Diluvio!

I learned a tiny bit of Spanish in college, but lately I'm thinking it was not enough.

A few months ago, I made a purchase at a national chain store and as I was checking out, the worker asked me for my phone number. I recited it and she typed it in, only to hear a buzzer when she was finished.

"Again?" she asked.

So I told her my number again, only this time I noticed that she wasn't pressing the right numbers. After a third failed attempt at getting my phone number in the store's records, I tried to remember my numbers in Spanish.

"Cuatro, tres, cinco," I began.

I recited my number in her language and laughed that I was having to do this in my American store, here in Arlington, Va.

While that was just funny, my language dilemma became a serious issue yesterday, when I entered my flooding living room. Water was gushing out of my brand new convector. Kind men who spoke what I believe to be several different languages (I'm thinking some were Russian, others Latino and the last guy, I'm not so sure), had replaced my convectors days earlier.

Frantically, I dialed my manager while ripping towels out of the linen closet. An answering machine for a Chinese restaurant was on the other line. I tried again and this time, got the manager's voice mail.

In seconds, the water filled up a large bowl I put under the flow. I knew the convector men were on another floor of the building replacing someone else's convectors, so I grabbed Ethan and sprinted for the stair well. We finally found their equipment in the hallway on the fourth floor. I dashed into a nearby door, which was open. An old lady led me to her bedroom, where a Latino convector man was cleaning up.

"My convector is flooding!" I practically yelled.

He just stared at me.

"Water is coming out all over," I continued.

Another blank stare.

I thought for a second.

"AGUA!" I yelled and pointed at the convector in that woman's apartment.

His eyes suddenly lit up and I knew we had communicated.

"207," I said my apartment number while making the numbers with my fingers.

Luckily the flooding had stopped while we were gone, and the men cleaned the mess up quickly. So I'm learning my emergency words in case of a fuego or robo!