Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Putzen (Cleaning)

There's a cleaning lady (and sometimes the Hausmeister) who comes into my(/our) kitchen every Tuesday morning, presumably (and maybe Friday?). The way my suite is set up is that you walk straight into a kitchen, which has a door on either side that lead to my room and my suitemate's, respectively. So while she fortunately never does or has to come in my room, I do still hear her.

Also fortunately, I'm usually awake by the time she comes in, which tends to float around 7:45 AM. I'm sure most other students are not that lucky.

Once, I had the misfortune of having no idea why someone was in the kitchen and stepping out to investigate (my suitemate, if I have one, has not come yet because the official semester doesn't start until October). She was nice enough, but she got onto my case about not taking the trash out. She told me in half-broken German that it smelled (she appears to be of Indian or close by ethnicity). Frau Cleaning Lady, I just got here a week ago. I don't even know exactly how the German trash system works yet -- you must surely know that there are a big pile of recycling and sorting rules and that it's confusing even for Germans sometimes.

Anyway, that's probably why I never step out while she's here at all any more. I know it wasn't a big deal, but I sort of have a subconscious bad impression.

I went out to the kitchen today a little while after she left. Hey, what's this?? Wait, Frau Cleaning Lady.... I don't leave huge, speckled streak marks on my stove top when I clean it. Come to think of it, it didn't have streak marks when I cleaned it and went to bed last night!

I have to admit that I take some pride in doing a better job than the cleaning lady in keeping the kitchen well, even if only in this aspect so far. And YES, this is probably one of the cleanest kitchens in the entire building, thanks very much, I'll be backstage to sign autographs after the show.

On a different note, last Friday, almost to the point of supernatural punctuality (I guess this is Germany), was the very last day it was decently warm/summer. The day after, it went, "BAM." Cold. Even the weather doesn't mess around here. It's here or it's not, and it's punctual about it! Not like weather in the confounded southern US.... where the best it can sometimes be described is a fickle [female hound]. US southern weather likes to loll and float about uselessly during periods that I fondly refer to as Wing, Spummer, Sall and Fwinter.

2 comments:

S said...

On the subject of Southern U.S. weather- fall hit like a lightening bolt today, as it always does in Auburn. Like "hi guys!!! How's it going? Gosh, it sure was humid yesterday, why don't we nip it up a bit?"

Now, it might go visiting somewhere else and leave us in the muggy heat again (probably at some inconvenient time, like when 80,000 are at a football game), but... I thought you'd like to know. It's snappy here, too, so if it goes away in Germany, only too return... don't be too surprised.

Michael said...

lol. i like your extra seasons. the weather here is certainly wechselhaft. i think i like us weather though... at least you know whether it will be rainly or sunny or warm, even if it snows in april and is beautiful for a day in december.