Things I Will Never Get Used To (Post 2): Scary-As-Hell Outlets

A few months ago, The Doctor sent me an email while I was at work.

“Did you ever see this article?” they asked, with a link to 13 Reasons You’ll Never Be an Argentine from The Argentina Independent.

This article was totally me, especially number five: You’re scared of the plug sockets.

It’s true.

Now, I wasn’t always a bit frightened of the sockets here. (And by “a bit frightened”, I mean to say that I visualize the electrocution scene from The Green Mile.) I plugged a few things in while here on vacay and just expected the same amount of security like in the US. At first, it was like that. But after a few startling situations, my days of “just plugging in” a lamp are over. Now if I want to plug something in, I check out the nearest trusted outlet and weigh my options if I even really want to go there. (“Hm, I’d sure like to put a lamp in the living room.” *looks at the outlet I’d have to use.* “I guess it’s not thaaat necessary. I’ll turn the kitchen light on and hopefully the light reaches the couch…”)

The houses here are old and, because there is a basic fear of letting strangers/repairmen in your house because they may rob you by gunpoint (or trick you into paying for extra stuff you don’t need), usually the people doing repairs are people that you just know. The guy who did most of the work in this house is a family friend who likes to only sit with coffee and BS, for example. I would like to think he didn’t do any of the eletrical work here, but I really don’t know. Therefore, most of the outlets in my house I’ve never used, and I don’t even plan on trying.

The converter problem coupled with the basic sketchiness of the outlets is right out of a nightmare (one of those nightmares that seem scary in the moment, yet everyone laughs about when you tell them in the morning. I am the only person who really seems scared by the electricity here). Even if you have Argentine appliances, which I now do, you don’t know if the item will stay plugged in or sort of just hang in there, half in, half out. Couple that with a few converters plugged into each other and you’re playing with fire. Maybe literally!

When I came here on vacation, I had a little curling iron that I plugged in with a European converter. But when I was preparing to move, I needed more converters. Yeah, had a few from visiting Europe, even had the double converters so I could use a product I bought in Germany in my US home. But I was bringing a bit more than a curling iron at this time, you know?

Little did I realize that in Argentina there are SEVERAL sorts of plug sockets, so one house could have one type and another house could have something completely different. Sometimes you’re able to place the rounded, European-style plug into the outlet. And sometimes, you can’t. I went to several stores in Spokane, trying to pick up extra converters that I wasn’t even sure would work or not. For some reason, the pickings were slim, so I had to buy 2 of these insanely-expensive international converters with several options from Target because that was all I could find. They’re kind of like Swiss Army knives and are a bit fun to play with.

My converters from Target. Don’t they look secure and inviting? They seem to be saying, “I’m safe. I’d never let anything hurt you!’   Check it out, there’s even a warning. Awwww!

I got here to find out that neither of my new converters worked with any plug in my new house, regardless of the setting. Instead, The Doctor took me to a sketchy train station downtown, where a man was selling some converters on a blanket laid on the sidewalk. They were 10 pesos each, which is like 2 cents.

Compare:

These are scary to me. For one, I am not sure what the L and N stand for. Second, it’s covered in Chinese characters, adding to the confusion and bewilderment. The little red button and the light above it, which seem trusty on first glance, will eventually stay on regardless if you have it clicked or not. Instead of relaying comfort, it seems to be screaming, ” 你的屁股是要炒!” Which Google Translate says means “Your butt is going to fry!” It also has an angry look, doesn’t it?

First, everything seemed ok with my Chinese friends. Then they started not turning off and sparking, even new ones I bought would get this same problem. My mini-flatiron, which I had used here for 2 years with no issues, bit the dust and started smoking in my hand one morning. (Ok, this could be unrelated, but I am blaming the converters and the higher wattage and the converter’s sudden inability to handle it.)

If I move my laptop into the kitchen or it somehow gets unplugged from the (also scary) powerstrip in the bedroom, I call The Doctor to come plug it in for me. The sparks and whatnot is not even a problem for them. If I have to do it because no one is home or awake, I actually turn off the breaker to the house, do my thing, and then turn it back on. Even the breaker box scares me, but that’s another story.