First of all, something you probably already know and don't need to be told: Never use an electric shower.
The beginning of this week, on Monday, I had to take a quick shower after my aerial rope class so that I could get to the bus on time to make it to school. The water wasn't getting warm, so I just took a cold shower because I didn't have time to deal with it-- occasionally the fire in the water heater in our apartment goes out, and I more or less know how to restart it but I just wasn't able to figure it out on Monday.
Turns out, it wasn't just that the fire had gone out, it was that the gas had mistakenly been shut off in the entire apartment.
No hot water.
No stove.
No oven.
Fun times.
Meanwhile, I've had multiple visitors coming to Córdoba this week. I've had a great time getting to explore different places both inside city limits and within the Córdoba province.
Before I get back to the electric shower, some of the stuff I've been up to:
- I have eaten at a ton of new restaurants!! I now know of an excellent (although slightly pricey) pasta restaurant that serves sorrentini, a ravioli-like pasta that seems to be made nowhere else but Argentina but is absolutely amazing; a Middle Eastern restaurant (hummus, oh how I missed you!) with a super nice waiter who served us baklava at the end of the meal; the Brunchería, which actually has amazing tortillas españolas (an another miracle called Dulce de leche latte); Papanato, where everything on the menu includes potatoes... which I never thought would appeal to me after the overabundance of potatoes during my time in England, but this place was phenomenal; and several tasty choripan and empanada joints.
- I visited La Perla, one of the largest Centros de detención clandestino (Clandestine Detention Centers) that functioned during the military dictatorship. Some 2,200-2,500 people passed through this center. Around 150 survived. My companion wrote an emotional blog post describing our visit there and how difficult-- and important-- it is to see this part of Argentine history.
 |
| The view of the open blue sky and the mountains in the background was beautiful, the birds were chirping, fall leaves crunched underfoot, bright green parrots perched at the top of telephone poles... the calm and picturesque beauty of the natural surroundings created a sickening contrast to the historical plaques describing the conditions of the victims, the rooms in which they were tortured, the children they gave birth to who to this day have not been found. |
 |
| I could stand inside the living quarters, or stare at the commander's offices, or look at the art installations memorializing and depicting the faces and names of the people who suffered here, who disappeared... and I could try to imagine, but I couldn't imagine. I've never been to one of the concentration camps in Europe. Perhaps it would be a similar feeling. It is something I really can't describe. |
- I have become much more comfortable walking pretty much everywhere in Córdoba within a 2-4km radius of my apartment-- I've just about got a map of downtown and Nueva Córdoba in my mind.
- I have walked through Paseo de las artes at least five times and am still overwhelmed each time I go because everything at the artesenal crafts fair is gorgeous. I can say without doubt that it is my favorite crafts fair that I have ever been to anywhere in the world.
- I have gotten creative with meals using only a microwave... I remembered how my dad used to make me microwaved scrambled eggs sometimes in the morning when we were running late, and I actually loved it as a kid. Made some microwave quesadillas with microwave scrambled eggs and it wasn't actually half bad.
- I've heard about several more muggings, including one that happened at the bus stop where I used to wait for the bus home after my night classes, only 45 minutes or an hour after I had left the stop. No one was seriously injured, but it's still scary. The thing is that it can happen during the day, and it can happen regardless of gender, and it can happen even if you're not alone... I'm working very hard to be as safe as possible, but living with that slight sense of constant anxiety is something that I think most people here are simply used to, and it is something I am struggling to come to terms with during my own (voluntary, temporary) stay in the country.
- I have continued to attend classes at my institute, working with teachers, exchanging English and Spanish slang, and spending time with a few of the students outside of class.
- I checked out the Che museum at his childhood home in Alta Gracia and explored the rest of the town:
 |
| Chillin' with Che |
 |
| Original Motorcycle Diaries! |
 |
| I'm not certain if it was the actual moto, but same model as the one Ernesto Guevara took on his first trip around Latin America! |
 |
| Bad lighting, cute house |
 |
| Gorgeous lake in Alta Gracia |
 |
| Some Old Building That May Be Important But We Didn't Have Enough Cash To Buy Another Entrance Ticket To A Museum So We Will Never Know |
Yep, that about summarizes my activities of the week.
Sadly, the gas has not yet been turned back on.
I suppose it's actually perfect timing, because I have been going out for many meals with people anyways. It would be nice to have the option to fry an egg for breakfast, or boil some pasta, but hey I am grateful for microwaves and fresh fruit and carrots with peanut butter.
And then there is the shower...
I am not totally against cold showers. It kinda sucks when it's cold outside and then you also have to get into the cold water, and we had a few chilly days this week, but generally I adjust quickly and I feel like I waste less water and come out refreshed.
But, understandably, the owner of our apartment was not thrilled about cold showers, and she told me with joy on Wednesday that she had gotten una ducha eléctrica. ¿Qué?!, I asked-- what?!-- and she responded in English "An electric shower!" It wasn't a language issue, I assured her-- I understood what she said, I just had no idea what that actually meant.
Apparently, she got a shower head that you plug into an outlet and it heats the water as it runs through it. There is very little shower head to run through, so it draws a ton of power just to moderately heat the water.
You may be thinking "this sounds like a horrible idea."
You would be right.
They got it installed (after accidentally short-circuiting an extension cord... warning sign???), and still there was no way I was going to try it. But after two people having successful not-freezing showers, and after no hot shower for a week, I was willing to give it a really quick try. I soaped up and shampooed as quickly as possible, rinsed off, and I had just pulled back the curtain and stepped out of the water to turn the whole contraption off when the smell of something burning reached my nose and I heard a loud pop and I screamed and then everything went dark.
Not because I had been electrocuted and died, thankfully (although I promise I have learned my lesson: always always always trust my gut and NEVER trust an electric shower!!).
The circuit had blown and cut off electricity in the whole apartment.
At about 11:50pm.
Mom, thank you for insisting I brought a flashlight with me... You were right.
So yeah. We called an electrician at midnight and sat around in the dark eating apple with dulce de leche (well, I was eating dulce de leche) and we were lucky enough to have our lights back on and functioning before 2 in the morning.
As I said, it has been quite a wild week. I felt horrible about being the one to break the electric shower, even though I know it wasn't my fault. Hopefully the gas will be turned on by Tuesday, otherwise I will be adjusting to cold showers and microwaved oatmeal for a little while.
The apartment owner really is a lovely person, and she has felt awful about all of this happening and is doing everything she can to fix it as quickly as possible. The apartment itself has been great in other ways (especially in that, with its location right on a major street, not only am I close to almost all of the city public transit, I feel fairly safe walking home from the bus stop even at midnight or later, and that is very important). But both the apartment owner and I have pity-laughed at how awful our luck has been lately.
However, in one way I am lucky (or have finally learned to be extra-prepared).
When the electric shower short-circuited the system, my laptop was plugged in.
I was absolutely terrified that somehow, I may have fried both my new charger and my laptop.
BUT I had been using my surge protector, and the entire contraction, surge protector, charger, and laptop, survived the incident without any damage! I am extremely grateful for that. If I had to handle another laptop issue on top of the gas and power outages, I would... well, I would handle it, but I would be really freakin' frustrated.
I know that I've complained a lot, in this post and in this blog, about the struggles I've had here. And the struggles have been real, and I do want to be honest about them. But I also want to reiterate that there have been some pretty awesome opportunities here, too. I've had an awesome time visiting places this week, and I feel like I am learning so much about language (both English and Spanish), and especially this past week, I've gone through everything with really cool people (both new people in my life and old).
No comments:
Post a Comment