Ughhh

6-13-2010

So for the past week or maybe more Steven and I have been without any hot water. This is common in Kazakhstan because we are on a central heating system. So for 2 or 3 months out of the year, during the summer months, they get to work doing repairs and construction. At first the girls didn’t have hot water and we were told that we would have it until we left. We laughed and politely rubbed it in their faces, but it wasn’t long before we were served. But, this morning I sit writing this earlier than I want to be awake, having no water at all.

In one of the books we teach from it talks about meeting your neighbors the usual soviet way. The soviet way is meeting your neighbors very early in the morning because there is a leak in your apartment building and they are having water drip through their roof. This has happened to Steven and I before. But, tonight was different. At 4 in the morning our door bell was going haywire. Someone was out there ringing, ringing, ringing. I lay in my bed, in shock from just waking up and unable to understand what was going on. I couldn’t hear any water running...We hadn’t taken more than a 2 minute shower (because of the cold, COLD water) and that was the morning before. So I laid in my bed letting my thoughts get the best of me. I thought for sure I was in trouble. It must have been the KGB sending us a warning that they were after us. Ok, ok so maybe not that dramatic. I thought maybe it was a burglar checking to see who was home or looking for an easy entrance. I couldn’t understand the fact that it was 4 in the morning. I drifted back to sleep after about 15 minutes of worried fright. I had a dream that I was telling people about the crazy ringing at 4am, but nobody believed me. In my dream, I had just dreamed the whole thing. However, not more than 2 hours later the doorbell rang again. This time the guy rang it in pulses for about a minute and then laid on it for over a minute. I got up, trying to move quietly so he didn’t know I was there. I was angry, but at the same time worried. I figured I was in deep trouble now. He finally gave up after an unusually long time, and I decided it was time for my morning bathroom break. As I went into the bathroom I saw the entire floor flooded with water and the toilet leaking a tiny, tiny little trickle. I sighed, and headed for the phone to call Yelena. She didn’t answer right away so I spend a few minutes frantically worrying about what to do and praying for some wisdom. They rang, but I can’t answer the door. The only thing I can tell them is “Sorry, I don’t speak Russian” and that doesn’t help resolve big conflicts.

Anyways, I grabbed all the towels from the linen closet, got on my hands and knees, on the disgusting bathroom floor trying to slop up as much water as I could. I turned the water off right away, but as I turned it on for a quick second to wash up, I realized they had already cut our water. Luckily we had a Sprite bottle in reserve for times like this. So this morning, after a crappy sleep, a load of worrying, and about 30 minutes on the bathroom floor...I’m tired...I’m annoyed...I’m ready to go home!

(This isn’t saying that I won’t miss everyone here and that I still don't have mixed feelings about leaving, I’m just ready to get back to my own home and the American plumbing system :)