Sponges and Soap?

So one little comment on my Bilingual kids post awesomely diverted all the attention away from the actual post. I was going to join in with the comments but instead decided to give this question my utmost attention:

"Totally off topic (sorry) but do Brazilian people use loofah sponges (those round fluffy things) when they shower or just their hands? I always hear that brazilians smell good so I want to know what to ide :D?"

In my days in Rio de Janeiro, I have seen very few loofah sponges in peoples' homes. Then again, I'm married so I have been in very few "foreign" showers if you know what I mean. 

They do have these sponges here. They give them away for free with liquid soap sometimes. The thing about them though is that they mold due to the humidity in our bathrooms. Hell, it's almost humid in our fridges, you can only imagine how warm, moldy, and nasty the bathrooms can get if you don't stay on top of them. 

Anyway, from what I have seen, via the one Brazilian I am showering with, they use their hands to wash. The good smell comes from their constant showers. At least in the big cities it seems that Brazilians always shower daily. You may say, who doesn't, but I can name plenty of Americans who openly don't. I suppose it's a chilly/dry skin factor.

When it comes to summer, and even in the "winter", Brazilians shower more than once a day. Hell, if my husband takes a bus, he showers when home. It is one of his Neurosis. Even I have adopted the twice a day shower, although I use one as a rinse off and one staring soap. My mental count has Brazilians taking an average of 3 showers on a hot day. 

Seriously, Brazilians are shower freaks. It's so bad that pediatricians are making a effort to "educate" parents about how it's bad for the skin to wash with soap more than once a day. Duh. 

My question is, why no washcloths. You'd think that shower obsessed people would fall in love with the mini-towels of my country. Is it another mold issue or do washcloths actually suck?

Rachel vs Mold

My never-ending battle here in Rio de Janeiro is against mold. I guess you can't really call it a battle. It's more like mold is making me his bitch and I'm left salvaging what I can.

You see, Rio de Janeiro is like a petri dish in a nice warm incubator.  Things grow like crazy! Mold, fugus, viruses, and acne flourish in this environment.

I don't care if you live in central air, a rare phenomenon in this city, because mold will find you.  It will grow on your suede purse like it does on a fine French cheese.  The only difference is the mold on the cheese makes it better while it just makes the purse look like a nasty science experiment gone bad.

My current standoff is over sippy cups. Of course I brought back these cool sippy cups for my toddler from the states. No leak, extra tight, fabulous cups are a glorious field full of unreachable creases.  Mold has found a happy new home in these non-spill bad boys. This almost pisses me off more than my shoes!  It's annoying to find mold on my shoes but I'm not going to lick them or anything.  How in the hell am I supposed to non-leakingly water my child with a cup that is growing like an uncleaned fish tank.

But there are just some things you have to accept. If you don't regularly use something, it could mold. That still goes for a well lit and airy apartment.  It totally gives me a new understanding into the Brazilians' tendency to have a full time maid bleaching the crap out of everything on a daily basis.

As for me, I have decided that my battle on mold is like my battle with ants.  You seemly have "wins" but the little bastards still come back.  I'm over it and I'm going to try to live in peace with the native organisms of my adopted country.

That is except for the sippy cups. I will scrub, soak, and scrape to my hearts content. Then again, that's less about battle and more about decreasing the nasty in my kid's life.