You might be an ESI teacher if...

So I was inspired the other day, while taking a shower (why does inspiration always come then?) to write a few blogs about the experiences of an ESI teacher. My previous blogs have been rather deep in content, but I feel like I have cheated my readers (who ever you are) out of my daily life overseas. So I want to fill you, and any new ESI teacher, in on what life is like here, and what happens to you after teaching English as a foreign language for 7 months.

So I am going to start with this one, because this is where the inspiration started.

YOU MIGHT BE AN ESI TEACHER IF YOU TAKE FULL ADVANTAGE OF A NON-HAND HELD SHOWER WHEN EVER POSSIBLE.

You may have heard about our shower situation. We have a bathtub that also acts as a draining system for our washing machine. There is a tube that empties the water out of our washing machine and into our bathtub. The edge of the bathtub comes up to my waist and the tiles lining the tub come up to my shoulders when I am standing in the tub.

So...we are supposed to sit down to take our showers. There are some ESI teachers who MUST sit down while "showering," due to various hot water heaters hanging over the bathtub or lack of curtain. But on the whole I think showering and cleaning ones self in any country or region has become an interesting experience. We have chosen to take the easy way out, and rather than clean our tub every time we finish laundry, we have opted to stand.

The standing is not a problem, other than you have to turn sideways in the tub to keep from getting the wall wet but you also have to hold the shower sprayer. At the beginning this was a challenge. What do you do with the shower head while you are scrubbing your scalp or lathering up your wash cloth. Well we have solved this problem. I was inspired by a fellow teacher after visiting their flat, and we have attached a hook to the wall with a rubber band on the shower head. This makes a very nice holder giving you the freedom of both hands.

I thought of all of this because when I went to visit a friend in Cheb this weekend, I got really excited because she has a normal shower. A shower that can be mounted to the wall and is at a regular height. I planned ahead to take an abnormal amount of showers while visiting her. I have grown accustomed to showering at least 2 times a week, sometimes three. Just because showering can be a chore. While at her flat I showered 3 times in 2 days. : )