They what?!, I asked incredulously.
They don't have a dryer, she repeated.
Um, then how do they dry their clothes?
They have a clothesline.
You mean, like outside? But what if they want to wear their jeans right away - what do they do then?
Well, they just have to wait for them to dry.
Yes, I seriously had this conversation and was seriously perplexed that my friend had lived her entire life drying her clothes on a clothesline. If only she knew that my Frenchified self hasn't had a dryer for the past 7 years and that I depend on this handy-dandy contraption to air-dry my clothes...
As time goes on, I'm kind of proud of the fact that I have lived without a dryer for so long - and a dishwasher for that matter! But it also highlights how dependent I was on all of those creature comforts back when I lived in the states. My parents' entire house smells like Bounce dryer sheets, just so you understand the severity of our / their dryer dependence. I actually brought a few back to Paris after our last trip home to try and prevent winter static cling in my dresses. I accidentally left the plastic baggie open with the sheets inside when I left the house one day, and when I came home, Copain asked me, "why does it smell like your parents' house in here???".
I cannot tell a lie - I do envy those rare Frenchies and expats who tell me they have dryers. How amazing to just throw your clothes into a machine and have them come out dry and fluffy! Instead, my clothes rack takes up half of my living room for two days (or three in the winter!), while my clothes work to rid themselves of moisture. We've even taken to turning on our dehumidifier at night so that our clothes dry faster. Oh, and I've learned to deal with crunchy towels.
My college-self would like, so totally not get my French self. Funny what 7 years can do to a person n'est pas?
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