Laundry and showers in the heat

(Day 4): "Damnit! I'm already out of shirts."--me

In my last blog, I tired to give you an idea of the weather pattern here in Suriname. All day the temperature ranges from 75-95 degrees with humidity. Throughout the day, I constantly sweat and have to change shirts regularly. On the average day, I may start out in my Rooney jersey, after lunch and playing soccer from 12-1 I will then change into a polyester T-Shirt. After training is over, I put on a tanktop for the local soccer game and finally end the day with a comfy cotton Tee. Needless to say, I have to take a lot of showers and do a lot of laundry.

To cope with the heat and keep relatively good hygiene, I have to take at least 2 showers everyday, usually 3. The morning shower is not enjoyable because after sleeping under a mosquito net all night, I wake up sweaty and hot and when the water hits me I am practically in shock. On the brightside, I don't need coffee to get me going in the morning though. I would say that water heaters, and more importantly the accessibility to ice, have been the first material aspects or things from America that I really miss. But fortunately, all is not as bad as it seems. The cold showers in the afternoon and evening have been quite pleasant.

After coping with the heat, you can only compensate by wearing more clothing and that is where the laundry comes into play. Doing laundry here has been an experience. First, I have to fill a bucket with soap and water. I carry this bucket and my clothes to the back of the training facility. Next, I put my clothes in the bucket and use a scrubber on the real dirty garments which have dirt, sand and grass stains from the afternoon soccer games. After ringing out the soap in these clothes, I carry everything back to my room. Next, I use the faucet in my bathroom to rinse my clothes and have to wring them out again! My arms are getting ripped ;). Finally, I have to find a spot outside to hang and dry my clothes, and with 23 other volunteers at a small training ground you have to get creative--like the back of a lawn chair or a propped broom. Unfortunately, there is no way to incorporate fabric softener here. So, I have accepted the fact that I will probably be the most smelly guy in Suriname since I can't get the smell out of my soccer clothes and don't care to wash them too often. And to conclude, I think that the people who created the washer and dryer should be given awards. That is all, thank you.