The Lafrowda Experience & Sinterklaas

Living in Lafrowda becomes a more fascinating experience each day.

I'm not sure how much you already know, from me or from other people or places (however, I can tell you that http://www.exeter.ac.uk/accommodation.shtml does not give an accurate picture, several reasons for which will be given below).

I think I told you about narrow hallways and single showers for twelve people and cleaners that go on holidays without notice or substitutes. For your delight, I've also just taken an (analogue) picture of what our kitchen floor looks like five minutes after the cleaner has left. I leave it to your imagination what it looks like three weeks after she's left.

Sometimes our cleaner does show up, but does not clean. That's mostly when it rains. Then we just find the kitchen filled with cigarette smoke, five minutes after she's left.
I am very sorry I haven't caught her in the act yet.

When you have a look at the Lawfrowda pictures on the university's official website, you see a gezellige bedroom hung with posters. My own room looks about the same. However, this is not what it's meant to look like, for behold what I found on my doorstep this morning (note that we don't have wooden poster strips on the walls like at UCU):

25 November [?!] 2005

Dear resident.

It has recently come to our attention [excuse me? since when are landlords this naive?] that many residents in Lafrowda are covering the brick walls with posters
[...].

The Self-Catering Handbook which was given to you as part of your contract
documentation explains on page 15 that you should not do this. The main [?!]
reason for this is that damage [?] is caused to the walls and blue-tac marks
cannot easily be removed by cleaning [wasn't that what blue tac was invented
for?].

However, due to the fact that Lafrowda is an old building [you can say
that again], the standards rooms are due for refurbishment [bless the Lord] in the
future [mm, do we here find een addertje onder het gras*?] and there are
already many marks on the brick walls made by previous occupants [which you did
not even try to clean, so what are we talking about?], we have decided to make an exception. For this year, you will be allowed to display posters (not wallpaper) on the
walls (but not on any painted or wood surfaces) along with the noticeboards. It would be appreciated that when fixing these, you use substances which do not leave any further marks [?! so apparently we do not have a problem inthe first place?]. Masking tape would be ideal.

Well, I guess we should now all march to Cornwall House to thank 'Hospitality' Services ("Investor in people") on our knees and kiss their feet.

Still, this morning had another interesting experience in store for me:
Ever danced under a stroboscope lamp? Ever showered under one?
It sounds rather innocent&funny, but after a while it drove my eyes and brain so crazy I took the rest of the shower with my eyes shut.
And normally you would just replace the bulb or leave the door wide open, but neither is really an option here with a lamp firmly entrenched in the celing and the 'entrance hall' and glass front door looking out directly into the shower.
Anyway, hebben we dat ook eens meegemaakt.

On the positive side:
1) My doorlock got fixed, which means that I can leave and sleep comfortably now, without fear for burglars or drunk maniacs, and also - halleluia - that my insurance has a point again (again: picture available on return).

2) In spite of my "Secret Santa"(sorry for this ridiculous vernaggeling of Sinterklaas) preparations I was not really aware of the fact that it is actually the fifth of December, right now. Until one of our lovely porters produced not only a letter, but a parcel! And it is not just any parcel, but a parcel from Sinterklaas! Including zak and poem and all! Now you know me, Sinterklaas(en): I won't open it until tonight... (Vol verwachting klopt ons hart) But I thank you now!

And I wish you all a wonderful evening.

*I was sorry to find in my 1990 Wolters Nederlands-Engels the translation "There is a nigger in the woodpile"...