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Friday, July 5, 2013

How to Mop Like a Local

When we first moved into our apartment it needed a good cleaning. The supplies were available but there were a few items that seemed to be missing. Primarily, a mop. 

We had a broom. And lots of random towels and rags and scrubbers and even a toilet bowl brush. But no mop, and our tile floors were filthy. 

One morning during those first couple days, one of the staff from MCC stopped by. We asked him where we might buy a mop, or if there was a mop somewhere in the apartment. He seemed confused, and since he doesn't speak any English and we hadn't started Spanish classes yet, our conversation was limited. 

He pointed to the broom. Then he found a (seemingly) random, ratty bath towel with three holes cut out of the middle. 
He demonstrated how this goes over the broom and voila (or maybe more like DUH!!) we have a mop. 
I believed him, but also didn't. I didn't believe that this was the only method of mopping. I mean, the person living here prior to us was a gringa. Surely she used a mop. I've since learned that this is the Guatemalan mop.

Now, everywhere we go, I see this form of mopping. At Wal-mart, at restaurants, at schools. I've been searching for someone, somewhere, to use an actual mop. A few days ago we were at a grocery store and I noticed a big, colorful full-page ad for cleaning supplies. It had everything necessary to clean: a broom, scrub brushes, chemicals, sponges, buckets…but no mop. 

Today Michael and I had a breakfast date while the girls were at school and we were running errands to prepare for our trip to Pennsylvania tomorrow. There in the mall, right next to us, was a woman mopping. With a REAL MOP.  It's the first mop sighting we've had. Of course, it was in the humungous, hoity-toity fancy mall. 
Needless to say, we've adapted to this method and mop with our broom and our ratty towel. It gets the job done. When in Rome, right?

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