Everyone will be excited to know that our washer and dryer is arriving on Monday (hopefully). I anticipate that laundry will be a bit more pleasant, now that I can control all the little dials, # of minutes, and I have access to my own bathroom (which is where it goes, basically almost in the shower) vs. it being in a scary dungeon that is sometimes locked and sometimes not.

And, the reason I say hopefully is that you can’t really count on anything here until it happens.

For instance, last week we had an appointment for an electrician to put all our light fixtures up in our apartment (in Switzerland, when you rent an apartment, there are just wires hanging from the ceiling – you have to purchase and install all your fixtures yourself). He came last Friday at 2pm, and after 2 hours, at 4pm, he told me in French that he had to leave. It was quitting time. He still had half of them to go. He is supposed to come back today, as if it wasn’t today, he was booked and had vacation, so who knows how long this would take.

I prefer email tremendously to the phone to communicate with people here. It is a bit anti-social, yes, but the benefit is having Google Translate. I just type what I want, pop it in Google Translate, and then copy/paste. Done! I do the same with communication back to me.

So, I requested this with the washer and dryer delivery, and here are the bits of communication that I have to determine if it is coming or not and when. Bless this guys heart for trying English. He knows a ton more than I do. Without Google Translate, I’d be lost!

When the washing machine comes, I am planning to open the champagne we were given by Gabe’s co-workers. We have been waiting for a special occasion, and I cannot think of a better reason to celebrate!