This insatiable need to organize has done me well in my many moves these last 30 years. In Pittsburgh alone, I have moved six times in eight years (thank you Levi and Gloria). And every move has included carefully packed and labeled boxes. I’d like to think that those who helped me move were impressed by my organizational skills. My favorite part of every move is organizing the new space.
I give you this introduction to say that my coworkers who helped me to move would have no idea that I love to organize given the experience of moving on Tuesday evening. Manuel and Bruce arrived to my house and were faced with books stuffed in plastic bags, plates and mugs wrapped in towels and sheets that were stuffed into a plastic hamper and a pile of pots and pans overflowing from the bin that I use to shower. Since boxes were scarce, flimsy plastic bags and large pots and buckets were my only containers for one of the most disorganized moves I have ever been a part of.
Beginning at 6:30pm, we packed the bed of the white truck, half with plants and the other half with my clothes and household necessities. On the second and last trip, I frantically stuffed food from the refrigerator in plastic bags and wedged myself in the front seat of the truck holding a teapot and a bundle of sheets that I had just stripped from the bed and a pillow.
By 7:30, I stood in my new house surrounded by books strewn across the floor since the bags broke during the move, pitchers and bags of spices littering the kitchen counter and a mix of groceries and households items on the floor and dining room table. Chaos. And now I could begin my favorite part of moving – organizing my new living space.
For the next nine months I will live in the house where the Dyrst’s lived during their last two months with MCC in Olinalá. The three bedroom house has a large space for living and dining, and a kitchen with a view of the chickens, turkeys and ducks that roam the small area that separates my house from the owner’s house.
The house is part of a family compound, which is common in the area as extended families live together. Dona Clara is the matriarch who lives with four of her eight children, the youngest who is in high school. One son lives in the apartment below me; two daughters are married and live elsewhere in Olinalá; and one daughter is married and living in New York City. In-laws live in the house beside my new house. It feels like I have joined a family.
And this family doesn’t know how much I love to organize. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to sleep before I gave some organization to the mess that surrounded me. As the Dyrst left all of MCC belongings, I set about to cleaning and integrating my things with the pots and pans already there. I tried to graciously assure Pepe that I was up to the task alone (and actually wanted to be alone for the task), but I soon realized that he was set on keeping me company in conversation. He left when I had made some progress in the kitchen, but soon returned with the mission of cleaning the bathroom. “Doña Clara insists,” he said. Doña Clara quickly followed with a welcome and an insistence on helping me to settle into my home. They set to work on a much more thorough cleaning of the bathroom than I would have done, and I quickly put bags and items into their proper room to give a quick semblance of order so they would not worry. By 11, they walked the few paces to their house, and I worked in the bedrooms on the far end of the house until past midnight.
This morning I woke up with sun streaming in the window of my new bedroom. Drinking a cup of coffee, I finished most of ordering and organizing that began last night – this time on my own. As I was washing dishes, Doña Clara knocked on the door with food in hand. “Don’t you want to eat?” She gave me fresh tortillas and a plate of rice, cooked vegetables and a hard boiled egg for a 10:30am meal. Less than a half hour later, Toni stopped by to ask if I wanted to eat something with them at the house. I assured him that Doña Clara had already given me food.
After two months of living on my own in Olinala, I quickly understand that my remaining months not be on my own. I will not lack for food or daily conversations. Welcome to my new home.
Pictures to follow soon.
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