Assumptions
Daily writing experience - day 6
Assumptions
Our family of 8 arrived to live at a 729 square foot, unfurnished, single-family, one story home with a yard.
The 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom was part of the student family housing at the NMSU, New Mexico State University campus in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
The small house with the expansive yards and sweeping views was surprising to me. There was an open yard in the front, which was the same size as the house. There was also an enclosed yard in the back, again the same size as the house.
We lived a short block from Preciado Park, a large park. Our backyard overlooked the intramural field, and beyond them were the majestic Organ Mountains. I spent many hours looking at the light changing the color of the sky and mountains.
There were many and obvious differences to where we had come from. The biggest surprise for me was the fact that the ”pila” was missing. This was a major oversight in my young mind. The “pila” is a staple in Guatemalan homes. It's a cement double sided sink in the shape of a “ T “, in which the center section is a water reservoir. One cement sink has ridges which help when washing clothes, and the cement sink on the other side is flat, and it's generally used to wash dishes.
The need for a “pila” arises from the uncertainty of having consistent running water always available. The infrastructure that serves the collective is fragile and unreliable, therefore different solutions arise to meet household needs. Although the economics have changed, and in fact many people in Guatemala now use washing machines to do their laundry, most homes still have a pila or a water tank.
Our Las Cruces home had hookups for a washing machine, but we didn't have one to begin with. Until we got one, our mother did her best to wash our clothes in the bathtub using a wooden washboard she'd brought from home.
When I think of my mother packing for a relocation this drastic, with so much unknown about the place we were going toward, and with so many children in tow, now it makes sense to me why she'd had the foresight to bring the wooden washboard in the van… and, I also noticed that having access to it impeded her from discovering other solutions.
At the time, we'd never used laundromats to do laundry… it would be the obvious answer to the question “how do we clean clothes?” But that wasn't an option that was considered until late. And my mother's back suffered from this lack of knowledge.
Have you ever gone on a trip and packed something that unexpectedly made your life easier or harder?