Chores

So how exactly does one live in Rwanda?

Here are a couple of household chores that have become commonplace for me.

Most importantly, laundry. Since I don't have electricity or a washing machine, it is nothing like the quarter machines I used to use. You can reenact my process very easily. Take a bar of soap. Fill up two to three buckets of water. Get a piece of clothing wet. Rub some soap on the clothing then rub the fabric together with your two hands. Now rinse and repeat. Eventually your clothes will resemble something that is clean. Some Rwandans have an amazing ability to get whites beyond white. I have not come close to this level of expertise. It is time consuming but also a great stress reliever. That is when you have enough water to do laundry.

A lot of people in Rwanda iron their clothes, even if it means putting hot coals in the iron to heat it. Looking impeccable is part of Rwandan culture. I don't abide by those rules. Go figure.

Sweeping and mopping are huge here. You are supposed to mop your floor every day. It is actually really fun, if you're into that sort of thing. They sell squeegees here. Most floors are flat concrete so you just throw soapy water all over the place, move it around and push it out the door. Sweeping is an outdoor chore. You are supposed to sweep dirt. Your yard should be weedless and swept. I'm still buying into this concept.

I do yearn for the days of vacuums and dishwashers but doing chores in any country offers a sort of mental relaxation. and I'm still a slob. Apparently changing continents doesn't change personality traits!