Monday has just ended, and the week has already proven exciting. I have a new roommate now. Suz is British and here volunteering at a journal for the next nine months. She is a friend of Meredith's (the last intern) who had mentioned to me the possibility of us being roommates before. Suz's organization, though, said they had made arrangements for her. When she arrived, something had changed and she was supposed to stay temporarily at what turned out to be little more than a glorified concrete shack. The lighting consisted of lightbulbs hanging from unfinished wiring, and the tub was propped up on concrete blocks with no curtain around it. In truth, the building hadn't been finished yet. She just as an immediate relief, I welcomed her to come stay at my place (which was pretty funny the first night, because another of Meredith's friends had been staying for a couple of nights between a missions trip and flying back to the States). We got along well, and as we learned more about the housing situation, it seemed she would need to stay a month and them might be able to move into the originally intended dwelling. I offered Suz my extra room for the month at least and to stay the entire duration if she wanted to. Contrary to all the warnings she had been given, her organization was actually quite agreeable to her staying here. So my bills will be split in half, but more importantly, I have another human being to live with!!!! This is a big relief as we've gotten little tastes of the weather that forces most to stay inside during the winter.
This weekend was rainy and cold. We had plans to cook lunch with friends and then go check out the wine festival downtown, but with the rain we all decided to stay in the apartment, watch a bit of tv, and drink tea and coffee. It was a of fun. Suz and I get along really well, and we were both ready for a down weekend. We did decide to venture out Saturday evening to pick up a few groceries for dinner. As we were just about finished with our selections, the power went out in the grocery store. Power outage in the states: generator, back-up power supply turns a few emergency lights on and the registers work. Power outage in Moldova: some flashlights and cell phone lights and somehow the registers worked. We exited Green Hills, only to find that the entire block had lost power. Our apartment was so dark, and neither of us had a true flashlight (or torch in Suz's case), and we hadn't purchased candles yet either!
Our appetites persuaded us to make do, so we opened my laptop and set it on the little table to provide some light in the kitchen and opened our window (though it was about eight pm so the sun had been down for quite a while). We cooked flank steaks, caramelized red onions, and creamed spinach on our gas stove, and right as we were sitting down to eat, the power came back on! It was SO good....I think I had been having a serious meat deficiency in my diet. Sigh. Yes, good meal.
Having completely exhausted ourselves from such a strenuous day we left the dishes and decided to finish the show we had been watching online (this is our option for American programs). We set up the laptop, and boom, power went out again!!! We still had the internet connection, so it didn't phase us, but we were a bit relieved when it came back on a hour or so later.
Sunday, ah blessed Sunday. I was running late to the Russian service, and knowing I would be going to the International service later that evening, I called my friend Pasha and we decided to skip the Russian service and do some boot shopping. I have been told that my shoes are inadequate for Moldovan winters, so Pasha took Suz and I to a couple different places to buy Moldovan manufactured boots. The first store was way too crowded for the Westerners. By crowded, I mean Black Friday times two crowded. I felt like we were literally wading through people. The second place had more boots than I could comprehend, but the sizes were really hit or miss. We ended up leaving exhausted and bootless, but with a much better idea of what I want. In a week or two, more sizes will be available and I will have winter boots before the snow comes.
Pasha had to rush back home, so Suz and I went back to our apartment to make some lunch. As we were shuffling about our tiny kitchen, fixing various things, Suz gave a sudden exclamation,"Oh!" She had leaned against the radiator in our kitchen and it was HOT! Ok, so it was hot, it's a radiator, you may be thinking. Oh no. This is a HUGE deal!!!
The city of Chisinau is on centralized heating, meaning the government controls the heating, when it's turned on, when it's turned off, and all the settings in between. Normally, the heat is turned on in early November. However, if the weather is cold enough for three days, they will turn it on sooner. If you've read my earlier posts, you know it had been quite cold here. Cold enough, I learned had to be 8 C (46-48 F). It had fallen into the thirties (farenheit) a few nights! A state announcement had been made that the heat would be turned on this week, and our's must've been one of the first.
Its not very high right now, but it is definitely helping to fight off the chill. And I was suddenly hit last night with the realization of God's hand in this. I had it in my mind, that I just had to last until November, but God knew in His infinite wisdom that three days of cold would bring the heat. He gave a few very cold days, so that our heating would be turned on three weeks early. Blows my mind.....
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