Laundry

WOW....we have a whole new appreciation for washing machines! We dyed shirts yesterday and today the job was to "launder in the warmest water for the fabric." Well.......water is a different resource here. I thought maybe we could find a laundromat in town to throw a couple loads in. EVERYONE here washes all their laundry by hand the old fashioned way. Even the hotel we are staying at does it this way. So, we used a bar of soap and a washboard and buckets of water we dipped from the pila (rainwater)and washed all approx. 60 shirts we had let sit overnight. It was a humbling and enlightening experience. The clotheslines are full of colorful shirts that each child had labeled and made themselves.

Today we also did a easier version of dyeing with 21 of the younger kids. All we had to do was help them tie these magic dye-filled strings around their shirts, then dip them in salted water, cut off the strings and wa-lah.....they were done. Needless to say the kids liked that they were done so quickly. Their faces were priceless. The yard is filled with colorful drying camisas that are strung on extention cords and ropes. This afternoon we will be doing all the boys camisas and laundering them tomorrow!!

The things we take for granted in the USA like water, machines, and sidewalks are very different here.

We are having an incredible experience and cannot wait to tell you more stories and share photos when we get back.

Hasta luega!!

Jeanne and Darla