Last couple of days were amazingly hot and sunny and beautiful. And as Spring likes to play with us human beings so much, she decided to start a rain storm today! A really strong one too. It looked gray all morning, telling us to either get home early as we can, or not leave the house at all. When I was leaving my apartment to go to the gym I knew I was going to get wet on the way back, but I did not care because what is better than to get wet when it is hot out? and you know it is not winter anymore, it is Spring!
Two and a half hours later, I left the building that houses my women-only gym (that is a whole other funny story I need to post later) where most girls decided to stay and wait for their husbands, boyfriends, or mothers; with a smile on my face, alone and fabulous.
The streets of Montevideo was already empty! One thing about montevideans: they do not go out when it rains. And as it rains a lot in winter, you see very very very few people on the street. I started to believe after my second year here that they firmly believed they were made of sugar and they would melt in case of wetness! First year I was confused. Not because I did not understand where they were I did not understand if they live through winter every year—this place is almost on the exact opposite of North Caroline on the South Cone—why did not they got accustomed to live through it?
I don’t remember knowing anyone in Istanbul or New York that would not leave the house almost all winter unless they absolutely have to. We all go out, and we go out even more in winter because it is fun to be indoors with calor humano and enjoy it. We go to movies, art galleries, coffee shops, book stores, you name it. It’s just rain!
So I walked. There were not even cars around—that blows my mind!—and I felt like I was the owner of the city: I was listening to Yerba Buena’s Caribbean rythms and enjoying the rain drops tickling my face. Knowing that I will come to an empty house and work all night long and finish what I need to finish in order to move on with my life.
I needed to make a phone call so I stopped by my german neighbor’s place; she was studying for an important exam, so we chit chated. Then I made the call, while downloading some information of the net to my laptop. Went up to my place to get something and Bum!
The light of the thunder was so strong I did not realize that it caused a blackout for seconds and as soon as it was gone I found myself in dark! I reached for my cell and used it as a flash light until I found a candle—one of decorative small shitty ones I have—and tried to light it but it was dead! Since I left cuba I have not had the blackout experience—we almost had one in New York this summer though, that was worrying—and I did not even think about having “just in case” good thick candles or a flashlight!
I heard Justine’s voice calling me saying she had a candle and that I should go get that an my computer. As soon as I went down, our other neighbor was entering her apartment telling us how much it sucked to go up to stairs (6-floors) with no light! I asked Justine if they ever had a blackout like this since she moved here because from my place I could see that the whole Montevideo was out, it was not only our adjacent to semi-ghetto neighborhood. She said no. I told them to unplug their electro domestics as we used to do in Habana when there was a apagon.
I came back to my apartment, lit the candle. Unplugged everything, and started to watch the-now-really-empty looking city, in dark. I felt like I was living in on of the gothic towers of Gotham City. I thought of all the “bad things” that could happen if these people dared moving their noses out of the window. I am sure even the thieves stayed home and that is why this is still a safe place to live in Latin America! I locked my door, just in case. Then for a moment, I fantasized that my phone will ring and he will be calling to see whether or not I was ok; it did not. I did not make a big deal because soon after I discovered that the system was down! Damn, the city was really out!
I put my headphones. Yerba Buena again! Flip open my Mac, she was fully charged so I had 6 hours! And started working in the dark. I wished I had a landline and friends to call and speculate about the situation just for the sake speculating. I wished all my neighbors came to my apartment and started chatting, having coffee, or something, some kind of interaction. I wished my cell rang. None of those happened. I finally understood and accepted that this is really a lonely city. And they like it this way.
Then I started typing and forgot about the whole thing. I was ok without them, without the light. I had everything I needed with me in my apartment.
No comments:
Post a Comment