Somebody's gotta do it.

3/29/2009

Up until this point I’ve been pretty positive about my writing. This has been a very positive experience for me, in general, but there are a few things that I have been struggling with for the past few weeks. Some of them will be things that become easier over time, but some of them I think I will struggle with for the entire time I am here.

This morning I faced one of those things that I think will get easier, although it is possible that it won’t. I did my laundry. This is only the second time, so I had a LOT of clothes to wash. Some of them were very dirty. I ran into a PCV who has just completed his first year in Azilal last weekend, and was shocked by how dirty he was. But I could easily see how I could tend in the same direction when I live alone and have to do all my own washing. Because it sucks. Really, really sucks!

Here is how it goes:

Build a fire in your largest brazier with found wood. Fill a metal bucket with water and heat.

Go on a hunt for all your wash buckets. You may have a hard time finding them. One is in the field where you left it after your last wash. Another bucket is in the bitlma, where you used it to bathe last night. Another is in the sheep pen and will need a good scrubbing before it is fit for usage again.

Mix Tide (the generic term for detergent) with a little water.

Put heated water into your largest washtub with a little tide and all your white clothing.

Get over the embarrassment of having more clothes that your family owns combined. They don’t really care.

Wash each item individually, adding tide liberally as needed. Various washing motions are used. If the item has no spots, swish in soapy water and knead like you would bread. For spots, add tide directly to spot and scrub between your knuckles. This will surely be painful, as you are grinding concentrated tide into your nail beds, but at least your clothing will be clean.

Attempt to clean all your own underwear, so as to avoid the embarrassment of having your host mother do it. She will notice that you are doing this, but think that you are failing miserably at getting anything clean, so she will probably end up washing it anyway. Attempt to explain in Tamazight that some of it is very old and some of the stains will not come out, no matter how much tide you use. Save the rest of your embarrassment for when your underwear is hanging on the line where everyone in the village can see it.

Place whites in a bucket with a little bleach and water. Let sit.

Repeat process with colors, washing shirts and pants, first, then undergarments and socks.

Rinse all clothes in second washtub with cold water. Hang to dry on the wash lines outside, even though it is raining hard. Hope to God that you have a clean pair of underwear hidden somewhere in your luggage for tomorrow, as most of this will not be dry in time.

Repeat process with some clothes when the clothesline fails under the weight of your wet clothing. This is a good time for language exchange, as you can teach your host mother some English. Words like “crap” and the phrase “oh f**k” come in handy in times like these.

Prepare tea and drink it sitting next to the coals left in the brazier. Laugh with your host mother about everything.

And that is how you wash your laundry. I think I may end up paying someone to do it for me when I get to my site….

Useful Vocabulary:
Tide: the generic term for detergent. Sometimes it is actually Tide brand. More often, it is Omo, which smells worse and is more abrasive, but cheaper. It is pronounced, “teed.”
Ish: oops.
Sbbn: the verb used to mean “washing of clothing.”
Aman: water