The Way Things Work Here

Yesterday Carlos informed me that it would take three to four weeks to get a phone line installed in our new apartment. I didn't mind too much, since I never use the phone. But apparently you need a phone line to get internet. A month without internet! That, I could not handle.

I gently reminded Carlos that if we don't have a phone in our home office, and that if he doesn't yet have a phone is his work office, he wouldn't be able to work (yeah, he's two months into his job and they haven't given him a phone yet so he spends half the day working from home). He said he would figure something out. And he did.

Today Carlos went to the municipality to start the request for the phone line in our apartment. They looked at his name, then asked if so-and-so is his brother (yes, he is, and he has worked for the municipality for about 15 years) and if so-and-so is his sister (yes, she is, possibly an old friend). OK, they said, we can install the line for you this Monday.

That's the way things work here.