I scored bigtime in the linen department at the guesthouse yesterday. Every two to four days, depending on the weather and the opportunity for things to line dry, the beds are changed. I thought I'd done about as well as I could when the avocado number showed up with the blue, green and gold leaves and the soccer balls and flags on my cotton coverlet. However, I returned to my room yesterday to find hot pink daisies with bright yellow centers and white doilies running the length of the sheets and a blue Mickey Mouse-clone coverlet. Cha-ching!
As for the bathroom, if those royal blue towels with the black stitching could talk! They're replaced every day; you get two and you best use them wisely. They've been through a lot and with all the comings and goings of all manner of folk at the guesthouse, the tales they could tell!
Motorcycle riders here wear their jackets backwards when they travel to protect their shirts and blouses from the dust. The secretary showed up with sox on under her high heels and gloves in the ninety degree heat as well; sun protection, she told me as I strapped on my helmet and climbed on the back of her scooter. Every adult has a surgical mask that loops over her ears; they come in all sorts of plaids and prints. They seem to be wash and wear and they are always in a pants pocket or bag somewhere; again, it seems, primarily to ward off dust.
Every day free opaque plastic liter bottles of water show up in the little room refrigerator. They're for teeth-brushing, drinking, tea-making; everyone uses them. They're faithfully delivered by trucks to every part of town. They're even in markets in plastic bags, ready to go. The Mekong may be mighty, but it's not potable.
It's endlessly fascinating to see how differently people live. Different yet the same.
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Hey, careful out there you scooter passenger. Keep drinking the water, but remove your surgical mask first unless you need an extra filter. Here comes October.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have some potential contestants for the next HGTV Design Star competition! That blue Mickey Mouse-clone coverlet would form a fantastic room focal point.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the Laos motorcycle apparel, with or without the surgical mask, would make a good Vogue issue. You could use the dust idea for the mask. Frankly, I'd play up the H1N1 since that's more in this year.
Just a couple ideas to throw out there if the ESL doesn't pan out.
Hi, Karen! Just finished reading all your postings from beginning to end. What I've learned? You are a fabulous writer, a wonderful woman, and I'm so lucky to be related to you! Here's to tepid showers, clean linens, and the smile of a student in whose life you are making a difference. Love and hugs - Cousin Nancy
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