Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Laundry day on Tinian

Since we are without transportation here on Tinian, except our feet of course, we are constantly coming up with ideas on how to get around to do our chores. One of the most difficult can be laundry day.

For now, we simply use one of our suitcases with wheels o carry (or should I say roll) our laundry to the nearest Laundromat. There are several within walking distance, in various stages of cleanliness and repair. Of course the cleanest and newest is farthest away! So I have to decide whether I want to confront the ‘Poker Palace’ laundry, with its dingy atmosphere and old machines that work questionably well (but has large washers and is very inexpensive), or the ‘lumber yard’ laundry with its mud road (and which is always busy, since it is the cheapest laundry on the island), or walk a bit further to the ‘grocery store’ laundry, which is new and bright and clean, but has fewer machines, is much more expensive, and can be very busy.

Yesterday I tried the latter for the first time. It had rained all day long, and though I had a long list of chores to do (yes, as ‘Mr. Mom’ I now have to do all the household chores—Terri says that I am a better wife than she was!), the rain was so constant I did not think I would get out of the house. But since we had few clean clothes left (and since I am charged with making sure Terri is presentable at work) I took off for the laundry the first break in the weather that came, around 3pm our time.

With hat on head, umbrella in one hand and dragging a large suitcase in the other, I headed of on a fast pace for laundry #3. I just made it when then sky let loose again. As I sat on the benches conveniently placed in the front of the laundry for the patrons (the inside is just too hot and muggy), I read a book and noticed that I could not see the other side of the street due to the sheets of rain coming down, and wondered if I would ever make it back home!

Just as the laundry was finishing, Terri walked in, umbrella in hand, coming home from work at the clinic. We folded the clothes and placed them neatly back into the suitcase, and then stood for a moment under the shelter of the canopy debating our run for home. The weather had let up just a little (you could actually see where you were going), and hoping for the best, Terri and I headed out.

The first half of the walk was not too bad, since it was downhill—we were going with the flow of water cascading down the street, but as we turned the last corner it was all uphill, and we were fighting both the rain and the river. Fortunately my sandals have a strap in the back, which keep my feet from coming out. Terri had normal sandals and had soon been washed right out of them and was walking bare-foot up the street.

We made it home without incident, and to our surprise, the suitcase had kept the clothes dry. As for Terri and I…it was hard to tell if we were wet due to the rain, or if the humidity had simply soaked us.

There was no getting dry that night! Even with fans going and dry clothes on, everything still felt damp. Terri said going to bed was like being in a sleeping bag on a camping trip: just a little too damp and sticky. All that was forgotten quickly as Terri received her first call of the night from the clinic—someone in pain needed medication. This will be the second week in a row Terri has been on call 24/7. I keep telling her that it is her ‘boot camp’! In spite of the long hours, she loves what she is doing, and is very, very good at it.

The weather channel says rain until Friday…I guess the chores will wait.

If you look to the right of the red car, you will see the "poker hands" in the window of the Poker Palace. If you keep walking down the hallway, you get to the laundry. The great thing about this laundromat is that the hallway creates a great wind tunnel effect, so it's pretty cool on the bench outside while you're waiting for the dryer.

And here is the lumberyard laundry. The lumber is housed in the building to the right. The laundry is just beyond the car with its trunk open.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a air conditioner would be heaven. I would also guess that maybe the electricity wouldn't be able to sustain the requirements of the ac unit. What a interesting time you are having. Sounds like quite an interesting adventure.
Sharon Conway