Major Breakthrough!!

Hey Everyone, you'll never guess what I did!

I finally changed a garafe!

Let me explain. Here in Bolivia, hot water heaters and kitchen appliances run on tanks of natural gas. In our house, they last for about two or three weeks, and then they run out and you need to change them. This involves turning off and hauling out the old tank and installing a new one. They are bigger than an average propane tank for a barbeque (see pictures). I admit that ever since I arrived here last year, I have been putting off and avoiding ever changing a garafe. I don't like dealing with things that might potentially cause a gas leak and an explosion!

But since I'll be down here alone over Christmas for a month, I know I need to figure out how the system works. I had Carlos show me how to do it a couple of weeks ago, but my first real test came yesterday, Saturday. Carlos was out at the market (buying things for our belated Canadian Thanksgiving, yummmm!) and I needed to bake a pumpkin pie. The flames in the oven were looking mighty low, and soon blew out altogether. It was crunch time!!

I got out the new garafe (quite heavy, actually). I took all the food products out of the cupboard beside the oven, to allow easier access. I put on my head-lamp to let me work more easily in that dark cupboard (yes, it was pretty geeky, but I was NOT wanting to make a mistake!). I turned off the old garafe - or at least I THOUGHT I did! Turns out that the whole "lefty loosey, righty tighty" adage doesn't hold true in Bolivia - I actually turned it all the way ON. This explains why gas started leaking out when I started unscrewing the hose! But what with the "hisssssss" sound and the smell, I figured it out right away, tightened the hose again, and turned the tank off properly. From then on, it was a walk in the park - removing the old tank, putting in the new one, and hooking it up. I prayed quickly, and turned the oven on, and it worked! No explosions or anything! I was, and am, inordinately proud of myself. The only downside was my jeans got really dirty...I'll know better next time.

And, while I'm on a roll of unexpected adventures, the water was cut off this morning again. And this was a bigger problem than usual because the youth group was supposed to be cooking a big meal to fundraise after church! Our house is one of the only ones around here that has a reserve tank, so the youth leader, Clemente, and I grabbed two big pots and walked down to our house from the church. Once here, we filled them up (really big pots, did I mention?) and prepared to haul them up the hill again. I honestly don't know how we would have done it (considering I have no strength in my arms at all) or how long it would have taken, but fortunately Carlos gave us a ride back up the hill. Some water got spilled, but all in all we made it safely. Water that regularly comes out of the tap: something I used to take for granted!

OK, that's it for now!
Love,
Rachael