La Lavatrice

After investing hours in research and planning we are realizing that we’re not totally prepared for living in Italy. We arrived about a week ago and moved into our own little apartment just 5 days later. With loads of help from real and virtual friends, we thought we were way ahead of the curve. But the little details of everyday life have proven to be weak points.

We’re the first tenants in a new, compact apartment…a bedroom, a bathroom and a combination kitchen/dining/living room. The rooms are fully equipped with new bathroom and kitchen fixtures, appliances and furniture… there’s even a flat panel TV with basic cable service. We can control the heat, air conditioning and hot water temperatures. Best of all, there is “La Lavatrice”… a new washing machine.

In the past we’ve spent summers at Carol’s grandmother’s old house in Calabria. It has electricity and plumbing but, lacking creature comforts, we’re accustomed to roughing it. So, for us, having “la lavatrice” in the apartment is a very big deal. “La Lavatrice” has roughly a capacity equal to a countertop microwave but that’s still better than hauling the laundry down to the fountain in the piazza and beating it with a stick.

However, the fountain and stick method is easier than understanding the instructions for operating “La Lavatrice”. The washing cycles are electronically programmed, but you need to know the weight of the laundry load, how much time you want it to agitate and how violently you want it to spin. Most importantly, you must use laundry detergent! That's right, laundry detergent. For as long as I've been studying the Italian language, I can't believe I bought laundry softener instead of detergent. Back to the store.

Next up: Our Italian clothes dryer (or the broomstick and radiator method for drying knickers).