and they didn't even knock!

As I have written before, I pay a pretty penny to live in this so-called hotel, which is nothing but a Communist-era student dormitory----a noisy place due to the habits of the cleaning ladies, and the lack of carpet on the floor.

But, the cleaning ladies do not even knock before entering!

As I just noticed when I chased two of them away.

As I sat reading, I heard a scratching noise at my door.  I opened it to see two cleaning ladies outside, "May I help you?",  "Good day" , one said, as she started to enter my rented apartment.--enter?  She started to rush in like a dog desperate to go outside and pee......

I stopped her and shouted, telling her to go away.  "I need privacy. Do you know what privacy is?  We con't have communism any more."

They both stared at me with blank looks.

The problem in this country is not the official communist party.  It is the inner communism in the minds and souls of these poor women.

And, let me be clear.  They do a job that is poorly paid, and they receive little respect.  My behavior was nothing to be proud of.  They deserve more.

But I am perfectly well able to wipe down my own counter tops and throw away my own garbage.

I am not grateful merely to have a place protected from the weather.  I want a quiet place where I can work without interruptions. And I don't think that's too much to ask.  (Even if,as I know, many people in the world do not have that.)

To enter without knocking is simply disrespectful.  It means that nothing could be happening on the other side of the door which should be respected. 


Studentska 202, Blok D
Pardubice,
Czech Republic

Note:

In theory, if I don't teach until ten or eleven, I should be able to stay home and prepare.  But with the noise here, that's difficult.  And, today's upset is a perfect example of why this living accomodation is simply intolerable.

Nonetheless, it seems the regular cleaning lady is home with a heart problem.  (Shouldn't she be in the hospital?)  So, the two ladies who attempted to enter my apartment were, I assume, filling in for her.  And that means, they've got extra work today.

And, I, like a buffoon, have just shouted at them.  Why?

In truth, my place is a bit of a mess.  If I had known they were coming, I would have cleaned up first.

But here it is not yet ten o'clock and I've just been angry and upset.  This is no way to start a day, no way to start a week.................

after-thought  (20.11.2012)
Don't get me wrong.  I have seen these ladies down on their hands and knees washing the stairs where students walk.---and I don't think that anyone should have to do that---Or, at the very least, students should help with the cleaning up at least once a week.---after all, it's the mess that THEY have made......