apartment heating

• before we get into the main topic of this post, I'd like to wish Argentina a Happy Independence Day!
• and thanks for the day off from work! ;)

• back to the subject of the post: the heating in our apartment
• I asked Jake, if he happened to run into our portero (doorman), to ask him what's been going on with the heating
• our apartment is heated with a boiler in the basement, and the heat rises up through the apartments on each floor
• tenants have no control over this heat
• there are 10 floors in our building...we're on the 8th, meaning it takes a while for us to feel the heat once turned on
• so that evening, when arriving home from work, Jake happened to see Martín...
• Martín said that the building administrative board apparently decided to set, in our minds, conservative restrictions on gas usage, which affects when and how long they run the boiler
• and this is what was decided upon for the hours that we have heat in the building:
• M-F (regular working days) 7-10am and 5-8pm
• Sa 8-10am
• Su OFF
• holidays OFF
• today is a holiday...entonces, it is freezing in our apartment
• that is why we are here:

so Nucha isn't SO cozy, but it's super close to our apartment, and been wanting to try their (overpriced) merienda for two, which includes: coffee, OJ, water, toast, little sandwiches, pastries, chocolates, and your choice of a portion of any cake/dessert...we got the apple crumble (which happened to be my favorite...mini-scones were good too)

• (we're also here because our internet's been very spotty lately...problems, problems...)
• as you can imagine, it's just starting to get hot before they turn the boiler off
• conveniently, the elderly couple on the main floor are on the board
• and they are very diligent in their clock-watching...stepping outside their apartment on the dot to make sure Martín is heading downstairs to turn off the boiler
• I wonder if these old-folk know that the pregnant lady upstairs is wearing a stocking cap inside, and her husband, long johns?
• I know we're in BA, not WI or IA where temperatures drop well below freezing in winter...but really, it gets pretty chilly in our apartment!
• I wonder how the people on the 9th and 10th floors feel?
• I'm devising a little plan for a demonstration/strike/cacerolazo...maybe hanging signs of protest in the lobby (imagine photos of me bundled up, pregnant belly clearly visible, able to see my breath as clouds above my head), and, in true Argentine style, banging on pots and  performing a cut by blocking entrance to the stairs and elevator...(Jake says generally inconveniencing others seems to be the typical local form of protest here)
• "el que no llora, no mama" (basic translation: only a crying baby gets milk...give me my milk!!!)
• on top of our apartment being an icebox, our hot water has been out for a week...meaning I've showered less (eek), and have had frozen hands while doing dishes and washing mis manos
• we have managed to withstand two Tanzania-style "showers" (aka heating a pot of water over the fire and ladling it over yourself...Jake had the pleasure of doing this frequently on his 4-week service trip in Tanzania in 2008)

"shower" prep

• when I got out of my "shower" this morning, and into the frozen tundra, I made a little mental note that the baby probably wouldn't like this bathing style...all that ladling warm water over yourself in a cold room is not so pleasant (good thing it'll be spring, almost summer when it's born!)
• so here we are...escaped from our apartment, in a slightly-cozy cafe with hot coffee and all kinds of sugary treats to snack on
• guy's coming tomorrow to fix the hot water...phew!
• tonight we're meeting friends for some local cuisine, as is tradition on Independence Day...empanadas, tamales, locro, carbonada...etc. all hearty foods to warm our frozen bodies!