(First let me apologize for being so remiss about blog entries. I blame it on Facebook. Once I started using Facebook it simply became easier to post photos there, and to limit myself to one sentence musings. I’ll try to get better.)
About 20 years ago, I bought a vacuum cleaner; an Electrolux Ambasador III. At the time, it was a pretty top-of-the-line canister model.
Vacuuming in Mexico doesn’t seem to be common. In general, carpet isn’t common. Tile and area rugs seem to be the norm here. The tools of choice are brooms and mops.
When shopping for vacuum cleaners in San Miguel, I found little more than glorified shop vacs, and those that were a more substantial, cost a fortune. So when I moved my things from the States, I brought my trusty Electrolux.
After my maid learned how to vacuum without the Electrolux eating the area rug fringe, she became quite attached and began vacuuming everything from dog beds to drapes. But then one day the “power nozzle” began to make a terrible noise and the brushes stopped turning. I was a little cavalier about it, and figured that she’d just have to use the other attachments.
Rod and I returned from a trip out of town to find that our maid’s husband had disassembled the power nozzle and found the source of the problem; a faulty belt. He had also looked all over San Miguel and deduced that no such belts were to be found here. The power nozzle was disassembled and a ziplock bag lay on the counter, the contents labeled, “tornillos de la aspiradora” (screws for the vacuum cleaner). From this I gleaned that the maid really wanted her power nozzle.
I set to work on the internet, researching belt replacements. And after receiving one incorrect belt, I finally found, ordered and received the correct belt. Today I reassembled the power nozzle and the maid was off and running.
What struck me about the entire process (which took me about five months) was how different I’ve become. In the U.S., I would have thrown the whole thing out and bought a new one. The culture is different here. Why would one throw out a perfectly good piece of equipment if only one part is not working? It is also an economical thing. It is cheaper to fix something than to replace it. I also look at it from an earth-wise standpoint. The old vacuum didn’t end up in a landfill somewhere.
Call it a cultural difference, call it the economic crisis, call it what you will. But I was patient, enduring (maybe a little cheap) and very proud of myself today. (But there is an extra screw in the bag and I don’t know where it goes.)
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4 comments:
Sweet piece and the last line made me laugh out loud.
I laughed out loud, too....and I sure hope you do post more on the blog. I enjoy your one sentence updates on Facebook, but your blog entries are sublime and like today, I always smile or laugh out loud.
I loved this. I've been a lurker for a few months and you make me want to drop everything and move to Mexico. But then you hear the news about drug wars and it is scary. Have you all had any problems of that nature?
Janet - The bigger problem is the press. It is like saying, "Chicago has the highest murder rate . . ." and then, instead of applying it only to Chicago, applying it to the entire U.S. Yes, Mexico (and the U.S.) are experiencing huge drug issues at the border and in some states. We've seen little (if any) evidence of it here in the state of Guanajuato.
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