An example of what I (sometimes) go through here in Romania

So, I am sitting at the internet cafe on a chilly October night here in Romania. I am sure, what pray tell, is he doing out and about when it is chilly outside and there are things that are needing to be done inside. The reason for this is exemplery of my struggle with my apartment.

As you have read, I had some problems with the single electrical plugin in the kitchen, so when I need to use the hot water boiler, I have to unplug the refrigerator and re-plug it in when I am done. I have a few dishes to do tonight so I thought I would waste a bit of time in doing just that. Haha...

I unplugged the frige and when I started to plug in the hot water boiler, sparks flew from it and the whole place went dark. The times before when this has happened, the lights didn't go out so we could see what we were doing. Therefore, I did the usual thing that I have done in the past when fuse blew, I called my counterpart Judith.

I told her the trouble and she said that though we knew what to do, since it is night time and dark, it was impossible to tell what the problem is, and that I should just go to sleep and we would fix it tomorrow. Now, is this just me or can a flashlight be used to see what to do so the the problem can be resolved? I mentioned this but was told that it didn't matter.

So here I am. I took a nap this afternoon so there is no chance of sleeping at this precise point so I came out to use the net and rant a bit. I am also lucky that it isn't too terribly cold out tonight because I will not have heat and I am in for a cold, cold morning tomorrow. Ok, enough ranting for one night. This is the Peace Corps and I knew that stuff like this would happen but it seems to me like something that can be solved just like every other time this has happened at night throughout the world.

On a brighter note, I don't work tomorrow but I will be taking the morning bus to Timisoara to get some more pots and pans for the kitchen. The school is having their Freshman Ball tomorrow evening and I have been invited to come and view the festivities. The kids (and teachers) are excited and are willing to come because the school has got Fornetti to come and make their little sweet delights for the evening.

Ok, ceau until the next exciting episode of,

Chris Bennett and his life in a (former) 2nd world country!

Update:
Just after I finished typing my rant last night, my "unofficial" counterpart Romeo, and the local electrican found me at the internet cafe and we went to fix my eletrical problem. Afterwards, I went and had a beer with the electrician, Puio, at the local watering hole and hung out with some other locals. This mroning, Pulio took me to Timisoara so that I could buy some pots and pans and other things. It is things like this that keeps my opinion of Romania and it's people high. I have met people that have gone out of their way to help out and without any monetary assistance, though I have tried to give it to them.