Katie: Showering at the public *pila.

Well here goes… I was staying with my host family while taking Spanish classes in San Vicente this past week. When on the first morning my host mom announced the private pila had no water and asked me if I could shower at the one everyone else uses. Ok this pila is next to the kitchen and on main path everyone in the family and frequenters of the **tienda walks by on. At first my brain said no but then because I was feeling very grubby I thought ok, I will be wearing shorts and a tanktop no problem it will be just fine so I said “Si, no hay problema”. Since almost everyone uses open-air pilas to bathe, bathing with clothes to cover you is the norm here. Well then she handed me a slip and said it would be easier to wash ;) so ok I change and start. Soon I have a line of kids waiting for their turn as they all are getting ready for school. Then I look down between the two latrines (about a 2 foot space) and see the teenager and his uncle “working” yeah… ok this is getting awkward as the slip is pegando (sticking) to me so I step back a foot so they can work in private. Meanwhile I have five kids waiting with the boys 5 & 8 looking at me dreamily. When the 5 year old announces that my breast are larger than his moms who by the way is standing in the kitchen and starts giggling with rosy cheeks when our eyes meet and I just say “va (ok)” to the kid and continue about my business as quickly as possible. To top it off one of the men of the family is coming on the trail and so I start frantically trying to unstuck the slip from my legs when I hear (as he was surprised because he was not paying attention) hoh! Of course I cannot bring myself to look in that direction (as my cheeks were turning bright red) so I take the only course I can and just continue very quickly. Anyway the whole time I was laughing hysterically inside and thinking only here would I get so much attention!

*pila: large concrete basin where the people wash dishes, clothes, and bath.
**tienda: local store with the basics.