I’m not sure how I managed to miss this one - not only is it excellent, but its been around for a while too.
Lex Libertas is written by a UCLA grad who is crazy enough to spend a year of his life in St Petersburg, teaching debate, learning Russian and, of course, trying to get to grips with the craziness that is life in Russia…
Since last week, they’ve been “working” on the dorm building. This means that half of the outlets in each room don’t work. Specifically, those would be the outlets that the stove and fridge are plugged into.
This “work” started the day after I stocked up on yogurt. Once every other week or so I go to the store where I can get Danissimo relatively cheaply, and I buy 12-15 of them. I then sort and stack them in the fridge, very nicely. Of course, when the power to the fridge goes out, I still have about 11 of the little things sitting in there, rotting. I ate as many as I could to at least get some benefit out of my investment, but considered everything else lost, including some salads, frozen vegetables, and vareneki (non meat-filled raviolis)…
…Tomorrow, part of this “work” will include a massive power surge, so signs are up telling us to unplug all our appliances from the two working sockets. But hey, I’ve had hot water for the past three consecutive days. That alone merits praise, and keeps the other stuff from getting me down too much. Oh wait, I’ve probably jinxed it.
Ahh, dormitory life. The cold showers, the linoleum floors, the spontaneously combusting oven rings, the locked fire doors… the memories are just flooding back. So now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to hug my fridge for a while. Then, when I get too cold, I’m going to take a looooong hot shower.
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{ 6 comments }
Nathan 04.17.04 at 11:08 pm
That’s great. I tell you, I had very few problems with utilities in Navoi. The Soviets went all-out on that city. All the other volunteers hated me because I took a hot bath everyday and never lost power.
Andy 04.18.04 at 3:11 pm
Are you sure Navoi isn’t in Arizona somewhere?
Joel 04.19.04 at 6:24 am
Reminds me of our Fulbright apartment in Romania in 1983-84. When you lit the second gas burner on the stovetop, the first one went out. You could freeze your freshly washed jeans, then prop them like a cowboy riding the radiator and they wouldn’t go limp for hours. You could sit on the radiator and never burn your ass. Hot water hours were limited to early morning and late evening. Space heaters disappeared from the stores as soon as it got cold, so if you were really cold, you’d have to turn on the oven, open the door, and rub your hands in front of it. Never enough heat to broil anything.
RuKsaK 10.23.04 at 11:57 am
Loved Russia for 5 years
Barbie Jane 12.01.04 at 9:02 am
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Sabiene Joel 01.26.05 at 10:03 am
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