I can’t lie, I have experienced multiple instances of cultural frustration I could write about: being a vegetarian in the Iberian peninsula; how difficult it is to get water at a restaurant, and also the lack of ice; the lack of spices to cook with in the grocery stores… But for this instance, I would like to focus on the cultural confrontation of doing laundry in a foreign country. It might sound silly, but since I’m into sustainability the clothes I own are important to me! I want to keep them nice so they will last a long time. Any who- most of my 8 roommates go to a laundromat instead of using our home unit because it’s a really small washer and there’s no dryer, which is the real kicker here. The first time I did laundry I was an unhappy camper, but I see the beauty of this style of laundry now. I did two loads, which I usually never do, so it forced me to separate my clothing and be more cautious about what I was putting in the load together. It has also made me more sustainable, because I am now hang-drying all of my clothes! Hang-drying my clothes is actually a practice I do at home but only with certain items, so I think I will expand on what I hang dry to use less energy! The only downside is sometimes my clothes are crunchy and not as soft after hang-drying but I do appreciate using less energy so I don’t mind too much. 🙂
