Showering in South Africa

I would go a few steps beyond refreshing when describing my showering experience at our first apartment in Cape Town. We’ve only been here 5 days and each time I shower I have to have no pre-meditated ideas before turning on the water or I may not be able to brave it!

The size of the shower is great! The water pressure is actually fantastic! The glass doors, tiled walls and floor, and sheetrock ceiling are clean. The shower door is easy to open and close. There is no shower curtain, which I am certain Rob is thrilled about! He hates shower curtains. The shower head does not drip when turned off and there are no holes in the ceiling that leak water each time it rains or snow melts, which are VERY nice changes from our most recent one-bedroom apartment, that we loved, but had some quirks of its own, in the avenues in Salt Lake City. :}
But, I definitely think twice about conditioning my hair every time I shower, because I can’t say I look forward to soaking my head with water, which, when it saturates my hairs down to the roots, feels like it penetrates beyond my skull into my brain, sending a sensation that instantly takes me back to my teenage years and the so-called “solar-powered” showers at girls camp…solar powered, in Oregon?? What does that even mean?? Or the water that use to blast out of the hose in the summer time when I would play outside of our Oregon home as a kid. The water temperature in both memories has the ability to inspire goose bumps all over my body, even the meaty bits, at first thought!

Who knew that to have a warm shower in South Africa “heat” had to be specified on the list of amenities?! Hah! I am the lucky one who got to figure this little gem out by being the first to “jump in the shower” and no doubt I was jumping all over that shower! 😉

The next time you take a shower in America, just remember to be thankful that you can take as long and as hot of a shower as you desire, never thinking twice about taking that second step to condition your hair, a luxury that I may have taken for granted throughout my life. How blessed we are in America, but in spite of the cold showers, I am grateful to have clean water to shower and am not any less excitedabout this new journey we have begun in South Africa. Sometimes you have to choose to give up a little to gain a lot in return.