Blowing in the Wind

Laundry, that is. Yes, of all the exotic and interesting topics to discuss here: school, the climate, driving, food, family, personal space <----- (all will be blogged :) ) I have chosen laundry to come first. Because a few days ago, I learned how to wash my clothes. And I mean WASH my clothes. None of this ¨stick the clothes in a washing machine and hit the big button¨ business.

On our sunroof here, there is a large sink with a scrubby bottom. Using this, a bar of soap, a brush and my hands, I can keep my clothing smelling fresh! At first I was surprised, because my family here has many luxuries, the house is very big, and where I´m coming from, using a washing machine is pretty commonplace. BUT, once I tried it for the first time, I realized how much more satisfying it is to do it this way.

It´s hot here. Like: Sticky, Humid, Sit-down-and-don´t-move-or-you´ll-start-sweating hot. BUT, the sunroof is high enough up to get WIND. You can see the SKY. There is a HAMMOCK. It is absolutely glorious. Working with cold water, pleasant smelling soap, and clean clothing up there hardly feels like a chore. Also, because you do each item one at a time, I don´t feel ecologically guilty for washing my uniform/socks right after I cahnge after school.

This chore has also given me a reality check. SO I already said that I am with a wealthy family. I assumed that the neighborhood I am in is too, (In the U.S., different socioeconomic groups tend to cluster, no?) But from the glorious sunroof, I can see how the people BEHIND our house live. Just past the 15 foot wall and barbed wire fence, life is completely different. Dirt floors. Corrugated tin shacks. There are fires in garbage cans and kids without shoes. I was shocked. My host family is incredibly generous, caring, loving, and kind, how could it be that our ¨neighbors¨ have such a completey different lifestyle? Why was this ok?

But then again, we do this in the U.S. too. We can´t say that there isn´t poverty in our country, state, and even city, we just don´t have to look it in the face on a daily basis. It´s easy to ignore something you don´t see. It´s easy, but does that make it right?

So I stood there, with my spotless white uniform flapping in front of me, gazing down three stories into a different world, and noticed something.

Everyone washes their laundry the same way.