15 November 2007

You know you're in Romania when...

...you receive a notice in your mailbox saying that all of the water in the entire city will be shut off for 24 hours. Something about upgrading the system to meet European Union standards.

Not "don't drink the water for 6 hours or you might die." (I've gotten this message before.)

Not "you won't have hot water for the week of..." (I get this notice every summer; since the water is heated elsewhere and piped here, there's no hot water for a week in the summer while they clean and repair the hot water pipes.)

But "there will be absolutely, positively NO WATER for at least 24 hours" (the original notice said 48 hours). No washing dishes. No doing laundry. (Ooh, beginning to sound like vacation!) No flushing the toilet. No taking a shower. No swimming (the pool is closed). And, once the water comes back on, it will probably be cloudy and dirty for the first couple of days.

So, tonight I've been running around trying to think ahead & figure out how I can best prepare. Fill up the bathtub. Put a bucket of water in the other bathroom (for toilet-flushing purposes). Fill a pot of water to set on the stove (just in case I decide to make something for dinner tonight that demands water...I can't think that far ahead). Fill up the sink in the kitchen to put dirty dishes in, since I can't rinse them. Shower taken. Bottled water in the kitchen for drinking, teeth brushing, etc. The only left to do tonight is wash lettuce for the next couple of days' worth of salads.

I hope I'm not forgetting anything, because it won't be easy to "fix" it if I did. Since no one else in the city will have water, either.

Can't imagine what it will be like in the hospitals or restaurants here in town. I think I'll stay home for the duration :)

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