No matter how long I’ve been away from home, there’s one thing that I always end up missing more than anything: el shatafa.
For those of you who live in this region, you know what I mean. For those of you who don’t know what it is, basically it’s a hose with a metallic nozzle used to ‘wash’ in the bathroom.
I’ve been abroad dozens of times and I still don’t understand the appeal of tissue paper. Tissue paper to dry water, that’s ok. But tissue paper to clean up after going to the bathroom is plain old nasty. And even bidets, the closest thing to a shatafa, isn’t much fun–how exactly are you supposed to ‘aim?’
lol
you remind me with my sister .. but i do miss them too
I wanted to read more of this post.
I totally relate. I don’t get it. If a baby or a pet pees on the carpet, no one just cleans it up with paper. They break out the soap and water! But for their own bodies, paper alone is okay. Go figure. On the other hand, I don’t get why Egytians are not into “drying.” Toilet paper seems non existent in many Egyptian homes and in all public bathrooms. Thanks, but I’ll pass on soggy underwear.
i miss them too because to have one here will cost you over $1200, that was from the last home expo i went to and that was 2 months ago but then again it might have been a bit pricey because of the heating, cooling extras involved. but i know i can’t live without toilet paper either because i won’t feel i’m totally clean without it especially when i’m about to do my salat…it just feels eeky.
when i go out, after drinking the water from the bottle, i normally use it clean myself as well as have a pack of moist toilet wipes ready…
@ Umm Omar: of course we use toilet paper, but after we’ve washed. Hence the toilet paper “to dry water.” I laughed at the soggy underwear bit, ewww.
I too think it’s a must but I have to say that it’s true, most Egyptian homes do not use toilet paper.
Hey!!
A few years a go, a friend of mine went to Irland. I called her up to check on her and she said everything is fanfuckingtastic, BUT there is no shatafa in the bathroom. After giving it some thought, she hooked a hose to the water tab.
Toilet paper is for drying, not cleaning.
hahaha… LOL @ “aim” and “dry”. that is what i call a random mind boggle! cultural difference, i guess. there’s somethings arabs can still say they lead in
Hahahaha
I laughed hard, actually in occident u cant find that ones…either bidet.
people is accustomed to use toilet paper.
strange a little bit, but thats life…
I must say…that as a reverted to Islam, I wasnt accustomed before either.
We got kicked out of the dorm when we were studying in LA coz we were trying to fix-up a shatafa … it is an important tool indeed
Omg i laughed the hell out while i was reading the post+ comments
ive been abroad for like 2 months and my only solution was showering 