Puff the orange loofah

Asalaam mualaikum!

Hey, in Rome, do as the Romans do right? Now everyone who reads this has to say mualaikum salaam back to me. Come to think of it, are people living in Rome still called Romans? Or are they just collectively called Italians now?

Anyhow, Its been 2 weeks since I arrived in Saudi Arabia and honestly, I haven't had a decent shower. Ok before you guys go EEEEWWWW, I bathe twice a day ok! Sometimes even 3. Its just that, I never feel like my shower is complete without a loofah. You know? You gotta have that good scrub down after going out and exposing yourself to the grossness of the outdoors. Especially so in Saudi Arabia. I don't know why but it always feels so yucky and grimy outside. Doesn't help that its hot and humid here too. Much like Singapore but with an oven strapped to your backside.

One of the things I kicked myself about was not getting a Loofah from the bodyshop in Singapore before I came here. That simple scrounged up ball of fabric makes a huge difference for me. Therapeutic even. You see, after a good scrub down, you feel like all the grime and dirt and sand is washed away, along with your troubles and worries. You come out of the shower feeling clean and refreshed. You can almost feel yourself glowing. Thats what a real bathe is about. Some like to soak in the bathtub and come out looking like an oversized raisin. Some just want to jump in and hose themselves down and thats it. I like a thorough scrub down.

So I couldn't take it anymore. I deserve a decent shower! Especially when I've been robbed of other pleasures in life, SA isn't gonna take away this one. After work I ventured into a mall that was relatively near the airport. First time being in a mall in SA and man! It was HUGE! Gigantic. But more about that in another post. I walked around hoping to find some kind of bath/shower shop or home essentials shop. Anything! Shop after shop I looked and there was everything except a Loofah. I wasn't ready to stop a saudi and ask him where to buy a Loofah. Do they even call it a Loofah? That might be an arabic word saying that your mom looks like a boiled camel for all I know.

So after the 10th head scarf shop and countless outlets selling shoes, bags, watches, fashion, sports, carpets, camel saddles etc etc... I was ready to give up. I was starting to worry that I'd forget how to get back to the entrance to the carpark where I parked my car. I thought to myself, GOD! if only bodyshop would open here!

I turned around to the left and BAM! THE BODY SHOP!!! They DID open in SA. Praise the Lord! I must've been the happiest asian guy in Saudi Arabia to see a bodyshop outlet. So I hurried in and true to the foundation of the bodyshop, there were many brightly colored Loofah balls arranged by color and placed in different sections of the shop. I was ecstatic.

So here I am now, feeling cleaned and refreshed, typing about how you can never take things for granted. Not even a simple bodyshop Loofah. Nothing like a tough station to teach you about the little things in life eh?