February 26, 2012

Woke up to find leaden skies and the renewed threat of snow. Waited for Caroline to wake up so I could make my scrambled eggs with salami, but by 9:00 she was still asleep and I resigned myself to eating some flat bread and hot chocolate. I started to cook the beef and do the dishes that had piled up when there was no running water. Just as I started to cook the “moros y cristianos”, the power went out. I was beyond mad since I only have a one burner propane balloon and had to decide what to cook first. I went out into the landing, and of course, it was just my unit once again that had no power. Checking the breaker box solved nothing as I could not find which ones belonged to my flat. I went back to my apartment, picked up the dishes that Maryam had sent food in and brought them back to her while at the same time asking her to please help me find the right button in the breaker box. There were two yellow buttons at the end of the row and those were the ones I needed to set upright. I thanked her profusely and was able to continue cooking.

Corrie showed up on time and I recruited her to go fetch Rebecca who had never been to my place and was waiting in front of the Puppet Theater. I served the stewed beef, rice and beans, pickled carrots and beets, flat bread, wine and juices Corrie had brought. I never got around baking anything for dessert and offered them some of the chocolates Takhmina had given me around New Years along with Cuban coffee. Rebecca speaks Russian, something I didn’t know, and has traveled widely in Central Asia. She was giving us recommendations on places to see in both Kirgizstan and Kazakhstan. There weren’t enough leftovers for me to offer both of them to take home and I felt bad about giving Rebecca some and not Corrie. Both Caroline and I took a nap after they left.

I was in the middle of cleaning up the kitchen when someone knocked on the door. It was my landlady’s husband, who speaks no English whatsoever, and who handed me his phone so I could “talk” to his wife. She said some words, I understood nothing, and handed the telephone back to him as I was in no mood to fool around. If she has questions, she needs to find someone who speaks English. Period. He looked around the hallway and peered into the bathroom, shrugged his shoulders and then left.

It was then time to do some serious laundry or at least as many loads as my laundry rack could hold. Since Caroline is quite familiar with it, she offered to hang the pieces of clothing as I brought them out and I managed to do three loads. One remained for the next morning as I had even run out of thermal underwear and leggings. I was still fretting about my return to the PedInst tomorrow and Caroline offered to go with me as a show of support, but I declined as this is something I need to face on my own. I did promise that I would show up, go directly to my classroom and if no students showed up, I'd simply leave. I’m not about to go looking for students or inquire as to any new changes. I’m done with that for sure.