Sentaku (laundry)

The most difficult thing I've had to face in Japan so far would be, without a doubt, laundry. It's the little details that really get me in trouble every time. First, let me explain the whole laundry process step by step:

-Extend the hose attached to the washing machine into the bathroom and put the end (nozzle?) in the tub.

-You don't have to worry about dividing your clothes into lights, or darks, or colors or anything. The colors won't bleed onto your white clothes.

-Put your dirty clothes into the machine, put in detergent, push buttons, you get the gist.

-When it's done, you take out each piece of clothing and sort of shake it a bit (I can't explain this very well without visuals).

-Then you go out on the balcony to hang up your clothes to dry, but don't forget to put on your balcony slippers first!

-Use all sorts of clips and hangers to hang everything up in just the right way so that they'll dry properly.

-Make sure to stretch and smooth out your clothes otherwise they'll get all “shiwa shiwa” (wrinkly), as my host mother would say.

-When hanging up your socks and underwear on the weird clippy thing (again, visuals are needed), put your socks on the outside and your underwear towards the middle to sort of hide them because the neighbor's window is right across from you.

- When you're done, or step inside for a bit, be sure to close the curtains because again, you don't know who could be watching.

-Take in the hangers right away so that the crows don't swoop down and snatch them from you. (I learned these last two earlier today)

Complicated, right? It might take me a while before I can get it perfect.

When I first arrived at my new home in Japan, I told my host family that I would do my own laundry. I thought that it would be easier on them if they didn't have to worry about my laundry as well as their own. However, a few days ago my host mother had a talk with me. Apparently the way I was keeping my dirty laundry was really disgusting. At home in Minnesota, I normally just put my dirty laundry in a basket in my room and let it pile up until it made a full load, so that's what I had been doing in my host family's house as well. Since my host mother didn't like that method, I told her I would bring my basket down to where the washing machine is and wash my clothes with everyone else's after the next load of mine, as it had already piled up. So then I started to unload my clothes into the washing machine, but when I uncovered my black sweater, I shrieked and dropped the basket. Lying dead among the dirty clothes was one of the biggest spiders I have ever seen. I'm talking bigger than a 500 yen coin. I think in that moment I was probably mentally scarred for life. I told my host mother that I would never let it pile up in my room again. Even when I return to America.