Earlier today Elba, my cleaning lady, visited to do a practice run, making sure she could find the apartment before she begins on Wednesday, coming every other week. She called me from the street Montes de Oca to say that she couldn’t find my house, #71 – alas, I live on PAZ Montes de Oca. Even with the amazingly detailed map that I made for her that included numerous landmarks, she walked the wrong way after getting off of the bus. About a half hour after her phone call, Elba arrived tired and thirsty, as today was one of the hottest days here, but she was still smiling and cheerful. I’m most excited that she is going to cook for me each time. Home cooked food sounds perfect, especially, and not surprisingly, because I don’t have to prepare it or clean it up. Knowing that Elba will also iron on Wednesday, I finally did my laundry tonight. Still searching my neighborhood of Coyoacán for a “lavandería” – laundrymat, I’ve avoided doing my laundry, dreading the after-effect of cardboard-like clothing. I so detest domestic chores that I further delayed process by buying socks at the market last Wednesday and additional necessities at a mall.
Besides doing 3 loads of laundry, today was uneventful as I was struck with Montezuma’s revenge - a common ailment affecting many Americans when they cross the border into Mexico. I woke with chills, felt weak and tired all day, and was confined to my apartment fearing that if I left, the nearest bathroom may not be near enough. It’s now almost 7:00 and I’ve made it out of my apartment and onto the patio. I’m listening to my laundry swish back and forth and enjoying the slight breeze in the air. This idyllic Sunday afternoon just came screeching to a halt as the air has become polluted with the incessant barking and yelping of the two dogs that inopportunely live next door and the yelping and high-pitched screaming of the neighborhood children playing and kicking the soccer ball back and forth in the street below.
