Can you imagine going without hot water for 40 days? Here in Bishkek every May the city shuts off the hot water supply. So I woke up this morning with no hot water for a shower and thought, "Damn..." The city still uses the old Soviet system, providing hot and cold water to its' residents. Most people don't have water heaters and those that do have small electric boilers installed on the wall in their bathrooms that provide at least a short warm shower. I spent most of the evening staring at the Russian manual for my newly installed electric heater, wine glass in one hand, screwdriver in the other, trying to get the right combination of valves to make the damn thing work. It was entirely frustrating! After I thought I had it, I spent the next 30 minutes standing in the doorway of my bathroom, wineglass in hand, willing the temperature gauge to move. Boy was I proud of myself when I figured it out! Never mind the 15 foot electric cord surge protector trailing from hot steamy bathroom to the nearest outlet in the hallway nor the empty wine bottle on the kitchen counter...
