At the moment, I am lucky to have construction workers in my student house. Everyone is getting a new bathroom. Considering the mold on the ceiling and walls in the bathroom in my apartment, it was very necessary after all these years. While shower and toilet containers were placed on the parking lot in front of the house, I decided to not stay on campus for the full EIGHT days of construction. Eight days walking down the stairs to use a toilet or a shower. A horror scenario for me. But for a good cause.
Counting the number of students that I see in the house, some people even decided to leave for the whole construction period of a month. And now I get why. 7:30 AM prompt, transporters from several companies are parking in front of the house. People come stomping up the stairs and go into the bathrooms. Several radios are being turned on. And the more time passes, the more people start to sing along to the songs. ABBA, André Hazes, Bon Jovi. You name it.
But back to the shower/toilet containers downstairs. I assume that constantly using a public toilet is no-one’s dream. However, the students are expected to share it with people they do not know at all. Neither the toilets, nor the showers, nor the sinks are being cleaned. And yes, you also clean your own bathroom. So why not the public one instead? Because I am usually not finding poop stains and hair balls from strangers that I have to remove. Additionally, sharing toilets during a new corona wave might also not be the best idea.
Do not get me wrong. I am very glad that my bathroom is renewed by now and the workers moved on to the studios below me. I get to use my own toilet whenever I want. No wait. Not in the morning until 10 AM because then the water is cut off. Until the end of October, I will have to deal with the water problem in the morning. But I feel even more pity for the people who have to walk onto the parking lot early in the morning or late at night. Just to find a very cold and stained toilet in a container.
