colombians and bathing....

jaramillo says on Jan 24, 2005, 07:29:

Bathing in Antioquia I think this varies a lot by region. In Antioquia bathing is a commandment from God.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte says on Jan 24, 2005, 07:41:

you have that right, jaramillo.... mi paisita--a jaramillo--would die before going a day without bathing. too, it's always cold. brrrrrrr

when i lived up the mountain, first infront of the airport (maraia Cordova) and later in llano grande, the water was so (*&^%#$ cold that i finally bought one of those in-line heaters for the shower.

i guess i'm a whuss. i did the cold shower thing in poblado for a while, but later bought a water heater for the house. spoiled. my father in law was always coming over to the house and turning it off! telling me i was wasting money. i was.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

fzrdan says on Jan 24, 2005, 07:48:

dwmte I had to take a few cold showers in Cali and I hated it. How cold could the water possibly be in Cali? Here at home with these huge 40 gallon (or whatever) hot water heaters in our house, we are spoiled. And those big monsters are definitely wasting energy and money.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Chuck says on Jan 24, 2005, 07:54:

Is your water heater broken? Every child risks being called "lagaña" forever by his kindergarden "amiguitos" if he doesn't baths every day even in cold colombian towns. Climate is not an excuse... and the water heater helps!

Now, from other point of view. Somewhere in the desert a nomad tribe invented circumcision. Maybe they were right, no water around. We colombians have plenty of water so we men are still in one piece. And happy being covered! We don't have a callous unsensitive head!

eeerrr... I better stop before I continue with a fishy story.

Anyone knows how to say "lagaña" in english?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jan 24, 2005, 07:57:

Some funny comments there about the uncovered head, Chuck! My wife had never seen one until mine. So I had to explain the whole Northamerican circumcision kick.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Chuck says on Jan 24, 2005, 08:14:

Chuck the engineer! Big mother bertha water heaters are too expensive to run 24 hours a day (we used to keep'm on when electric power was cheap), but anyone can pay the little cost of the inline shower heaters. Keep it short and don't stay all sunday morning with your GF having a fiesta party!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

jaramillo says on Jan 24, 2005, 08:18:

Bathing in "tierra fria"
I guess I’m a whuss too. I grew up with hot water, so I guess I'm spoiled. I never thought it was that rare! There is something to say for a cold shower in Rionegro, or Sonsón, etc. For those few minutes when you are dying, you are unquestionably alive. AFTER it, you feel fantastic.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

miamimike says on Jan 24, 2005, 08:46:

Demand Type Water Heaters Really surprised more of these aren't in use, not only in Colombia but Worldwide. We here in the US waste so MUCH energy with those hot water tanks-reheating them and then not using the stored heated water. With the inline demand types-you heat the water use need and use immediately then its off and no wasted energy. They have been in use for decades in Europe. Solar options are another viable route these days-in the sunny climes-though for poorer families thje cost is probably prohibitive. A neighbor has one (latest generation of solar) cost $1800 and he self installed-cut his energy bill 40-50% he related to me a few days ago.Maybe when the cost of canned energy from the Power companies get so high we will see the light. I use a solar panel for my car battery rechager-works great.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say? You're predicting $4-a-gallon gas? That's interesting. I hadn't heard that." -- Feb. 28, 2008 --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

santiBOG says on Jan 24, 2005, 10:44:

Damn.... I have always had hot water in Colombia.... where the hell are you people hanging out or staying????? Unless you're going to asome cheap hotel in Leticia, I think pretty much every place where a foreigner woould be has hot water. This includes people's houses and hotels.

I am from Bogota... it would be inhumane to bathe with cold water there.

Lagaña in english is "dog sh%t".

0 funny, 0 helpful.

vladimiro says on Jan 24, 2005, 10:50:

Cold SHowers My wife was raised in Medellin, but her brother was raised in Bogota. She was joking with him once saying los rolos only shower once a week because of the cold weather and lack of hot water. He, in all seriousness, said that wasn't true - that they shower atleast twice a week in Bogota:)

0 funny, 0 helpful.

cintiamay says on Jan 24, 2005, 10:50:

my paisa boyfriend is always telling me the water is too hot, whether washing dishes or taking showers. This would give me some insight into this phenomenon.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jan 24, 2005, 10:59:

santiBOG I've taken showers in Bogotá with the "hot" water available there...tepid coming down from the shower head and already freezing when hitting my feet...but that was a private, middle-class family residence, not a hotel. I'm sure things have improved since those years...when people had to wear ruanas to get out of the bed in the morning because the interior temps in the houses were uncomfortably low.
Cheers,
Desi

