one thing i never really counted on when i moved to the caribbean was just how much cleaning would be involved. i'm not anti-cleaning, see, but when you get used to once a week throw-downs with the bleach, having to do it everyday is a bit tedious.
our first apartment was on an unpaved road. granted, we were at the very back of a huge apartment complex, but the amount of dust that entered through the (screen-less) windows killed me. i can't even imagine what it was like at the front of that complex. eventually, they paved the road and i stopped having so much foot traffic and the dust got better.
our road here is unpaved but for some reason the dust isn't as bad. it might be the gigantic balcony that separates my living room from the front of the of the house and catches the majority of nastiness (cleaning that balcony is a chore... but i'll take that over dusting my furniture six times a day).
i've never had allergies like this in my life. but the dust isn't even the worst of it. it's the mildew.
all this beautiful, hot air is filled with moisture. forget about keeping anything perishable. mold will kill it in less than 24 hours.
i guess it isn't bad if you learn (fast) to put things in air-tight containers and don't count on long-life for anything. except if you're anal about the bathroom.
i'm not.
but, i am kind of disgusted by the mold that grows on the walls of the shower, the disgusting water rings in the toilet that are almost impossible to get rid of and the walls with their black dots from mildew. and even more disgusted by the fact that i scrubbed my bathroom yesterday and we're right back at square one today.
i've mixed up a concoction of bleach and mistolin (the local freshener of choice) in a spray bottle and spray the curtain and walls every morning. we wipe down the toilet and sink. the nanny mops the floor in the afternoon. and still.
mold.
mildew.
yuckiness.
anyone else living in the humidity that can help?
i might build a latrine out back if this doesn't improve!
4 comments:
Girl, I don't know how you do it! I would never survive! My OCD would kill me in that environment!
E - i am a lazy perfectionist! ha. i never do anything unless i can do it perfectly, but i'm too lazy to actually do anything :)
just kidding. i keep on top of it, but my nanny helps me a lot with the dust. but the bathroom, man, i just can't handle it anymore. i just finished scrubbing it (with a scrubbrush) with bleach and still feel like it was a wasted effort. i throw the kids in as soon as its clean so i don't have to worry about it!
I've been enjoying your blog since July last year. We were seriously considering moving to the DR with our children (3 1/2 yr old twin boys). I've enjoyed your frankness and insight to the true aspects of living there. Thanks for your efforts that are necessary to keep us entertained and I look forward to reading more.
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