kippy6

Today (just a few hours ago), my college daughter arrived in Spain and met the host family she will be staying with for 7 weeks. The host family seems nice, a sweet single mom with a grown son and daughter, however my daughter is having a terrible time communicating due to the language barrier. My daughter was getting ready for her first night's sleep there just now and plugs in her cell phone to charge....

...and one of the prongs breaks off of her converter and is now stuck in the outlet!! She needs this converter in order to charge her cell phone and to use her laptop to do her college work!! She doesn't know enough Spanish to be able to explain this to the mom And also, she doesn't want to start off the stay with a problem....

Does anyone know where in Nerja, Spain my daughter could buy a converter? And I guess my daughter will have to figure out to communicate this to the mom. I am thinking my daughter should pay to have the prong removed if the owner cannot do it.

DebitNM

She doesn't need a converter, she simply needs an outlet adapter.

Don't know where she can buy one, but Google should help her find one (and also use it to translate what she needs to say to her hostess.)

sylvia3

They'll have to turn off the electricity to fix the prong, so she should not attempt to remove the prong herself.
How about the Spanish Language school?


ESCUELA DE IDIOMAS NERJA S.L. C/ Almirante Ferrándiz N 73, Apartado de correos 46, E-29780 Nerja Malaga Spain, Telf: +34 95 252 1687

DebitNM

She should look for a hardware store...."
ferretería = hardware store

adaptador de enchufe= plug adaptor

http://www.nerjatoday.com

kippy6

This is for Apple products. She has an iPhone and a MacBook Pro. Not sure if she needs a converter or an adapter. Not sure of the terminology.

ribeirasacra

have you tried an online translator. not perfect but it will help.
There are lot of Brtish expats around the raea. they could alos help.
Any phone shop which sells PCs will have chargers (cargadore) for (para) laptop (portátile) or phone (móvil)Note said with a "b" not a "v".

kippy6

Thanks guys. So she needs an outlet adapter. adaptador de enchufe= plug adaptor

I am assuming she will have enough battery power on laptop to google this. This will be good problem solving experience for her. Makes me a little uncomfortable tho...

And I told her not to attempt to remove the prong herself.

Thank you.

Bedar

a She needs an apapter. They are sold in many stores. As Sylvia said, the electricity will have to be turned off in order to get that prong out. She can bring one of the family to the outlet and point and show them the problem. They will take care of it and then probably take her to a store where she can buy a couple of them. If they need to call someone in, yes, she should pay for that.

Sassafrass

Tell her, do not under any circumstances try to remove the prong. The electricity must be turned off. The prong may not be removable without damaging the outlet. That may have to be replaced, so, she may need an electrician and that should certainly be at her expense, not for the landlady to pay. She can't ignore fixing it asap.

Alec

I have seen plug adaptors at large supermarkets in Spain with big tourist traffic, so she is bound to find one in Nerja. Also worth trying electronic/computer stores in town (there are many). Failing that, she can just buy a Spanish charger with appropriate plug (does it use lightning plug?) Apple original will be expensive (like 20-30 euro), but compatible one shouldn't cost more than 10 euro or less. Again electronic/computer or mobile (cell) phone shop sells them.

greg

She only needs on adapter. It looks like this: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/...-power-adapter and costs $1-$3 if in the U.S.

A converter is an incorrect and useless product for her need.

Was she not given practical info for her term abroad?

crosscheck

Agree that the electricity must be off before anyone attempts to get the prong out. Otherwise, this is not a big crisis.

Here's her predicament in simple Spanish: "Se me rompió el adaptador. Una parte está pegada en el enchufe. Lo siento mucho."

She just needs an adapter. If she needs to charge tonight, she can go to any hotel. Then in the morning, she can head to this computer store:

http://inknchips.com/products/periph...-and-adapters/

crosscheck

Adding the part about turning off the electricity and being willing to pay:

"Se me rompió el adaptador. Una parte está astacada en el enchufe. Hay que apagar la electricidad antes de sacarla. Si tenemos que llamar al electricista, estoy dispuesta pagar. Lo siento mucho."

greg

A hotel frequented by North Americans would be a good idea. They might even have a box full of flat pin adapters left by the tourists.

Robert2533

Apple sells adaptor plugs for the iPhone and the MacBook Pro that replace the US plugs. A little planning ahead would have helped.

quokka

She should show this to the host mom, and very soon. Electricity is nothing to mess around with. This needs to be fixed.

I understand that she is shy and embarrassed. Seriously: The longer she waits, the more difficult it becomes. I am sure the mother will understand that such things happen, and see how terrible she feels about it.

This problem could even be communicated by sign language, pointing and presenting the broken plug.

kippy6

Hmmmm. I think this is more a post of a mom's concern for her daughter than anything else.

The host was asleep, so my daughter did not show her tonight. She did not ask me for help. She did not "hide in room and text." What in the world??

My daughter called to say goodnight on her first night there, and she told me when she first arrived at host home a couple of weird things happened. One being that the 24-year old son was crying and mom and son were talking in another room. Apparently the mom gave my daughter his bedroom... I want to make sure she has a working cell phone. Her battery is almost dead. My children are never as concerned as I am. They think they are invincible. But I can tell by her tone of voice that things are a little weird there.

Say what you want. She went to Italy last year. That was fine. This is different. I'm not writing any more details in a travel forum.

You answered my question. I just asked where she could buy an adaptor. Thank you.

HappyTrvlr

I hope she finds a source to buy a few plug adaptors. Many airport shops sell them.

Blueeyedcod

kippy6 - take no notice of rude people on here who have nothing better to do than loudly pontificate about your daughter and her capabilities.

Both of you (NewbE and NYtraveller) - get a grip - can only presume you (a) have no children or (b) have perfect children who can juggle knives while diffusing nuclear warheads or (c) think everyone's parenting styles but your own are deficient and you know it all. Here's the thing - you don't.

kippy6 - I hope your daughter gets her power sorted out and I am sure your host family will help.

crosscheck

I'm horrified by the level of bullying and shaming here! Given the situation, it was perfectly appropriate for the daughter to call her mom to discuss her homestay misadventure, especially because she had just arrived in Spain. It was absolutely normal for the OP as a caring parent to feel concerned. Also resourceful on her part to reach out on a travel forum because she's not familiar with international chargers.

Because it's now so easy and cheap to stay in touch via facetime, viber, whatapp, etc, it's common for young adults to turn to their parents for support when abroad. We heard more often from our usually uncommunicative sons when they lived in Europe, and we were pleased to be kept somewhat in the loop.

Travelers, of all people, should treat strangers with respect. If you come across a query that's not to your liking, please try to keep those mean little fingers off the keyboard.