The air conditioner that wasn't

So I've already written a little bit about my parents coming to visit. Tonight I have another story to tell. On the second day they were here, my Dad decided that he wanted to buy me an air conditioner. This was a very thoughtful thing to do, because it can get pretty hot around here, especially inside an old apartment. I have several fans, but having AC would be nice.

I told Mom and Dad that I really didn't need it, but Dad insisted, and I gratefully agreed to go find an AC unit. We looked at several different stores, and finally settled on one from Wal-Mart, which was not a surprise. So, last Friday afternoon we rented a big truck for a half hour and brought home the gigantic monstrosity pictured below, along with a nice little cart with wheels for it to sit on. We were very happy to get it hooked up and running, as evidenced by my parents posing for several triumphant pictures with the Lenomex. (For those of you that have never been to Mexico, almost every company has the letters MEX somewhere in the name).



Only after getting it hooked up and letting it run for several hours did we begin to have our doubts about its effectiveness. It was advertised with Spanish words that closely resembled the English words "air conditioner" and the employees at Wal-Mart had told us it was an air conditioner, but I was a little concerned that the box had said "lavador de aire," which translates to "air cleaner." We also were skeptical because we didn't have to do anything besides plug it in. A typical air conditioner would need to have some type of coolant and be partially outside to expel warm air and condensation. Anyway, we returned from Alianza on Saturday afternoon and realized that we had simply purchased the largest fan of all-time. The reason the air that had been blowing out of the display model at Wal-Mart felt so cool was because Wal-Mart already has AC. We strapped the beast to the back of the rental car and returned it along with the fun little cart. Oh well, we tried. Mom said the whole experience gave her a new appreciation for what people go through who come to the U.S. and can't speak English.



Below is a picture of me putting up the Mexican flag that now hangs over my couch. I am glad I got it up just in time for the World Cup.



For those of you that may be concerned about my World Cup allegiance, have no fear. The Stars and Stripes is proudly hanging on the other wall, above the table. I put it there instead of over the couch so that it will be protected from the sun and so I can look at it while I eat my tacos. Since we put the Mexican flag up first, Mom was really happy to get Old Glory on the wall. The picture below is me and Mom after hanging the American flag in my apartment. On Monday when the U.S. plays its first World Cup game, the flag will be proudly flying out my front window.