What’s that Smell?

There is no easy way to write or talk about other people’s hygiene habits.  American’s have been labeled as the washing crazy culture.  We take showers daily and we use lots of soap and water.

Traveling as we do from country to country and culture to culture it is easy to assume that other cultures just don’t get the need for using soap and water on a daily basis and how could anyone not use deodorant regularly?  It’s not such a cut and dry argument however.  Many countries offer these items for sale but the costs are just outrageous, well over $5 for a stick of deodorant for example.  In some of the countries we have lived in, and where the economic situation in the world has deteriorated badly, this money is not easy to spend on a health care product when you might have children who would go hungry instead.

The other issue is the cost of taking daily showers adds up.  In many of the places we have lived the cost of water and even the electricity to run the hot water tanks is very expensive and so people do not have the luxury of showering every day.  They shower once every couple of days or even just a couple of times a week.  Yes, to us Americans who shower daily this is a shock but the cost of the water bill and the electricity are so high that many people also do not run their washing machines more than twice a week.  How many loads of laundry do you do a week?

Costs of electricity are so high many people in the world do not have clothes driers.  We don’t have one here in Spain and we didn’t have one in Croatia, Panama or Mexico.  We had one in Scotland but most people were shocked that we used it because the cost of using it was so high.  We used it because the weather was so cold it would have taken a week for any clothes to have dried.  It really is a no win situation in some places.

Another factor is that many of the products offered for sale are really not good quality.  Here in Spain they sell something called the Deo Stick as a deodorant.  It’s just a wax of some kind with a smell factor, it is not an antiperspirant deodorant made to combat body odor and sweat.  It’s a wax cover to make the armpits smell nicer.  It costs only around $1 and for many people hurting financially its better than nothing.  Its just not going to last all day and it won’t hide body odor for long.

If the World Health Organization or Red Cross really wanted to help the less fortunate they would give out soap and antiperspirant deodorant instead of just food.  The same goes for mouthwash and toothpaste.  And yes, the people also need the directions on how to use all of these things because many have never been able to afford them.

So while I still walk around with tissue to cover my nose because of the smells of those around me who I consider to be unclean I also know that sometimes it’s the costs of being clean that are just too high.  I’m still disgusted by it all but I try to tolerate it.  It’s not easy traveling the world sometimes.  It is an eye opener however in just how good most people in the US have life and why so many immigrants still want to live there.

Florence Lince

http://www.about.me/florencelince

 

Dinner at Eight

I am not your typical female. I hate making dinner reservations. Mostly this stems from my dislike of not being able to control the hygiene standards of the food sellers in all the countries we travel to and through.

Mike can eat anything. He never reacts badly to bad hygiene processes while I on the other hand suffer from gastric distress and lots of bouts of diarrhea. I won’t use a fork any longer in any restaurant; too many times I’ve found food from the last person, or perhaps the last 100 people still stuck to the tines. Not every country has and uses electric dishwashers with high temperature antiseptic settings so I only use spoons now.

I also wash all fruits and vegetables when I get home from the market or grocery. I would never consider eating an apple or other fruit directly from the store. I’ve watched other shoppers doing disgusting things and then pick up food that they might not always purchase and put it back on the pile to sell to the next person. You know the people I’m talking about; these are the same people who don’t use soap and water after using the bathroom; I would never consider shaking their hands let alone eat anything they have put back onto the store shelf.

Some of the foods offered via the ‘street’ vendors look and smell terrific. And then we hear about their hygiene practices, or lack thereof, and we are warned not to consume any of their offerings. We were warned by more than one person not to even consider eating any of the food from any street vendor in Mexico. Even after living in Mexico over 30 years some expats told us they still will not eat at the local street sellers. We were able to eat the food from the sellers in Panama however and I did so freely and as often as I could. The food was always fresh and I didn’t suffer from any adverse reactions.

Periodically while transitioning from home to home we won’t have our own kitchen and even if we have access to one the hygiene of the others using the kitchen has at times grossed me out so badly I won’t even enter the kitchen let alone touch anything. This leaves us with eating at diners, café’s, and restaurants.

Since I tend to eat Vegan (or Vegetarian when I have too) I also have a hard time in some of these countries where meat is the main staple of the diet. So many of the countries start with meat for every entry, or fish and they don’t do a lot of vegetable dishes. Ask me how many margarita pizzas, tomato salads and dry cereal I’ve eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This is not a healthy diet so travel is sometimes hard on me and that is why for us traveling maybe one day a week is enough.

Part of the problem with travel and eating is the costs associated with eating out. Bread is sometimes a la carte and not complementary so a simple bowl of soup for lunch with crusty bread can easily cost $20. The other day Mike had a Spanish omelet (potatoes, eggs and onions) and I had a tomato salad. We thought the cost couldn’t possibly be that much since it was simple enough fare. The bill was 28 Euros or roughly $35. Because so many restaurants are in high traffic locations they have gone to menus with pretty photos and you order from the photo. Too many times they leave off the prices. Pickpockets aren’t the only ones trying to fleece you of your money; some are doing it legitimately.

I didn’t always worry about the costs of meals. I’ve been traveling for over 30 years but I had an excellent income at the time and never thought twice about what the costs were. Today, we live and travel on Mike’s social security income. Another factor is that we are not on vacation; we are either transitioning from place to place or are sightseeing so spending our money on overpriced restaurant or café food is not something we are interested in.

What makes this lifestyle work for us is that I like to cook. We have a kitchen in every place we live; we fill it with the foods we both like and our grocery bill doesn’t exceed $300 a month when we can cook for ourselves. I also know what I’m eating and I control the sanitary conditions of my kitchen.

So while Dinner at Eight sounds great, what is especially satisfying to me is the knowledge that by 8:30 I won’t be suffering from Montezuma’s revenge. Bon Appétit!

Florence Lince
http://www.about.me/florencelince