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gomezman5 says on Jan 24, 2005, 13:36:

dwmte Florida -- Freezing??? Come to Chicago, the Windy City. You have not felt cold anywhere in Colombia or Florida until you have experienced Chicago's cold with the 30-35 MPH wind coming off Lake Michigan

Now as to hot water in Bogota.....everybody there has their own version as to what hot water really is. Also, if you happen to live in a place where the hot water is heated from a solar heat, if you are depending on solar energy in Bogota, your'e screwed because it is cloudy much more often than it is sunny.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jan 24, 2005, 13:47:

This whole thread baffles me. At my wife's apartment in Medellin, we have hot water. At my sister-in-law's in Bogota, again, she has hot water. The only place I have been without hot water is my mother-in-law's in Monteria, where it's so hot, you're relieved to be taking a cold shower.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Gomezman5 says on Jan 24, 2005, 13:55:

Utopia Believe me hot water in Bogota can be very hit and miss. Sometimes they have apartment and hotel complexes that share these mini water heaters---no quick returns like here in the US, and if the guy you share the heater takes the shower before you, you will have to wait maybe 20 minutes to a half hour before you can take your shower.

This is a fairly common occurence in Bogota.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

utopiacowboy says on Jan 24, 2005, 14:08:

I guess I have been lucky. I visited her twice and she lived in a different complex each time but I never had problems with the hot water.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

isaactraveler says on Jan 24, 2005, 14:17:

hahah hot water shower losers!~ Actually, Rollos use Hot water. but it seems ONLY in Bogota. In Armenia, mostly because I was crying about how cold the water was (freaking hot as hell weather, cold as ice water) we got her little hot water heater that is attached to her shower head fixed.

That brought the temperature from penis-shrinking cold to just at VERY COLD. She of course thought I was a big baby. Her little son was crying at how scalding the water was with the heater.

damn river bathing gypsies.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Tinto (Moderator) says on Jan 24, 2005, 14:18:

Thanks for the mental image Hehehe

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kernow62 says on Jan 24, 2005, 14:25:

My wife thinks all the people complaining about lack of hot water must be from some place other than Bogotá. She cannot recall any of her friend's homes that lacked in this dept. My wife takes showers that are too hot for me.

Solar water heating can be really inexpensive. For example the attic in my home is so hot that in all but the coldest months simply running the water pipes through the attic results in scaldingly hot water. A simple coiled pipe painted black located on a roof will quicly and efficiently generate plenty of hot water.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lionheart says on Jan 24, 2005, 14:50:

coiled black hose My parents bought a lot of black semi-flexible water-suppy hose for their retirement home in Southern France. It is the kind the city water company uses to connect houses to the water main. They coiled it on the flat roof of their 3 bedroom house and it supplies enough hot water for at least 3 people taking showers in a row, when they don't waste it. The water fed into it comes from a well on the lot and is cold. Of course I would recommend taking showers together with your loved one to save water. The sun there heats up the coil within four hours, so 2 showers a day are easy.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

santiBOG says on Jan 24, 2005, 15:37:

Gomezman "hot water in Bogota can be very hit and miss."

Totally false. I am puzzled as to why people keep complaining about the (lack of) hot water. Where the hell is everyone staying??? Except for those who have been to sub-normal areas such as Kazuka or a Ciudad Bolivar, I really don't understand this whole thread.

Is everyone turning the wrong faucet or something? It's been known to happen VERY often where the construction maestros install the faucet marked H for cold (they figure the H is for Helada) and the C for Hot (Caliente). I'm sure this could throw some people off.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Dan says on Jan 24, 2005, 16:14:

Normally, When I'm in Bogota, I'm staying at a hotel. All the hotels I've sayed in have Hot water. When my girlfriend stays with me, she has to get me to start it because she doesn't really know really how to adjust it. If I take a shower first and I leave it going for her, she usually has me turn the heat down a little because it's too much for her.

God Bless America!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Cerealkiller says on Jan 24, 2005, 17:04:

Im in bogota and even though I take cold showers everyday I have hot water and cant really think of any place around here where there is no access to hot water, even some of my friends in Cali take hot showers, go figure... Perhaps theres no water only, in marginalised areas in the south, as Santibog was saying,. Where is Kazooka by the way? And how do you get to help people? Is it like alphabetization and volunteering?
GiB, I know what you were talking about, I got on a bus in London once and there was this woman who reaked, honestly, it was a double decker and the people from above left the bus because the smell was just unnatural. The Transport for London people had to stop the bus and ask the lady to get off. Its been one of the weirdest experiences ive ever had!!! Havent seen anything like that here, not even from the people asking for a "pequena colaboracion" on Bogota's buses viejos!!!!

