The thunder storms here are truly impressive and I love falling asleep and waking up to the sound of pouring rain and roaring thunder and lightning that creates daylight at midnight. And I've woken up twice now to the cat, Salem, scratching at my window to escape the flooded streets. But getting to and from school is not a walk in the park. Taxi companies run out of cars because nobody wants to take public transportation if it means spending the whole day cold and wet. I don't mind much, though. I'll take thunder storms to the constant drizzle that permeates Seattle skies.
One day I learned from my host brother, Fernando, that smoke detectors are not used here. This got me thinking. I know nothing about heaters, but can see an open flame at the bottom of the one in my bedroom and figure that it is a potential fire hazard. My host mother insists that it's better to keep it on during the night in order to prevent an unhealthily cold morning. So I went to bed that night after turning the knob to the very minimum and was kept up thinking about the bars on my windows and what one could possibly do in the case of a fire. Pretty much nothing. Nevertheless, I finally got to sleep...only to be frighteningly awakened by the sound of my own scream. Not shout. SCREAM. I had a vivid dream (with an identified origin) in which my heater set fire to my bed, trapping me from the door and leaving me no option for escape but my barred window.
One day I learned from my host brother, Fernando, that smoke detectors are not used here. This got me thinking. I know nothing about heaters, but can see an open flame at the bottom of the one in my bedroom and figure that it is a potential fire hazard. My host mother insists that it's better to keep it on during the night in order to prevent an unhealthily cold morning. So I went to bed that night after turning the knob to the very minimum and was kept up thinking about the bars on my windows and what one could possibly do in the case of a fire. Pretty much nothing. Nevertheless, I finally got to sleep...only to be frighteningly awakened by the sound of my own scream. Not shout. SCREAM. I had a vivid dream (with an identified origin) in which my heater set fire to my bed, trapping me from the door and leaving me no option for escape but my barred window.
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