for serious

I'm not sure you could underestimate the importance of clean, dry underwear living in Cambodia. Perhaps I should extend to that, living anywhere as a Peace Corps Volunteer?

Because it's just that serious.

Underwear, for me, as a PCV in Cambodia, has to be, by necessity: comfortable, quick drying, of a material that will not chafe, or wear down quickly, and not even necessarily cute. It just has to last through dozens of rounds of handwashing with very harsh soap and provide comfort after using a squat toilet where there is nothing but water to rinse with after business is done.

Needless to say, new underwear is pretty much the pinnacle of deep-in-my-soul-comforts I have here.

***

I brought 25 pairs of underwear to Cambodia.  This is the least amount of underwear I have owned/used probably since I was ten years old.  I promptly put a small pile away for the halfway through service mark.  I wore the same fifteen pairs for days and days.

And I wore them, and I wore them, and I wore them.

On my birthday last year, dear friend Paige gifted me a pair of underwear.  Awesome friend Katie also sent me a few pairs in a package.  Then my parents brought me a couple pairs when they came to visit.  And then Paige gave me another pair this year.  And then John sent me three new pairs.

And I realized that you can take the girl out of the home-with-hundreds-of-pairs-of-underwear, but you can't take it out of the girl.



***

So, in light of wearing, and wearing, and even out-wearing some of the same underwear for a year, I recently retired one pair of underwear.  Six were on trial for retirement, but five survived. 

She was probably a bit too merciful, that judge, but she has difficulty parting with underwear, so be gentle.

In all honesty, I need to face the truth and just bust out the final ten pairs I tucked away for the second year (seeing as how we're a solid four months into that second year) and give those worn out pairs the sweet death they know is coming.

***

Another deep-in-my-soul-comfort? These fantastic slippers I also received from John, who sent the underwear pictured above.  Squishy and pink and a luxurious wonder!