Characters in my life Part I - Blanca

My apartment building doesn’t have a washing machine or dryer, so about once a week I hike up 21 de Septiembre (the main street near where I live) with a pillow-case full of dirty clothes. I stop at Pisces, a tiny laundry mat ,where for 80 pesos ($3), they will wash, dry, and fold a load of clothes for you.

Three good-natured women work in Pisces. Blanca’s my favorite because she counts the prendas (articles of clothing) to determine how many loads there are. I always try to convince her that I have fewer loads than I really do and that my clothes should be a priority. Consequently, the ladies have taken to calling me la llorona (the whiner) and always have a good laugh when I come in.

The Pisces washers do not like their jefa (boss). One afternoon, after Blanca counted out my prendas and determined that I had un lavado y medio (a load and a half), I asked her about her boss. Her answer came out in a whirlwind, “I take two omnibuses to get here. That means I spend eleven hours every day to earn 4000 pesos ($160) a month for me and my daughter. And the jefa, she just comes in, picks up the money, and leaves. We’re going to raise the $1,500 we need to open our own laundry mat because we’re tired of la rallada (short-tempered lady).”

Later that day, I went back to pick up my clean clothes and took along some homemade chocolate chip cookies for my buddies. As Blanca charged me for the wash she had a twinkle in her eye. ‘Un lavado Lorena’ (one load, Laurin) she said smiling like a kid at the 40 peso discount. She was getting revenge against the jefa. Laughing as I headed back down 21 de Septiembre I thought, I'm baking cookies more often.