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives -John Stuart Mill

0 funny, 0 helpful.

2retirensa says on Jan 24, 2005, 20:50:

Even in Cali I want the water at least warm. I had to heat the water on the stove, take it to the shower and add cold water to a comfortable temp. I can shower and wash my hair in 5 liters of water. I had to take a few cold showers, but only to be polite because I didn´t know the family very well when we were visiting others. I WILL have hot water in my house!
Maureen

0 funny, 0 helpful.

fortyoz says on Feb 21, 2005, 14:33:

Titan appliance In Costa Rica, my apartment ( shared w/ paisa gf ) has a Titan heat on demand appliance, its a small box, costs around $100US and you put your house's hot water pipe through it and whenever you use a hot water tap.. sinks, shower .. etc it starts heating and the water is instantly hot, and never runs out, we like to take half hour long hot showers .. and the electricity bill is hardly anything. Its basically the same as those heat on demand shower heads except made to supply the whole house, and much nicer, those shower head ones are always so fidgity and break often.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

N2Aquatix says on Feb 24, 2005, 02:50:

Hot showers rule!!! I like a hot shower because it opens the pores. Also, I could not imagine trying to have shower-sex (one of my favorite things in the whole world!) in cold water. ;-)

Jay

0 funny, 0 helpful.

YEP says on Feb 24, 2005, 04:20:

he he ... N2Aqatix ....
that would make it last longer though .... or make both of your work "harder" at it ;-)



-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

------------------------------------------------------------------- Just another scandinavian getting ready to explore South America

0 funny, 0 helpful.

swedish_girl says on Feb 24, 2005, 13:49:

i found colombians to be bathing freaks like americans

even in cold bogota poor people that didnt have hot water, they would boil water in their stoves and bathe

and in the coast too, they all bathed twice a day, maybe coz it's hot

i think colombians are clean people, of course there might be exceptions, but higyene wise, colombians are a lot cleaner than MANY EUROPEANS, AND I AM EUROPEAN

0 funny, 0 helpful.

poco says on Feb 24, 2005, 15:43:

Hot water is NOT common in warmer parts Agree, cold water bathing in Bogotá would be torture,, and I have no experience in the cites and do not know how many people have some sort of hot water system.

Houses with a hot water heating system in the Valle Cauca area, which includes Cali are NOT common. I venture to say that only 10% of the houses have a hot water system. Surprising as this is,, most people don’t want HOT water. Most cultural differences are EASY to understand,, but COLD water was and still is incomprehensible. I visited a family that had hot water but it was turned off and money was not a problem. Strata 1 neighborhoods (the lowest level that have city services) could not afford equipment and installation coupled with the cost of gas. As if they cared about hot water to begin with.

Agree,, Colombians are well above average in the cleanliness department. This includes the house, sidewalk and half the street in front of the house. I have two showers,, one with hot water that I installed. The girl I’m with will NOT wash her hair in the hot water shower. She uses the sauna shower,, Why?

1. Hot (or even slightly warm) is NOT good for the hair.
2. Hot water showers are NOT better than cold water showers.
3. Hot water showers can cause health problems. (? Warm seems to be OK)

This is a photo of my electric hot water shower head. A number one priority. This works BETTER than my shower in the states. Immediate hot water and the temperature can be regulated by adjusting the flow.

"Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent" - Isaac Asimov

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 24, 2005, 15:47:

And I agree Cold water it keeps your hair shinnig, is good for cellulites, and keep your breast firm. i think so?

engage brain before opening mouth

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Hunter says on Feb 24, 2005, 15:51:

kat 1 Well thats a new one, can you post us a pic, not of your hair though.

Hunter

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 24, 2005, 15:52:

Lol hunter very funny huh

engage brain before opening mouth

0 funny, 0 helpful.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Feb 24, 2005, 15:53:

But works in men too, no in breast but in..... that's what they said

engage brain before opening mouth

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Lionheart says on Feb 24, 2005, 18:16:

the cold water drama For weeks now I am trying to find out if my novia has hot water in Cali ... so far I don't think so. She states that she takes warm showers, because the water in Cali is warm. When she goes for business to Bogota she enjoys the cold showers there ... brrrr. She also insists they are good for me. I am trying to find out if she has a water heater at all, but the whole concept just bounces off the wall, I think the term heater in general in any language causes confusion and is unknown. I am considering just bringing a water heater with me now, assuming she doesn't have one ...

