a pail of water....

Growing up in a place where water supply had never been a problem, I had never imagined that one day I'd have to experience using only a bucket of water for the whole bathing process. Back in the day, we used to live on San Juan St. where the water district used to be and water just oozed out from its huge pipes 24/7 for free. Fast forward many years after in Manila, I had this rare experience of living with an aunt whose house was situated in the so-called squatters' area. Residents there had to walk rugged miles to fetch water and man, it wasn't a pleasant task. The road to the water supply was going up and down and by the time you reach the house, you'd be left with only half a bucket of water.Although I was like a visitor there for they invited me to stay with them for a while, I had to fetch water too even if they insisted I shouldn't. Well, every morning for a week,I fetched water with my cousins and water was like the most precious commodity there. You couldn't waste a drop. You have to recycle or reuse whatever is reusable. I had to learn how to bathe with only a small pail of water and I remember doing the following steps: the first scoop of water should be able to wet my entire body from head to foot. Soaping and shampooing follows and the rest of the water is for rinsing off the soap and shampoo suds. It didn't feel like you're totally clean, but it was better than nothing.