Ryan has taken to rarely bathing in this country. As you may already know, the dirt roads and heat make it hard to keep yourself clean here in Uganda. You will find yourself thinking that you have a tan, but really, it is just dirt. I have to bathe every day because I always feel sweaty and gross. Ryan, on the other hand, justifies not bathing because he says he is just going to get dirty again – so what’s the point? I have to admit that I cannot be too hard on Ryan because I rarely bathed when I was living in Kenya. I get it…sometimes it really is just too much work to bucket bathe. Ryan, however, waited five months to finally wash his sheets. That is correct, that is 5 months of unwashed sheets with a man who does not bathe. This combination, I feel, cannot be justified. Thankfully, he recently hired a house girl to do his laundry, so his sheets are now being washed on a regular basis.
On the rare occasion that Ryan chooses to bathe, he also decides to do his dishes. In an effort to save water, Ryan uses his dirty bath water to wash his dishes. He argues that it is easier because the water is already soapy and that it is okay because he rinses them off with clean water. Since Ryan only bathes about two to three times a week, I can only imagine the color of his bath water. It is safe to assume that I will not be enjoying a meal at Ryan’s in the near future.
In addition to not washing his sheets, Ryan has never wiped his stove clean. He has the same stainless steel gas stove that I have, but his turned completely black from all of the grease. When he told me this fun fact, I was horrified and I insisted that he let me come over and make it silver again. I destroyed a sponge and the bucket of water was black when I was finished cleaning. I even got the special bonus of being able to clean under the stove - complete with old food and rat poop.
Ryan may not be the cleanliest of people, but he is a good guy. For one, he has a sense of humor and has allowed me to post about pooping his pants and his hygiene. Secondly, Ryan also rescued a kitten from his latrine. Last week, he discovered that a kitten had fallen into his latrine and he could hear it meowing. Ryan consulted his neighbors about saving the kitten and they all laughed. The latrine is brand new, and they said they could not get the kitten out since it is thirty feet deep. Ryan figured that the kitten was most likely near death because there was no way it could survive a thirty-foot fall. After three days, however, the kitten was still meowing and Ryan set out to rescue the kitten. Ryan spent three frustrating hours trying to get the kitten out of the latrine until he was finally successful. He says that his neighbors must think he is crazy because for three hours he was shining his flashlight and yelling, “You idiot! Get on the stupid piece of wood. Come on!!!” Ryan also says that it was not compassion that made him spend so much time trying to rescue a kitten; it was his ego. There was a problem, and he needed a solution – he was not going to be outsmarted by a kitten. He finally lowered a rice sack with dried fish inside in order to lure the kitten. After ten minutes, the cat entered the sack and Ryan was able to pull him to safety. Ryan claims that he only decided to save the kitten because he wanted to poop in peace. He, however, gave the kitten a bath, pulled out his tics with tweezers, gave him food, and then let him sleep in his house. So Ryan may not be the most hygienic, but he has a good heart! In the end, I am glad to call him my friend.
Plus, he is really photogenic…
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| Ryan with my neighbors |
Cant wait to meet Ryan when I visit and glad you are surrounded by such Great Friends! LOVE YOU!!! Also as a side request.. if you and jowi dress up for halloween I DEF want pics please :)
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