Apparently I don't understand how to take a shower in another country. It never seemed like a problem before, but these last two months have been much different than before. This morning I went to take a shower, but in Lebanon it's cold now (maybe upper 30s F) and the shower I'm using is in an attached bathroom, but there is a small breezeway to it. That is to say, the bathroom is really cold for showering before hot water arrives. The water heater is basically a wood burning stove. Throw some wood in there, burn it, the fire heats the water. Pretty basic, pretty effective. Once I got the water on it was WAY TOO HOT. It wasn't boiling, but it was the kind of hot water that I would use to clean things that are really dirty and not attached to my body, such as my skin. The heat is controlled by a valve attached to the water heater and so I decided to turn it down, so I thought. Well, I basically cut all the hot water. So for a moment I could see my breath and see the steam of the water that was hot just a moment ago. That was one of the more bizarre temperature related incidents in my life.
Well, there was hot water that had collected in a bucket, and, well, being in india for 5 weeks without a shower... I knew what to do! I started basically bathing out of the bucket. My aunt heard that no water was running and asked if everything was ok. I said that water was too cold. I somehow couldn't readjust the water to anywhere in between scalding and icy. (The bucket water was nice)
My aunt saved the day, but it took her a while to adjust the temperature to something reasonable. By the time I was in my shower (I was already wet and waiting for the water to get hot again made me even colder) I just wanted to soap and rinse and get out. Well, the few small pieces of wood that were heating my shower had burned out. So my hot water went slowly warm (perfect) then cold again. I decided I was done showering.
I know the timing better now, so this problem shouldn't arise again, but if it does, I do know how to use a bucket to bathe!
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I like the idea of a wood-burning stove to heat a shower. It reminds me of traditional saunas that use stoves to heat rocks. Water is poured on the hot rocks and the room gets so steamy that the surface of your eyes will fog up momentarily. The sauna itself is typically made of cedar, which makes the room lightly fragrant when it's warmed. Good times. I could live in a sauna.
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