The Vacuum Cleaner

The lady who owned and lived in the 'international house' I stayed in when I first moved to San Francisco required us kids to do our chores, write up a list of everything we've done or not done around the house and slip it under her door. She seemed exceptionally motivated towards making sure that my friend Nitin (also moved from India around the same time) and I cleaned up after ourselves and made sure we understood that "Your mom's not here" or "In the US this is how we do things!" For the life of me I had no idea why she kept telling us that. Over the course of the first few weeks in San Francisco, I learned that apparently some of us Indian kids have a reputation of being pampered and spoiled and folks think we don't lift a finger in our homes back in India.

Frankly, I was willing to fight that notion tooth and nail till she handed me the Vacuum cleaner. I had no clue what to do with this piece of equipment and I was hopeful that when Nitin got back from school we'd be able to figure this out together. I was wrong again - the two of us cut a sorry and laughable picture staring at that vacuum cleaner. But eventually, thanks to Andrea, one of the housemates from Italy helped us figure out the vacuum cleaner, the washing machine, and also warned me to stay away from raccoons. "They may look cute but they're not as social as you are" he said. As you can imagine, I learned very quickly that raccoons do not like to be disturbed when they're rummaging through the trash.

I moved three times in two months. I was introduced to Craigslist and went house hunting for affordable rooms. I learned of 'in-law' units and went to one open house  which was a garage converted to a one-bed unit. There was no front door to the unit-it was the garage door/shutter. Of course, I didn't sign up for that house but it was an experience etched in my mind for ever.

From the international house in the Panhandle, I then got a room in another old Victorian behind University of San Francisco. I gave my notice to move out exactly 24 hours after I had moved in (never mind the details) and then onto another apartment with a housemate who had the compulsive need to deep clean the place at 3 AM. He would pick up all the long hair that was on the floor - after sifting through it to make sure he made no mistake...place it neatly on a paper towel and leave it by my door with a post-it note!

I'm certainly not insinuating that this is the case with every international student or students who move from India...this was just my experience. But today, as I vacuum my apartment, mop the floor, cook for my family and do the dishes, I am so grateful to our lovely landlady for taking it upon herself to coach me on these essential life skills and more so grateful to all those who help us in our homes every day!

As always, you live and learn!

Lotika