Our stove is a gas stove, but unlike in the states, the gas doesn't magically appear from underground pipes. Nope, we have to purchase individual 20 pound propane canisters like people use for camping or grilling (check out exibit A on the right - our newly installed full propane canister that I successfully purchased last week).
We purchase them from a couple of guys who drive a truck full of them through our neighborhood at least twice a day playing a repeating cheesy song like the ice-cream trucks in the states (but more melodramatic). When someone wants propane, they just come out their door as the truck drives by. One guy drives the truck and the other gets out into the back of the truck and slings the canisters over the side of the truck onto the ground. That part is the craziest part to me. When the tank hits the ground it sounds like the cement is breaking and I'm always afraid that the tank will burst.
Usually my roomie takes care of buying the propane for our house. When I first moved in I couldn't figure out why sometimes she would just drop everything and run for the door. Now that she's been gone for the past 3 weeks and I've had to listen for the truck to come by, I understand. EVERY time I heard the song I wouldn't make it out of the house until the truck was already down the street. One time I called my neighbors to get them to make the truck turn around, but I didn't know the Kurdish word for propane. They will probably be giving me a hard time about that for a while :-)
Here's a video of the truck and its song. I didn't catch them actually slinging the propane tanks off the truck, but you get the idea. Also, please enjoy my first try at video editing with my new Adobe Premier Elements program. More to come hopefully!
Friday, April 30, 2010
T.I.K. #2 The Propane Man
Our stove is a gas stove, but unlike in the states, the gas doesn't magically appear from underground pipes. Nope, we have to purchase individual 20 pound propane canisters like people use for camping or grilling (check out exibit A on the right - our newly installed full propane canister that I successfully purchased last week).
We purchase them from a couple of guys who drive a truck full of them through our neighborhood at least twice a day playing a repeating cheesy song like the ice-cream trucks in the states (but more melodramatic). When someone wants propane, they just come out their door as the truck drives by. One guy drives the truck and the other gets out into the back of the truck and slings the canisters over the side of the truck onto the ground. That part is the craziest part to me. When the tank hits the ground it sounds like the cement is breaking and I'm always afraid that the tank will burst.
Usually my roomie takes care of buying the propane for our house. When I first moved in I couldn't figure out why sometimes she would just drop everything and run for the door. Now that she's been gone for the past 3 weeks and I've had to listen for the truck to come by, I understand. EVERY time I heard the song I wouldn't make it out of the house until the truck was already down the street. One time I called my neighbors to get them to make the truck turn around, but I didn't know the Kurdish word for propane. They will probably be giving me a hard time about that for a while :-)
Here's a video of the truck and its song. I didn't catch them actually slinging the propane tanks off the truck, but you get the idea. Also, please enjoy my first try at video editing with my new Adobe Premier Elements program. More to come hopefully!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Planting Seeds
I enjoy the combined beauty and practicality of a garden filled with flowers, herbs, fruits, and veggies. For the past 6 years I've dreamed of having such a garden, but apartment life combined with the busyness that plagued me since junior high school just really wasn't conducive to that. Ah, so much has changed, thanks to God! 
Many Kurds have gardens. Like the picture above, roses and flowers and herbs and/or some kind of fruit-bearing tree can be found behind (and is some cases peeking over) many of the tall gates in this city. And many Kurds have grape vines which give them shade to sit under during the hot summer months like the pic below. 
We don't have a yard, but this past weekend I took the first steps toward a potted garden! A friend gave me some flowers for my birthday and I just planted some Marigolds, African Daisies, and Verbena. So here are my new babies! Maybe some day I'll have a garden like the one above. 
Many Kurds have gardens. Like the picture above, roses and flowers and herbs and/or some kind of fruit-bearing tree can be found behind (and is some cases peeking over) many of the tall gates in this city. And many Kurds have grape vines which give them shade to sit under during the hot summer months like the pic below. 
We don't have a yard, but this past weekend I took the first steps toward a potted garden! A friend gave me some flowers for my birthday and I just planted some Marigolds, African Daisies, and Verbena. So here are my new babies! Maybe some day I'll have a garden like the one above. 
Monday, April 26, 2010
T.I.K. #1
Starting a new life in a foreign culture comes with many good belly laughs along with many things that just make you go "hmm." Anything that falls under this category I lovingly label "T.I.K." which means "This is Kurdistan." The following picture adequately sums up driving in Kurdistan.
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