Appliances, Mattresses, and Bikes
Let’s talk about something good.
On Friday, Mikey and I went shopping for beds, appliances, and bikes. Is it really shopping if you know you’re not going to buy anything, but are just getting an idea of how much things cost? Maybe it’s window shopping. I’m not sure.
Anyway, as I was saying, we went looking at beds, appliances, and bikes. Why? Simple: we reserved an apartment. It’s on the east side of Montevideo, near the Atlantic Ocean. It’s unfurnished, has two bedrooms (so if anyone wants to take the 20-hour trip to visit us, you’ll have a room), and one and a half baths. It’s two stories with a small fenced-in backyard. It’s somewhat small, but big enough for the four of us.
When a listing says “unfurnished” here, it means something very different than in the States. It basically comes with floors, ceilings, doors (that you can actually close), a shower, toilet, bidet, sinks, counters, and darkening shades. Did you notice what I didn’t list? There’s no furniture (expected), refrigerator (okay, that was the case in New Mexico), oven or stove (what?), dishwasher, hot water boiler, washer (most people here don’t have dryers), microwave, or light fixtures (come on—you’re killing me).
In the U.S., it’s common to provide your own refrigerator, washer, and dryer. But I’ve never had to supply a stove, microwave, dishwasher, or light fixtures in a rental or even a purchased home. So we went looking at general costs and delivery timelines. Some things are non-negotiable: a bed, a refrigerator, and an oven/stove/microwave combo. Now we have a good idea of what we need and are ready to make the purchases. The good news is that we have this Airbnb until December 31, so we can stay put until everything arrives.
When we walked into the unfurnished apartment, we noticed single light bulbs hanging where fixtures should be. I asked Andrés, our realtor, where the light fixtures were and whether they’d be installed before we moved in—if we chose the unit. He looked at me like I’d asked where the unicorn lived. He said, “You provide those and take them with you when you leave.” Okay… different, but workable. Until buy the fixtures, we’ll be living with lonely bulbs dangling from the ceiling as if we are living in a building under construction.
Regardless of what we have to buy, we WILL have a Christmas tree. I’m not sure how tall it will be, but there will be one.
Why are we looking at bicycles? Because we don’t have a car. We really don’t want to buy one and want to see if we can live without it (you should see how they drive here). Bikes will get us to shops for food and essentials. We may end up looking like the Wicked Witch of the West pedaling around with a basket on the front, but hey—when you’re 54, you truly stop caring what people think.
Let’s talk about the darkening shades. These are very common here. They’re mounted on the outside of the windows and raised or lowered with a mechanism inside. When closed, they block about 98% of the sunlight and reduce outside noise. It’s fantastic. We close them before bed and the sun doesn’t wake us up live a intruder creeping into your house. For me, it’ll be especially great during a migraine—I can retreat to my cave, shut the shades, and enjoy complete darkness. What more could anyone ask for?
Thank you for sticking with me to the end. Be kind to one another, and be kind to yourself.
