Dirty Laundry

A woman at the Card Center told me she could tell where I'd been based on the color of my shoes. Kibera has black mud, Kawangware has red mud, and Kangemi has a reddish-brown mud. There is lots of mud in Nairobi, especially during the rainy season. This means a regular laundry day is essential. Unfortunately, there aren't too many washing machines in Kenya. So, like most people I do my laundry by hand. It's a laborious process involving multiple buckets and giant bars of soap. Somehow Kenyan women are remarkably effective at transforming dirty clothes into fresh, crisp, cleanness. I'm still learning how to get the mud out.