so the sarong (big scarf) draped over the top doesn't fall into the water (it keeps bat poop and critters out of the tub while it's filling), and the anti-mosquito fan that we run inside our bedroom at night.

Our Bandung house has no hot water in sinks or bathrooms. W installed point-of-use low-pressure heaters in the showers when we moved in. But when you need hot water for dishes, you use the drop-in device that we found at ACE in Manilla (Philippines - in another country.)

W hooks up the hoses and filters and I open the yard faucet. In no time, there's a collection of leaves and dirt backing up in the hoses. The same water is used inside the house. (Yup, W filters that as well.)

We run the water 8:00-10:00 and then turn it off when we head for town. The tub is about 1/3 full. Water pressure is normal - sometimes you get a great blast but not today.

Thursday

We continue filling the bathtub before 7:00 a.m. so it's full enough when we leave for our Thursday walk. When we get home before noon, we shower off the effort of steep hills in 85-90o heat.

Then I drop the heater into the bathwater. I stir and W uses his thermometer. Hmmm. Slow going.

By 5:30 pm, the water is warm enough, toasty but not hot. I bathe for almost an hour as night falls. When the mosquitoes are no longer deterred by the portable fan next to the tub, I climb out and clean off. Then I stir bleach into the water. It stinks but should dissipate. Hopefully it keeps the water clear for one more bath tomorrow. That was a lot of work for one immersion. I pull the sarong over the top of the yardstick and go inside.

Friday

Ok. This and the smell of bleach greet me when I lift the sarong. No second bath, I'm guessing. Yuk. I drain it into the lawn.

Along our morning walk, we spot a stand of silver blooms.

The recyclers are working in the garbage dump beside the road. Look at the load on the little pickup. Scary to pass such a truck on the road as it weaves between other vehicles, right?

Fowl that escaped the cooking pot pick at the garbage. Some birds are eye-catching, like this speckled hen.

Back home, I pluck a black flower from the garden.

Last Sunday we celebrated this fine couple's anniversary.

Sayaka taught us how to make Japanese-style udon noodles and which sauce to use. We head to the grocer this morning to pick up noodles for our own feast.

Saturday

Walk. Write. Clean. Banana bread for breakfast.

Then it's time to renew last week's BIC floral arrangement, which started to fade mid-week.

I clip the vines and coleus taking over a flowerbed near the house. The trimmings go into the bouquet. Ready or not, it's a quick update.

The neighborhood is peaceful. Other expats, also in language school, are walking their doggies as we go toward the 1-mile loop.

This 7' (2+ meter) sculpture caught my eye earlier this week at a restaurant.

At home, the fish are more relaxed, swimming in the huge pot in our garden.

We head out once more to retrieve for cushions from a defunct restaurant. Afterward, I pause to relax in the backyard.

Traffic is insane: it takes 3 hours or more to reach the city outskirts, normally a 20-minute trip. Almost everyone travels during mudik (post-Ramadan family visits). Horrible congestion is expected. We mainly stay home or in our neighborhood. When we go out, a break in nature helps us unwind.

Claudia drops by. She's spearheading the garage sale at Green Gate tomorrow.

"Lots of good stuff," she says. We hope there's a good turnout tomorrow.

Read more:

*Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands. May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word.

I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me. May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight. Psalm 119:73-77

*Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Isaiah 42:10

*Do not move from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. Colossians 1:23

Moravian Prayer: Holy Redeemer, thank you for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ. May we worship you with pure and grateful hearts. Lead us to place our faith, love, and hope in you. Amen.