Showers

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Showers in France: Washing Yourself ... And the Whole Room

When I get back to the US I am going to have a new appreciation for shower curtains or glassed in showers. Or even shower heads that attach to the wall. And I know that I shouldn't complain about the showers in France, because it's a privilege to have showers, but I think it would just be more convenient if there was more to the showers to avoid water splashing around the whole room.

Just a bit of glass to protect my tile floors from waves of water

Most showers in France don't have a glass or curtain around the bathtub. If there is a glass, it's half a glass near the shower head. This leaves the area around the shower unprotected from the spray of water caused by your movements. And it has taken me forever to figure out how not to spray water everywhere. I've tried moving as little as possible. I've tried angling the shower head against the wall. None of it works. The water just bounces right off like a game of hot potato. The only way I've found is if you put the water pressure to a trickle, it won't splash everywhere. But I'm not about to take a one hour shower. And living by myself is one thing, I just use my extra towels and wipe up when I'm done. But visiting someone's house is a whole new experience. You don't want to leave the bathroom looking like the splash zone a Sea World, but you want to take a shower. So what do you do? Apparently you crouch. Yep, that's right! Stand in the bathtub and get into squatting position while quickly washing yourself. And even though I'm alone and no one is watching, I feel awkward. It just doesn't feel natural. So when I stay at someone's house and I see a curtain, I breathe a sigh of relief. But when I don't, I immediately think of how long I can avoid this conundrum. Because nothing makes a more awkward houseguest than someone that doesn't know how to take a shower.

Oh but I'm not even finished. Most shower head nozzles don't attach to the top of your shower, so you constantly have to hold the shower head with one hand and do your showering business with another. I guess it's a good workout for your triceps. But I have to stay, my laziness of not wanting to hold the shower head has helped me conserve a lot of water. So props to you French people for conserving water and not being lazy. And don't get me started on the fact that there are no ventilators in the showers. It just means all the hot air just gets to sit there and create mold on the walls. Yes I am very excited to take lazy showers when I get back home.