A new kind of luxury

David and I have finished volunteering at the Kebun and we are back in Kuching. During our stay on the farm we came in contact with something that seemed to us to be a wonderful luxury:

a washing machine.

After some initial bad experiences with the local laundry services, Dave and I decided some months ago that we needed to do our own laundry. In most places this has meant hand washing everything in the bathroom sink and hanging it to dry anywhere that looked promising. It's not so bad, but we don't change our clothes until they are actually dirty. A washing machine really is an amazing thing. You can shove a whole bunch of clothing into it, turn the dial, and go drink tea or shovel soil for 45 minutes and come back to find everything is clean (except you if you were shoveling dirt in the Malaysian sun). I hope that when we return to Canada we can continue to see things like a washing machine, signs written in English, or being able to buy clothes in our size (especially if the shop keeper doesn't say "I have very big size for you") as luxuries. I think it helps me to enjoy life more when I am able to see simple everyday things through appreciative eyes.