..Don't miss the MLK day appliance sale only at Sears... so said the commercial on the internet when Babs (friend and site mate) and I were attempting to check out the Peace Corps story that had aired on ABC's 20/20 Friday evening in the US...
I started giggling and said to Babs, doesn't that just make you laugh? Isn't that some funny stuff? Appliances!!!! He agreed that appliances seem like a very silly thing to get excited about here in Mongolia.
It's a whole different perspective when you're living in a developing country. Babs like most Mongolians, hand washes his clothes. Literally, hand washes clothing in a tub scrubbing the fabric together while squatting over it. Then rinsing an item takes time, along with wringing it out enough to lay it out or hang it out to dry... A clothes dryer here is the rack you hang the freshly laundered clothing from.
Above are pictured my favorite appliances here in Mongolia. On the left is my toaster oven, gratefully received from my friend and site mate Caitlin when she went home. On the right is my amazing washing machine. Though not the same as a washer in the US, it is a wonderful, time saving device! In spite of the fact that you have to fill it up with water one bucket at a time and after it's done soaking and washing, you have to drain the tub one bucket at a time (there is an attached hose for this) it is great! On the right side of it is the spinner compartment. After you wring out the clothing, you put it in to spin and it comes out halfway dry! The iron pictured there is also the nicest and newest iron I've owned in years!
Not shown are my water distiller and my water heater. Both of these are used to purify water before drinking and major necessities here! They are used constantly!
So back to MLK Day... Is an appliance sale really what our national holiday intended to inspire in our citizens? I think not. I think Dr. Martin Luther King was one of the greatest Americans in our history. An inspirational speaker and a natural leader, he still today sparks idealism in many. I am one of the many inspired by Dr. King. Just thinking of the phrase "I have a dream" and Dr. King saying it, gives me goosebumps.
He was a man who left a legacy of love and hope. My dream is that each and every person can come to realize that each and every one of us have our own legacy of love; to share, to inspire others, and to leave behind when we are gone from this place.
I always thought it was somehow not-right to celebrate MLK, Jr day with any sale - appliances, carpet, vehicles... Because they all do it and that's not what he was about, at all... His spirit definitely lives in you, my love! And I appreciate what you say about appliances and whatnot in Mongolia - it probably wasn't much, if any, better where I was when I was in Russia in those terms. Love you so much!!
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