Mopping is a skill

And, apparently, one I don't possess.

One of the other volunteers was getting a bit frustrated with my inability to mop the floor properly. She has the most limited English of the four, but I know exasperation when I see it. Another of the girls told me that in Japan, children sweep and mop the floors of their schools every night and didn't that happen where I went to school. I told her that normally the caretakers would clean the schools. From time to time, children might get the broom to sweep up a mess off the floor, but not on a daily basis (I imagine what some of my classmates at that age would do if given a bucket of water - more mess than cleaning I think). I didn't even try to explain the concept of the Caretaker's Union regulations and job security.

In the kitchen, there is a specific way to do most of the tasks which, due to the language barrier, I am finding it out primarily after the fact, via trial and error. These specific ways to do things remind me a bit of Girl Guide camp, where there was a specific way to do just about everything (and it was conveniently posted, labelled and laminated for all to see). Anyone else remember washing dishes the Girl Guide way? Remember the three bins? - one with hot, soapy water, then the plain hot water rinse and then the water and bleach basin.

We take turns preparing lunch and dinner. I realise that I don't know how to cook much that does not involve at least one of meat, sugar, white flour or premade ingredients. Of course, learning to cook a bit was part of the reason I am here. Yesterday was my turn. No one died. That is, perhaps, one of the bonuses of cooking without meat - it's a lot harder to give everyone food poisoning!