blog 47: Devon’s new digital clock

Trash pick up here is pretty simple. You bag up your own trash and take it downstairs and outside every few buildings there is a dumpster which the city empties weekly. When people move out or do a big house clean they will often just set out the things they don’t want any more along with their trash beside the dumpster. So sometimes you can find hidden treasures, but mostly it’s just trash. You can often times find homeless people digging through the dumpsters like it’s their job.

With that being said, the other day (it was actually a few weeks ago now…) my friend Devon was walking home to his flat two blocks away from mine. As he was passing my lovely building (Premyslovska 32 hollerrrr) he saw a collection of things next to our dumpster. One thing caught his eye, one of the most coveted appliances in Prague, and it was cast out, free for the taking: a microwave. Microwaves are extremely rare here. You can find them in the households of the wealthy, or in businesses. Otherwise, they are not a common household appliance and are expensive to buy. So those of us making 20,000kc or less a month cannot afford such luxuries as microwaves.

So, Devon was so excited to have found such a treasure! He lugged the heavy appliance the two blocks home and triumphantly walked in to show his roommates. He hoisted it up onto the kitchen counter top and plugged it in. The clock started flashing 12:00! Success, it worked! So he grabbed some food to put inside and test it out. To his dismay he found out the microwave portion did not work. It’s at this point in the story where I questioned why he even thought a microwave he found ON THE STREET would work, but hey, you gotta try. So Dev moved the microwave into his room so as to not clutter up their small enough kitchen, where it sits stationary on his floor. At least he got a new digital clock out of it!

Love love love from Prague!

PS ONE MONTH FROM TODAY I leave to head home for the holidays!! Whoooo!