The oven is a wall oven and I’m not sure I trust the wiring. Before I switched it off at the breaker, it made buzzing sounds even though it wasn’t on. Scary.
The stove top is set above the counter - not a separate unit, either. I did point out that it only has two burners that work (burners that I bought and got no credit for, I might add - as I did the fridge, for that matter), and he just kind of laughed. He’s hard to read. I don’t think he got it that I was trying to request something better. :-\ It’d be nice if both stove and oven were of the sort that I could just get even just a junky used one, but as it is, the idea of replacing ‘em is intimidating. Especially as I’m skeered of electricity and fire.
I’m still really thinking about getting a decent counter top convection oven. Something big enough for bread. It’d still be cheaper than one month’s worth of extra rent in a nice place... And I could still use it in another place.
Have you tried making more concrete requests. Like you say, there may be a language barrier there, or he may just be playing dumb and using that to his advantage. Wouldn't be the first time that happened to somebody dealing with a foreigner. You may just have to say something like "I'd like you to replace my oven and cooktop. Do you think you can do that or not?" That way he'd have to say either yes or no, and at least you'd know that he understood.