Showers and Culture

I haven’t really formulated this idea in my mind yet, but it seems to me that there is a lot that can be said about a culture based on their showers. Not only what their showers may look like (a nice full-bath shower with different options for how the water comes out of the nozzle, a bucket bath where you heat up water and use a bucket to bathe, a shower that is cold in the morning because the water is stored in a large container outside but the water heats up during the day so afternoon showers are nice – the list goes on), but also what time of day people take showers, and how often they take showers. Here are a few generalizations that I have made. Yes, I recognize they are generalizations and do not apply to every situation, but in my mind they seem to make some sense.

1. Cultures that shower in the morning are often financially well off. Showering in the morning often means you have a job that you don’t expect to get sweaty during the day, which often means you earn more money.
2. Cultures that shower in the afternoon tend to have more blue-collar jobs. This is the way it is in Honduras. We shower every afternoon or evening because we know that we will get sweaty during the day. Also, afternoon showers may mean (as I mentioned above) that the water needs to heat up in the daytime sun.
3. Bucket baths are often symbolic of poor communities. I know this seems like an obvious statement.
4. In Honduras, many people also bathe in the river, yet another sign of a poor community. How many Americans go down to the nearby river for a bath in the afternoon?
5. Do cold showers feel nice? If they do, it is most likely a culture that works hard during the day and comes home hot and sweaty. Another frequent occurrence in Honduras and other poor cultures.

So while I recognize that all these generalizations do not apply to every situation, I think knowing how a culture showers can tell you a lot about that culture. This is something that I had never thought about until we moved to Honduras.