Our Own Personal Typhoon

Last week, Shanghai was in a panic about a 'Super Typhoon' that was supposed to be the biggest typhoon that had hit Shanghai in decades. School was cancelled for two days, and some offices were closed (unfortunately, our companies decided to take the risk and remain open). We also received lots of emails from concerned friends, as apparently the Super Typhoon was front page news around the world. While Tuesday and Wednesday did bring bouts of torrential rain, the whole experience was nothing close to a natural disaster.

Unfortunately, we had our own typhoon to deal with on Thursday. I was at work when I received a call from our apartment building management office telling me to 'come home immediately, a water pipe has eruptus'. That last word is not a typo, it was the official diagnosis of the property agent. I rushed home and was met with a flooded lobby and a waterfall coming out of the elevator bank, not a good sign considering we're on the 16th floor. Since the elevator was out of commission, I walked up 16 flights of stairs (not an easy feat in heels and a suit). The water that was pouring down the steps made me feel like I was in some terribly bad horror movie. I finally got to my apartment and was met by 10 people waiting for me to open the door. As soon as we entered, they found the busted hot water pipe and shut it off, leaving all of us up to our ankles in water and the apartment full of hot steam. The rest of the crew spent a good 5 hours squeegee-ing our now buckled wood floors as Zach and I tried to salvage our floating belongings. On a side note, the 10-person emergency crew working in steam bath conditions for 5 hours only cost us $25!

Zach and I immediately fled to the nearest hotel and spent the weekend consoling each other over buffet meals. The real hero of the weekend was our ayi (housekeeper). After arriving on her usual Friday cleaning day only to find a sopping aftermath with no electricity or running water in our apartment, she sprung into action. She spent the day yelling on the phone, and then left, only to return Saturday. I returned home to check out the situation and found her screaming at someone on the phone. Five minutes later an extemely cowed electrician arrived to turn on the electricity, and ayi assured me that running water was soon to follow. The moral of the story is "Do not unleash the wrath of ayi." She had an apartment to clean and you'd best not get in her way!

After 3 days of hotel living, we've got our electricity and cold water turned back on. We're hoping for hot water by tomorrow, but you never know in China. Thankfully, with ayi on our side, we are in good hands!