Yesterday afternoon Matt was trying to open the bathroom window and it fell out. Thankfully he caught it before it plummeted 6 stories to the lakeside walkway below. He struggled with it for a few seconds before I suggested that he just maneuver it back through the hole and let someone else come and put it back in. We called the repairman… actually our contact who speaks English and she called the repairman… and he came this morning to have a look. He announced that he would return this afternoon.
I am not sure what constitutes afternoon, but he returned with a fellow worker around 5:00. They inspected the window and the hole where it had come from. I pointed out that the frame was bent on the outside which puzzled them, so one of them left, for tools I think… the other proceeded to the kitchen to repair our faulty plumbing. I showed him how bubbles and other bits of food and gunk make their way out of the extended accordion tube that connects a pipe from our sink to a pipe that is cemented into the floor. It isn’t connected though, it just rests in the bottom pipe, which means there is no seal, so when suds back up they come right out all over the inside of the cabinet and sometimes onto the floor. It’s pretty gross. He didn’t have any tools, but I watched as he took the extension tube out and inspected it… then he started unscrewing the other pipes… I had to leave. Later he wanted me to inspect his handy work… I created a lot of bubbles and poured them down the drain…. and apparently he fixed the problem, for now anyway.
The other guy returned with a screwdriver??? They talked a little while then left with the window in hand. I asked if they’d fix it today… they said yes and said they were going outside. I thought they might be planning to scale the outside of the building… but I never saw them again. So for the second night in a row we have no window in our bathroom.
Question of the day: How many tools does a Chinese repairman need to get the job done?
Answer: Apparently, none.
