Underwear Origami

I LOVE having a housekeeper come every two weeks.  I will miss the affordability of having this once we go back to the States.  Some people on Okinawa call them "Mamasans"...and while it is an acceptable word to use here...in most of Asia it means something along the lines of "the proprietor of a house of ill-repute"...so I'm a hold-out on this term.  Mine is a housekeeper.

Anyhoo...my first housekeeper here was Tomikosan.  She was a dynamo....all four feet of her!  She is in her seventies, and put me to shame with her Ninja-ironing prowess.  As much as I loved how tidy she made everything, I mostly just loved having her in my home.  I looked forward to making her lunch each time she came...and she LOVED my children...each of them towering over her.  I wanted to be able to communicate with her.  Not the "Here's the ironing, please change the sheets" kind of communication...that we managed just fine through pantomime and her limited English.  I really wanted to hear the stories I'm sure she has to tell.  At any rate, Tomikosan had an accident and broke her hip.  I wish I had some way to find out where she lives so I could visit her, but not one of her clients knows how to get a hold of her.  Even what little info we have is third-hand from a tight-lipped General.  At least we know she is in the caring hands of her family.

Through word of mouth (how everything is done in this field) I found another housekeeper.  Her name is Yokosan.  She is much younger than Tomikosan.  While she probably doesn't have as many stories to tell, I do still enjoy her company over lunch.  Sometimes I make her American food (you know...like lasagna) and sometimes I try to impress her with my savvy, Japanese skills.  So far, she's taught me how to properly open Onigiri and that I've been holding my chopsticks wrong all these years.

It's funny how Yokosan's strengths are the exact opposite of Tomikosan's.  Yoko is amazing in the bathroom, Tomiko is just kind of "good enough" in that area.  Tomikosan is AMAZING with an iron...Yokosan does OK.  Tomikosan worked around my disorganized areas...Yokosan works magic on them.
 
I usually do my own laundry folding so that I can have all the ironing ready...but last week I left a basket of clean whites in my room.  She found it.  I came home to find her skills displayed all over my coffee table.  I unfolded one of these pairs of undies to see how she did it.  It was not easy.  I couldn't find any natural rhythm or wrist-flicking movements that made it go smoothly.  Maybe that explains my chopstick deficits?