Your trash is my treasure

yesterday in my food sickness delirium, chuya and i went to the do it yourself lavanderia in the rez.  After endless nights of drooling all over her bed and buckets of sweat and other unmentionables, we thought, yeah it is time to wash these sheets. Usually we just go to Daniel, the guy 2 blocks up from us on Brazil that washes our dirties and we only have to pick them up.

But since you kind of need sheets every day and we only have one set...we thought let us try that joint. And yeah, it did not disappoint.  You pay 14 soles to wash and dry your clothes.  They give you detergent.  They give you sofas to sit on with a lovely coffee table of trashy fashion magazines staring the spanish speaking world's creme de la creme--who usually have the skin color of cream.  It makes me miss my laundromat adventures with friends and family growing up.

So yeah this post was not supposed to be about my nostalgia over laundry mats.  Because what i saw on the way to the laundromat was also interesting.  in front of my neighbor's house, there were 6 nice chairs and a desk waiting to be taken--or at least in the states, setting something outside your house like that means you want other to take it.

So I naturally say to Chuya ´´You think that´s free. It's really nice´´

´´No, there's not really a culture like that here.  Jesus the 2nd (our roomie)'s dad went to the states 15 years ago and the only thing he ever talks about from his time in the U.S. is all of the beautiful furniture people leave out for you to take´´

I think to myself, my house in d.c. would not be the alice in wonderland dream castle i love without that kind of ´´your trash is my treasure´´ culture.