Walking In Wuhan

We have a little less than six weeks left in Wuhan. Maybe that's a good thing, seeing as our apartment might not still be intact in August. As of this time yesterday, the ceiling inside out bathroom is shaped like a small parabola and our air conditioner doubled as the largest waterfall in Hubei province. Our apartment has been great, and we're definitely lucky to have air conditioners when our students have to suffer through the heat and humidity.

Yesterday, a guy carrying a ladder comes to our door and says he wants to fix our air conditioner which, as mentioned, has been dripping water like crazy. He hasn't even been in our apartment for two minutes when the William Tell Overture starts blaring in his pocket. He answers his phone, and proceeds to yell to his buddy somewhere in China as if his mobile is made out of tin. He then starts messing with the AC.

You should know that in China, there is no central air. Air conditioners are all freestanding units, somewhat similar to the window air cons in the States. So, he starts pulling the cover off, then messing with some hoses. I leave the room because he's making a lot of noise, then return to see him going Ike Turner on the AC. With each open-palmed slap, more dirty water leaks onto the floor.

He then takes a hose, pours water into it and for some reason dirty smelly water starts spraying everywhere in our apartment. I'm in disbelief at this point. He then gets more water, and pours it into the hose and proceeds to blow the water through the hose and out the back of the AC unit to the ground below -- think of it as reverse siphoning. He does this another time, then rips a large filter off the front of the unit and washes it out in our shower, leaving what looked like potting soil everywhere in our bathroom.

He puts the AC back together, looks satisfied, grabs his ladder and leaves. I had plenty of time to think all this through when the dripping water from our AC kept me up all night.

Now if only our ceiling keeps from caving in.