In this, my NEW new apartment, I have a washing machine out on the back patio. This is super common in Mexican homes, putting "Electro-Domesticos" outside. The water heater is found out there, too.
But I have no dryer. To my Americanized way of thinking, "what's with this? Where did the dryer go?" Duh. Clothesline. I haven't even seen one of those in probably 40 years. But here, I found the cord all rolled up, untied it, and strung it across the patio. I went out and bought clothespins (called "pinzas"...think 'pinchers'). So, my first foray into doing the wash Mexico style:
The washer filled with water, I added detergent & clothes. And then it sat there. No agitation, no spinning. "Damn!" I thought. Something's always busted in Mexico. So I went to ask (nicely, think you) my landlady if there was some trick with the washer I didn't understand....it wasn't spinning properly. And, trick there was. She came over (she lives 2 units down) and jammed a ballpoint pen into the slot where the lid latch normally goes. "The latch broke off," she explained, "but this works just the same." And it did.
Once the cycles were completed, to the clothesline with the clothes. I felt so...so 1940's hanging out my laundry. I got everything hung up except for about 6 pair of underwear, which went onto the backs of dining room chairs to dry. And I'll leave you contemplating that pretty mental picture. It's definitely a look...
