Misadventures of Mul Opesayo

There are many many things in Korea that one does not experience in Florida. Last week, I discovered another one.

Here, it gets cold enough for pipes to freeze.

Last Saturday was freakishly cold. I, of course, was inappropriately dressed. The next morning, I was talking with a Korean friend online and he told me that he'd been up since early early because his pipes froze. I joked that if mine had done the same, he would have to come defrost mine, too. Thirty minutes later, I turn on my sink to brush my teeth.....and guess what doesn't come out.

Fast forward through the crying and the completely helpless internet searches (yes, I know how to unfreeze a pipe - the problem is, I can't find where the heck it is actually frozen), until I finally get an answer: "We can send a repair man to your home, but not until tomorrow. Today is Sunday and he is Taking a Rest."

Oh.

So Monday comes. At 9:30 sharp, a repair man comes to my door. I'm not entirely sure what he says, but I know it involves yelling at me for being a stupid American and letting this happen (I caught the anger and the word "Miguk"). He turns my hairdryer on a part of the pipe that I had touched earlier and found to be HOT for a bit, realizes it's not working after about 10 mins, and leaves.

I cry more.

That day at work, I talk to Paul who shows me where exactly the pipe is frozen. Ohhhhhhhhhhh (I guess despite the poor aim with the hairdryer, the repair man did have a clue). That night, Paul sets me up with a heater pointed at the frozen pipe. I'm instructed to check it every few hours. It was a long night.

Tuesday morning comes. Still no water. However, the calvary does arrive. In addition to yesterday's repairman and Paul, I get a new repairman. This one has a fancy machine. I end up staying home until right before I have to leave for Chungdahm. Still no water. I am tired, and cranky, and my Giga kids are crazy because they're on vacation (PS: Korean kids always seem to be on vacation).

During one of the breaks (I've lost track of time by now), Paul comes in to tell me that I have water again (which he begins with, "Bad news" - I may or may not have crumpled to the floor).

Also, I got home Tuesday night to find that the repairmen smoked in my apartment while I wasn't there. I was not amused.

The moral: If your pipes freeze in Korea, IGNORE ALL COMPLETELY UNHELPFUL INTERNET SITES. Call your whitey wrangler/school/whatever.

FAQ:
How did you shower/brush your teeth/etc?
I bought a lot of water. My stove still worked. I learned that I can take an effective shower using only 2 liters of water.

Could you flush your toilet?
I didn't try that one. Let's just say that I tried to hold it until I got to school a whole lot.

So....what happened? Why did it take so long?
Either I am just *really good* at freezing pipes, or my neighbor did the same thing... They had to wait until he got home to go into his place and unfreeze it from there, too. He said that he would be home at 1:00, which of course meant that he was home by 4:30..