“Wet Dog Smell” is a Misnomer

Our current house has but one caveat, and that is that bathing has become an even more trying task than it was at our last house.  We get water an average of one time per week, normally very late at night on Tuesdays.  If we can fill all of our containers, we have about 85 liters that have to last two people the entire week.  That means 85 liters to drink, cook, wash our dishes, wash our clothes, and bathe with.  This list is written in order from the most to the least important, meaning bathing is often stricken from the list.

Oh, sure, we do still get to bathe in a limited sense.  We both make sure to wash our hair a few times a weeks, and wet wipes have become a very necessary purchase whenever we go to Addis.  Still, no matter how hard you scrub yourself with a scented baby wipe, it’s only going to get you so clean.

This, in turn, leads to a rather unpleasant phenomenon.  When you finally get the chance to head into your hub town (Addis for us) and take a real, hot, water having shower, you’re going to come to a gross realization.  The second that that beautifully hot water hits your head and your body, the smell that comes wafting up to your nose is going to be utterly rancid.  If you have ever bathed a dog, the smell is instantly going to flip a familiar switch in you brain, and you’ll find yourself thinking, “Wet ‘dog’ smell is a misnomer.  A more accurate phrase would be ‘wet mammal smell.’”

And on that putrescent note, I’ll leave you with one final Jeff Foxworthy-esq thought:

You know you’re a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia when you look at your arms and legs and think, “Hey, I’m getting a pretty nice tan” only to have it wash off when you FINALLY bathe.

            ~Jessie