To Enchufar* or Not to Enchufar?

There is no better way to learn vocabulary than continuously putting yourself into situations in which you cannot effectively explain yourself. Yesterday, upon my arrival at my alojamiento,** where I promptly forgot how to say "two," the first item of business that my señora, Tyta, wanted to take care of was ensuring that my internet functioned properly. I connected to the internet without problems. However, because I--embarassingly enough--have absolutely no idea how electricity works, I somehow managed to blow a fuse while trying to figure out the entire converter/adapter/plug situation. As soon as the converter barely tickled the outlet, there was a flash of white-blue light, accompanied by a clap. All the electricity in the apartment went out. Of course, I was mortified. So much for first impressions. Lo siento, lo siento,*** I kept saying as I ran around the apartment after the bustling Tyta. She fetched the landlord and, thankfully, he fixed everything. Tyta took me to a nearby electronics store where I could barely explain what I needed and quickly realized that I should have brought my converter and adapter with me for visual aid, since I couldn't produce complete sentences. Finally, the saleswoman said to me in English, "What do you need?" I was relieved. I returned to the apartment, retrieved my frustratables, and returned to the electronics store. I bought an adapter and in the evening, after much more electricity frustration that involved another visit to El Corte Ingles, I was finally able to charge my computer. Until the next technological calamity, I can live in peace with Facebook abundance.

*to plug in

**lodging

***I'm sorry