Expat extravaganza!

So today is the first day of our block off (vacation) and it has been nice to have Ryan home while we get ready to go, normally he would work right up to when we needed to fly out but he picked up an extra shift to get today off. So as our countdown hit 2.5 hours until departure Ryan decided to take a shower while i fed Ella Mae. All was good until i heard him trying to open the door, followed by "Karen, i need some help." Um yea, that was not good!

The bathroom doorknob had broken so when you turn it, it no longer pulls back the pin that lets the door open. He asked me to slide a butter knife under the door, but there is zero clearance on these doors and so now we had a bigger problem, the door could only be fixed from his side and i had all the tools on mine. There is a window in our bedroom near to the window in the bathroom, but still much to far for reaching with an arm and they also put bars on all windows here in our complex so it just wasn't happening. I decided to attach tools to the broom handle with a pony tail holder and pass them to Ryan that way, and it worked!!!

We had a flight to catch in just 2 short hours so this, although a bit funny, could potentially be a problem! I called the maintenance office explaining the urgency but everything takes a long time here so i knew that even if they sent someone and he could do anything it would be awhile. I then called another of our Expat friends and i know they really wanted to laugh, but said they would be right over! I said a little prayer and began to feel a bit better.

Ryan was having no luck with the butter knife and the doorknob was nearly impossible to remove so we were stuck. Our friend's arrived with tools in hand and one kept Ella Mae company as we assessed the situation. We passed more tools to Ryan who attempted to take the door from its hinges, but again showed that the craftsmanship of these doors, jams, and knobs were a true mystery. Everyone, trying to maintain a level of seriousness but having a hard time considering that my dear husband was locked in a tiny room with nothing more than a towel on while a growing group of us were gathering outside the door trying to figure out what to do. The maintenance guy arrived and he cracked a smile a few times when he realized what was going on, but had no suggestions on what to do. So it seemed we were going to have to break down the door. Our 2 friends were prepared to start ramming when they decided to see if we could first remove the handle from the outside and so one returned to his apartment for more tools. Ryan continued to struggle with the flat head screwdriver trying to pry back the pins. I began envisioning them having to cut the door down with a hacksaw!

Finally, by answered prayer alone, Ryan got the door open and turned to the maintenance man saying "these doors suck." The man who spoke little to no English said nothing and seemed a bit shocked at my husband in a towel. I about died as the rest of us cracked jokes with Ryan, still in a towel. With much thanking everyone went back about their day and after being sure that the door would not lock on me, i took a shower. I realized that if the tables had been turned i would not have known what to do and it would have been worse, me being stuck in there. God was looking out for us for sure! Ryan then commented that it would have been bad if that had happened when i was all alone caring for Ella Mae, YUP, THAT'S IT NO MORE SHOWERS FOR ME WHEN I AM HOME ALONE! LOL

So we started off with a bang and i think actually it was nice to find humor in the situation, after all, no harm done and it happened when we were here together so now we know there is a problem that needs fixing.

Time for a week on the beach of Phuket Thailand!