Bathing in Kazakstan is Awesome

October 8-10, 2007

Let me preface this entry by saying that we do not bathe very often in Kazakstan. Usually I can manage to wash my hair and shave three days week, but these affairs are with heated buckets of water in the sink, not a totally cleansing experience. The real cleaning only takes place once a week, usually on Sunday, the Monsha. The Monsha is similar to the American sauna, you sit in a super hot room, sweat like crazy, and periodically douse yourself with cold water. You also wash yourself with coarse pads, which not only get off the dirt, but also take off at least two layers of skin. After 30 minutes in the monshaw, you are as clean as you have ever been since the day you were born, and you feel awesome. Slowly, but surely, I am getting over my nostalgia for showering like one does in the United States. Showering may be effective back in the States, but here in Kazakstan it just is not effective. The air is so dirty here that even your underwear becomes packed with dirt and dust, so you need an industrial strength scrubbing. The only drawback to it is that you only usually do it once a week because it is so time consuming. Lighting the stove to heat the water can be tricky sometimes, and given the amount of water involved, it can take almost a half an hour before it is ready. Still, totally worth it, and I might have to make a few more visits to the steam room when I get back to the States, because after two years of Sandstorms in Kyzlorda, I don’t think I’ll find showering to be satisfactory or effective although when I am sitting naked with five other guys, sweating profusely, I do miss the privacy of the shower.