Mainstream

This morning I received a google news highlight saying "you've shown interest in bidets..." and there was an article about the ecological friendliness of bidets... I think this google alert is only because I've watched the Kristen Wiig and Zach Galifianakis SNL sketch quite a few times-- nosy Google!

Saturday Night Live comedy sketch about bidets.

But truly, I am interested in being ecologically conscious, especially water conscious because I live in the desert. Water desalination is expensive and we tend to overuse every resource here in Dubai... In college many of my peers took a semester or a year to work on a Kibbutz commune and came back with the idea that you don't flush unnecessarily, makes sense.

Here we don't use as much toilet paper, I have adopted the habit of not throwing paper in the toilet, *most* of the time I will throw paper in the waste bin.. This is all personal and not something people speak about in general. My colleague at Zayed University who teaches science told me that that using water in the bathroom is definitely better for the disposal system than using paper... I think it is indelicate to tell people exactly when I use paper and when I don't, but perhaps this conversation should become more mainstream. Pun intended.

I have reduced the amount of times per day I flush here in the UAE. The article I read this morning was focusing on the use of bidet, claiming that using a bidet will reduce the amount of showering, I disagree. I want to conserve water as much as the next gal who lives in the desert, but I shower briefly in the morning and take a bath at night.

First, let me clarify that we have a bathroom hose in all bathrooms here in the UAE, thank god. It is so refreshing and is required for Muslim law. When I am in countries that do not have this, I feel not at home... When my mother returned to the US from her month-long visit in Dubai, she had a bathroom hose installed at the house, which the plumber calls a "Cuban bidet." At my apartment I have a European bidet, which I typically use just to wash my feet. I will always need paper, and now I am becoming accustomed to the water option. Hopefully not over-sharing, but women have a real need for this on a monthly basis. Trust me-- I cannot survive without this hose now, it is so refreshing.

More people should talk about how we can work to save water. It seems that we are not yet actively working to reduce water, but that needs to be put on the world agenda soon, because we are tapping all of our natural resources more each year.

Something to think about, and though I am not shy, I would rather not discuss in person. I know this conversation needs to become mainstream.

Bidet hose, found in all UAE bathrooms. Ecologically friendly and refreshing, especially on hot days.