trials and tribulations

for the past few weeks i have come across one of the most trying and frustrating things since i started this spontaneous trip. it has nothing to do with customs, sleeping patterns, german red tape, people on the street or being called an american everywhere i go. it is one of the most simplest and mundane of all things. it is quite possibly the easiest thing to overlook as well. i am talking about using a washing machine.

before you laugh, consider this. nothing is in english (obviously) and nothing written on the machine is in my dictionary. not only is this frustrating, but it is a drain on my energy, my time and my fashion sense. it stops going for reasons unknown to me or my housemate. it clicks and flashes its little lights over several different wash cycles which i am sure mean nothing in the grand scheme of clothes washing. and aside from the fact that it likes to fill itself with water and then stop for reasons known only to itself, when asked to do a simple thing like spin dry (or what i assume is spin dry judging by the picture) it flashes it's mocking light, stops, makes a few grunts and groans, and then skips the spin dry in favour of moving onto a cycle it knows it cannot perform yet. frustration thy name is siemens. this of course means that i have to continually walk up and down the two flights of stairs and into the basement of the building to get to the washing machine, usually carrying a load of clothes in the vain hope that i might be able to wash them, all to no avail. alexis is even at a loss to make the damn thing work and it's his washing machine!

so i am (very) slowly getting used to the idea that i may not be able to wash as often or as much as i want to. i am not, however, becoming used to the idea of not being able to wear my clothes as i want to. instead of opting for (what i think is) a cool style of dress, i have to dress like laundry day is everyday. well it's either that or using all my money for clothes that i can only wear once, ala oprah or, for a more local flavour, rose porteous.