Friday 1/27/17 - Installing the New Washing Machine

It is a bittersweet day, as it is our last full day in Morochos until the summer. The kids are begging us not to leave, which is always difficult, but I remind them that I have to get back to work at my office. And of course we can always chat via Facebook!

For breakfast, we had a potato and egg quiche with ham, cheese, bread, coffee, and juice. We also learned some bad news; despite Abuelita keeping the fire going for the guinea pigs overnight, they had perished from hypothermia. The climate is unforgiving here.

At lunch the family gave us lovely gifts - we each got a beautifully embroidered shirt and 2 warm infinity scarves. They certainly don't need to do that after hosting us for 3 weeks, but we very much appreciate it! For lunch we had soup, chicken, rice, and beans.

Antonio went to Quiroga to buy the remaining plumbing fittings for the washing machine, and spent the afternoon hooking it up. While the adults worked on this, Sisa and Shina sat on the stairs and painted with some watercolors that Carol had given them for the baptism. But the kids then decided to get out some tempera paint, and they spilled blue paint all over the stairs. Craig and I stopped what we were doing and immediately flooded the area with water, hoping that it wouldn't stain the concrete.

By late afternoon, the washing machine was ready for its inaugural run. The family was so excited! It has a glass top, so they gathered around the machine and watched as it filled with water, and then began to agitate. The kids did a little dance, mimicing the machine. When it was in its final centrifugal spin, Shina observed it and told Yupanqui, "Yupanqui! Look at the machine! It's having an earthquake!" So cute!

When it was finished, it played a pleasant little song. The family gathered for the great unveiling of the laundry. We realized that Rosa can't reach the bottom of the machine; she will need a stepstool. She and Antonio inspected the kids' clothes, which had been very dirty when they were put into the machine. They were definitely impressed. And Rosa was amazed that they were so dry upon taking them out of the machine. They would line dry much faster this way, and she didn't need to wring them out manually! We haven't seen her smile like that in a long time. We knew that the machine wouldn't replace her pre-treatment of stained laundry, but it certainly negates the need for labor-intensive hand-thrashing of the clothes.

She disappeared into the house and emerged with a load of whites, asking if we could run it again. We did so (in fact, as I am typing this, I just heard the song indicating it is finished). We sincerely hope that this helps to make her life just a little bit easier!

For dinner, we had soup with tostado, a whole fish, potatoes, and salad. We had mora juice to drink. We gave the kids elephant keychains that we had bought for them in Myanmar. Yupanqui started to sing a Spanish song about elephants, and the girls joined in.
Achi Taita and Sisa

Achi Taita and Sisa

Watching the washing machine in action

Watching the washing machine in action

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