Life on Cruz yard is a bit like life must have been in the 1800’s. A blast from the past you could say. Many of the modern conveniences I took for granted are non-existent here. Take the simple task of doing laundry for example. I remember complaining when my entire efforts consisted of stuffing my clothes in the machine, pouring in the laundry soap and pushing a button!
Now laundry day goes like this: I get a garbage can (the little bathroom Decoration jobbies) put all my whites inside (socks, bras,and underwear) fill about halfway with water and add laundry soap -Oh, never mind laundry soap isn’t available, guess maybe it hasn’t been invented yet? So I substitute whatever is on hand, shampoo, or bath soap perhaps. I agitate by flapping and swishing my hands in the water until the clothes seem reasonably clean, rinse in the sink and then hang everything up to dry in my cell using a pair of shoelaces tied together. Then I repeat the process with my orange shirts, pants, and shorts.
There’s another option which is quite fun. If you want to save time and water you can wash your clothes while you shower! (I do recommend that you don’t wear them while washing however!) Just use your shampoo and rub vigorously till they’re all sudsy, then rinse and wring out to dry in your room.
On the up side there’s one part of the laundry process that is actually easier here- and that’s sorting the clothes by color- let’s see, white, white, orange, white, orange, orange. Piece of cake!
More later…