This is the way we wash our clothes, so early in the morning

It’s true, though. I wash my clothes at 5 in the morning.

Here is my washing machine:

The first bucket holds soapy water, and then come two rinses, but by the end of the load, all three buckets are so soapy that your clothes will wash you when you put them on with the soap residue that’s in them. Scrub the clothes together for awhile, until you feel like they’re clean. This amount of time varies depending on how visibly dirty the clothes are, how many clothes you still have left to get through, and what time you have to be at your first class. Apparently, there is a correct way to wash clothes, but according to my host sister I just can’t get that scrubbing motion right. But I haven’t noticed anyone holding their nose when they come near me, and I can still tell the original color of all of my shirts, so I’m not too worried.

Here is my dryer:

The sun and wind dry clothes with considerable speed. But, make sure you washed all the dirt out of the butt of your pants, because when you hang them on the line, all the neighbors will be able to clearly see that you gave up half way through that large splotch of mud. How embarrassing!

Does a chicken have lips?

(dedicated to Heifer Farm, where I witnessed my first chicken massacre)
What to do if your dinner is alive when you buy it:

1.      Catch chicken (warning: requires agility, and sometimes leaps and dives)
2.      Until dinner time, store in a safe/elevated location where your friend’s dog can’t reach it

3.      Hold down wings and legs with your feet
4.      Chop off head

5.      Pour boiling water on body to loosen the feathers; de-feather

6.      Slice off the little tail part that no one eats but no one knows why

7.      Hack open breast bone to reveal entrails
8.      Examine heart and lungs and any other organ you happen to find intriguing
9.      Dig hands in and remove guts (picture available upon request)
10.  Put in a pot over a roaring fire with other stuff that you happen to have in your house, like potatoes and tomatoes and chewy bits of stale candy canes

11.  Feed it to friends first in case you accidentally poisoned it

Congratulations! You have prepared a chicken.

(don't try this at home) (but if you do, take pictures)