Do Colombians wash their dishes and clothes in cold water too?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

SiempreHero says on Feb 24, 2005, 18:38:

All the water is always cold even with Even with one of those electric on demand heaters, the water feels cold. I hate that part of it when i visit the inlaws. When i lived in Bogota, i had an apartment that was equiped with an on demand gas system as well as an electric water tank. The on demand system gave you water that was only slightly less than tibida. If i plugged in the electric tank, the water was HOT, but my electric bill was about equal to USD100 more per month. I left the electric one on all the time, it was worth it. I think the typical colombian just uses cold or at best luke warm water.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

fzrdan says on Feb 24, 2005, 19:45:

I can tell you my caleña does not like taking cold showers although she has to everyday because she does not have cold water in her house. I have no idea how cold the water is though when she takes a shower as I never took one at her house.

When we were in the hotel it was just as much of a problem for her as me that we had hot water problems. She didn't want to take a hot shower, just a warm one. She has no idea what cold is though. She has lived her entire life in Cali or Cartagena.

She wasn't such a bathing nut that she wanted to take two showers a day. We did sometimes but not everyday. It is amazing that some women can barely rinse themselves off but still feel and smell clean.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

N2Aquatix says on Feb 25, 2005, 02:27:

Let me wash your back I often take two showers a day. One when I come home from work to get the funk out before I relax on the couch and have an ice-cold cerveza (plus I would never go to bed without taking a shower first, that's just nasty!), then one in the morning to wake up. It's not a clean-freak thing, I just enjoy it. Oh, and let's not forget the shower-sex. Let me wash your back, baby..... ;-)

Jay

0 funny, 0 helpful.

cintiamay says on Feb 25, 2005, 10:33:

Ok we get it.... shower sex Jay, that's the 2nd time. My novio has confirmed w/ me that he did not have hot water when he was growing up except for the period when he lived in a more urban area in Armenia. And he does not like hot water for anything. Lukewarm, that's it, so as far as shower sex, doesn't happen cause neither of us agree on the temperature (of the water that is)!!! He is muy caliente though so maybe I should try the cold shower, he'd probably warm it right up...

0 funny, 0 helpful.

ARMacleod says on Feb 25, 2005, 11:04:

Wash V hot V cold? A study some years ago showed that a lady who agreed to take part in an experiment, she was to stop washing her hair for a period of time, I think it was six or nine months.

After the first few weeks the lady was just about crazy with the itching and almost gave up. (It was on the TV)

After a month or so the itching stopped and also the stale smell (forgot to mention that).

After something like five months she want to her hair stylist dresser or whatever and his remarks to her as to the sheer luxury and sheen of her hair had her glowing like a child with a bag of sweets.

If any of you have a small dog like mine (passed on now) he was a shiatsu (spelling?) The hair gets longer and longer, it does not fall out.

I decided to give the little brute (he had an attitude dysfunction) a good wash as my wife was too scared to try.

A week after the bath he smelled like a rancid and gangrenous gorillas armpit. Another wash and same result. Stopped washing, just daily brush and he again smelled like a small dog with an attitude dysfunction.

There must be a lesson there somewhere?

Being of unsound mind and dubious disposition, I cannot be held legally liable for any indiscretions."¡El diablo me hizo hacerlo!" But don't worry, be happy.

The brain is like a parachute, it only functions correctly when it is open. Pax vobiscum.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

Moya says on Feb 25, 2005, 14:14:

I know just what you mean dwmte. My Colombian husband will not even wash dishes in hot water. (which bugs the hell out of me cos they take so much longer to drip dry and the glass is covered in ugly water spots which require vigorous rubbing to remove! I'm sorry, I can't help it, I have a Virgo moon.)

Snow has no effect whatsoever on his 2 icy showers a day habit (shower sex is a no no. The one time we tried it I had my first recurrence in 7 years of the frostbite in my toe I got hiking in the mountains once.) and he still can't bear to sleep covered by so much as a sheet, so no lengthy night time cuddles either. Its a miracle we're still together really!

He's quite nice to warm my feet on though. And if our water pipes ever freeze I could always stand him naked in a vat of snow for 30 seconds to melt it and bring it to boiling point for my bath.

I thought he was just weird. Its nice to know after all these posts its actually a cultural norm.

0 funny, 0 helpful.