will miss/won't miss: showers

As we prepare to move away from Nicaragua (read this blog post if this is news for you), I frequently think about what will change in our “new life” in the States. On good days, I think a lot about what I'll miss from Nicaragua. On rough days, I think much more about what I won't miss. The truth is that what I'll miss and won't miss are frequently elements of the same thing. I think this is why new life phases seem to always be so bittersweet. So without further ado...

Showers
What I won't miss:
We don't have hot water in our bathrooms. Most Americans here who do have it have what's affectionately called a widow maker shower head, but we never got any installed in our current house. I've taken a cold shower every day for the last year and a half, but it hasn't gotten any less shocking (though I have accustomed to the cold-water shave). Mix that with widely varying water pressure and you have anywhere from a dribble to a sandblasting stream of surprisingly icy water.

Of course, the very fact that I complain about this ignores the tremendous financial advantage I have over the majority of the country which doesn't have large water tanks to draw from when the public water is off (about 18 hours a day) or a water pump to supplement low water pressure. Something profound could probably be said at this juncture, but it eludes me.

What I'll miss:
This view from the shower window. Even though all the blooms just fell off of that middle tree in the last few weeks, it's still hard to beat.