Do You Smell That?

I thought I was subtle. The intention was to sniff quickly and without being noticed. I lifted my arm and reached for the rail as though to steady myself on the rocking subway train while bending my head down to take a whiff of my underarm.

"Don't worry," said Nicholai. "It's not you."

But the funk had to be coming from somewhere.

After nearly a month of riding the U-Bahn, I have discovered that stank comes in all shapes and sizes. And, amazingly, the funkiest people seem to be men and women decked in the latest high fashion. And no matter how much perfume they use, it's not enough! Stank, stank, stank! And I'm told it will only get worse in the winter because people won't bathe as much then (they certainly don't bathe that much now) because it's cold.

I'm often heard that Europeans don't bathe as frequently as Americans. It must be true.

Here's what one person (who calls herself 'Calamity Jane') posted on the Able2Know website (http://able2know.org/topic/63253-1) that might give some clue if it's actually accurate:

"You know, in Sweden and Finland they just go into the Sauna and sweat it all out. Afterwards they roll in the snow and feel very refreshed. In the UK the Brits take advantage of the rain. They closely follow the weather forecast and with the first drop of rain, they head outside and lather up in soap. The French and Italians eat a lot of garlic and the smell of it usually overtakes any other body odors. The Dutch and Germans, who knows what they do. Just try not to take any public transportations there. The Swiss and Austrians have customary bathed every Friday since 1920. With daylight-savings time they switched to Saturdays. No one knows why. Any outings in these countries should be done on Sundays as the natives are still smelling fresh. So brace yourself - it's rough out there in the old country."

Alison
11:40 a.m.