Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Gas Man

It isn’t even 10am yet and all ready today has been riddled with some good and some bad. I awoke to my doorbell being rung. I groggily put on my uggs and head to the door. A woman I have never seen before was walking down the stairs but I called her back. Surprise! She has a package for me. Door service from the Post in Cheramushka. Thanks Dar for the present. At least this means the post is working again and hopefully I will soon have all my xmas presents from America.

Downside of the morning is the long shrill BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP that is going off in my kitchen.
9:48-I go to investigate and find that it is my gas alarm. Great.
9:50-I knock at the neighbors. No answer.
9:51-I try the downstairs neighbors. No answer.
Where is everyone when a girl is about to have a gas explosion in her Armenian apartment and has no idea what to do about it??!!
10-I resort to calling our Safety and Security officer, the beloved Vahagan. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. I’m not really sure what he told me to do and he speaks English. Hmm.
10:10-I call my landlord. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. “Oh just open a window for 5 minutes. It will be fine” that was the gist of what I got from that conversation. She speaks Armenian. BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.
10:15- I open my door and let the freezing Armenian winter flood my living room.
10:15-10:35- Beeping continues and I hope that gas is not seeping into my lungs.
10:35- Vahagan calls me back to see my progress. Encourages me to call the gas company.
10:37-Knock on neighbors again. They answer! “Come. Come into my house. Loud beeping. I don’t know what to do. Can you call the gas company for me because maybe I don’t understand what they say?”
10:38-Arpine calls mek-zero-chors (1-0-4). From a cellphone though it goes directly to Yerevan.
10:40-Arpine goes to her house to use the house phone and call Kapan’s gas company.
10:51-Arpine can’t get ahold of the Kapan gas people. Of course, I can wait at my home all day long. She will continue to call them.
11-Call and update Vahagan. Run out of dram on my phone.
11:03- Vahagan calls me back. He wants to call Yerevan Gas Co to see if there is anything to do.
11:05- Vahagan calls and tells me to unplug the alarm, wait 15 minutes, plug it back in and see what happens. (meanwhile it is now freezing in my living room/kitchen)
11:07-Arpine has gotten the gas company and they are headed here. Fingers crossed.
11:45- gas man arrives, plug in my monitor. Wait. Apparently it has gone bad so I get a brand spanking new machine!
Apparently I knew Artik in my old village. I don’t think I have ever seen him before. While Artik was here he was explaining to me that the monitors are made in China. At first I didn’t understand him. So he, in all his Armenian genius and cultural sensitivity, put his fingers to his eyes to display what he meant. Oh, whoa, ok. I get it now. Please please stop doing that.

Looks like I am safe! Stay tuned…

Last night in my lovely new blender I made more hummus. Split the batch and made a garlic hummus and a spicy one. The spicy is deeeelicious. Garbanzo beans have become my staple this week. Nutritionally they are pretty good for ya.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4326/2

Lizzie’s NGO got an article written up about them. This is the NGO I have been helping out at working on the Homeland Handicrafts with them. The article is pretty poorly written but gives a good idea of the situation here for people with disabilities.
http://armregions.am/en/2010/12/21/news-1292924489

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