We have finally moved in to our home. It smells like paint and plaster, there are construction noises everywhere, it's incredibly dusty, and there are boxes all over the place, but it is ours.
Today we received our....ahem....restroom fixtures! We also got - ta da! - a shower head! Imagine that!
The entire day seems to be a mad chaotic whirlwind of calling people,waiting for them to show up, having them show up and then not be able to complete the job they have come to do, hearing them promise they'll be back soon, and waiting more.
I did have one success - I complained to the construction foreman that our buzzer and hallway light was not working (I have learned the phrase "lo oved" - it does not work - VERY well.). And guess what - the electrician guy came and fixed it! And guess what - I forgot to ask him which switch works the dud shemesh. Rats.
[Ed. Note: For those of you not familiar with Israeli life, the dud shemesh (pronounced "dude shemesh") is a hot water tank that sits on your roof and works via solar power. No, this is not new eco-living, this is how Israelis have done things for ages and ages. You turn on the dud shemesh about 1/2 hour before you need hot water (less in summer, longer in winter) and the water heats up. You use your hot water and when you're done you turn the dud off.]
We are also waiting to have our oven installed. You see, the gas company would not turn on the gas until the oven was installed. And the oven installer would not come unless the gas was turned on. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?
Hmmm.
So we called back the installer and said can you just come and install the oven, then we will have the gas company come, and then if something is not working, we'll call you back? Sure, they said - I think they've heard this story before, once or twice.
Oh, and when the gas gets turned on - 600 shekels, please.
I have to mention that I am now more used to people rattling at me in Hebrew and responding with a blank stare and saying, in Hebrew, "I don't understand." Sometimes they revert to English, sometimes they speak more slowly and with hand motions. Either way I am learning.
Today we received our....ahem....restroom fixtures! We also got - ta da! - a shower head! Imagine that!
The entire day seems to be a mad chaotic whirlwind of calling people,waiting for them to show up, having them show up and then not be able to complete the job they have come to do, hearing them promise they'll be back soon, and waiting more.
I did have one success - I complained to the construction foreman that our buzzer and hallway light was not working (I have learned the phrase "lo oved" - it does not work - VERY well.). And guess what - the electrician guy came and fixed it! And guess what - I forgot to ask him which switch works the dud shemesh. Rats.
[Ed. Note: For those of you not familiar with Israeli life, the dud shemesh (pronounced "dude shemesh") is a hot water tank that sits on your roof and works via solar power. No, this is not new eco-living, this is how Israelis have done things for ages and ages. You turn on the dud shemesh about 1/2 hour before you need hot water (less in summer, longer in winter) and the water heats up. You use your hot water and when you're done you turn the dud off.]
We are also waiting to have our oven installed. You see, the gas company would not turn on the gas until the oven was installed. And the oven installer would not come unless the gas was turned on. What comes first, the chicken or the egg?
Hmmm.
So we called back the installer and said can you just come and install the oven, then we will have the gas company come, and then if something is not working, we'll call you back? Sure, they said - I think they've heard this story before, once or twice.
Oh, and when the gas gets turned on - 600 shekels, please.
I have to mention that I am now more used to people rattling at me in Hebrew and responding with a blank stare and saying, in Hebrew, "I don't understand." Sometimes they revert to English, sometimes they speak more slowly and with hand motions. Either way I am learning.
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