Soap and save

For the past five weeks I have been taking "soap and save" style showers — the kind where you turn the water on at first, then turn it off while you soap up, then turn it back on again for a few seconds to rinse off. It's been a very different experience for me, because I am normally accustomed to taking longer showers and lingering in the steam. The reason I am no longer affording myself this luxury is because I am studying abroad in Paris this semester, where it is customary to get in, get out, and get on with the day.

I have embraced this study abroad opportunity as a way to learn about a new manner of living in a city full of centuries old traditions, from fine cuisine to styles of art and architecture; systems of transportation to modes of fashion; hours of store operation to conservation of electricity and water. With regards to the last custom, I very much understand this type of conservation. In fact, I support it fully. Walking around the city of Paris, I see the homeless population in front of my own eyes. I think about people living in poverty around the world, in countries where it is a day's walk to get to clean water. I think about the uneven distribution of resources around the globe, and I understand why it is important to conserve and protect the environment. Yet I still yearn for just a few more minutes under the hot spigot each morning.

I wrote a previous article on praying in the shower — it's a perfect way to relax and to breathe, letting the water that is life giving, both spiritually and physically, run over me, calming my body and my soul. But with this new European method of bathing, I find myself getting frustrated that I can't do that very well! My heart pangs once more thinking about how much precious water I "waste" by taking my time, and my moral balance is thrown off track by the incongruity of ideals.

I realize, though, that while it is important to remain conscious of my actions and the impact they have, it's also okay to seek out the kind of familiar comfort that comes with something like taking a long shower. And so I continue now, within this broad culture of ideas and practices, to search for familiarity amidst the unfamiliar.