"Water, water everywhere but n'ye a drop to drink"

to borrow from Samuel Coleridge this ironic and very appropriate verse. After complaining to several GEBE (the water and electric company) representatives we were told that we used all of that water so it was our problem. I literally had to explain to them how much water the bill had entailed. It was 300 dollars and was the equivalent of everyone on our entire floor coming over to take showers and use our toilet everyday for the last month. I tried explaining that this did not happen so there was obviously an error. After maneuvering up the ranks of supervision (and intelligence) we got to speak with the billing manager who looked at our bill and realized that it needed to be investigated.
Well it happens that.....get this....there is a leak in our pipes (imagine that). So the apartment management company shut off our water until it is fixed (when you know what start growing wings) and in the meantime we can use the open appartment next to us.
Any one of my weekly stories could be placed in the statement, " you know you are in St. Maarten when _____ "
For more enlightened thoughts about living in another country stay tuned.