Cleaning the House

Some people actually feel that living in the hostel is a burden and
they prefer to stay outside in a rented house or apartment. The main
proponent seems to be my roommate, David. He has suggested numerous
times that we move out from the hostel. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem
to realize the disadvantages of doing so. I don't feel that he is
ready for it, and frankly speaking, neither am I.

One main factor is the unavailability of the cleaning staff. Every
morning, the contracted cleaning company will send workers to each
block. The tasks they have to do include taking out the garbage,
cleaning the toilets, and sweeping the corridor, among others. It is
indeed tiring and boring work to be doing everyday, but most of these
foreign workers (Vietnamese? Cambodians? I'm not sure) go about their
work without uttering a word to us. They mostly stay out of the way,
and I do feel a little sorry for them sometimes, as they must feel
very lonely here. I sometimes see the local cleaners chat with them in
English over lunch. Lunch is usually own-cooked rice packed in
Tupperware, eaten while watching the hostel television. I suppose they
can't afford to eat in the cafeterias.

Anyway, back to the topic. David and I generally find it a real chore
to even sweep and mop our little room every weekend, and sometimes we
skip it altogether. Imagine that if we move out, who's gonna clean the
bathrooms, floors, porch, etc etc? Another rich friend of mine, Alex,
suggested (in true-diva style) that we just hire a weekly cleaning
lady. Yeah, right.