When a person smells worse than a horse stall that hasn’t been cleaned for a week, that’s not normal.
It happens. I remember a strange case.
I came to study in St. Petersburg at Makarovka to become an economist, specializing in port economics.
Following the university’s suggestion, I moved into a dormitory across the road.
It was a creepy place. An old multi-story building with a very atmospheric staircase and elevator. You could shoot movies about ghettos and heroin there.
I think all of that was really there.
On one of the floors was a student dormitory. I moved in for 400 rubles a day. I had a bed and a nightstand. And three roommates.
On the second day, I found out they were paying 200 rubles a day. That surprised and upset me.
It turned out that the university and the dormitory made more money from students than from regular guests.
After unsuccessful negotiations to lower the price at the end of my already paid period, and based on the information about the other tenants’ rates, I moved out.
And I moved to another dormitory two stops away, an hour’s walk. It cost 350 rubles a day. That suited me.
The renovation was better there, a designer hostel.
There was no one else in the room except me. It was a room for 6 people, with a mini kitchen and a safe.
And then, on the second night, a man moved in. In a leather jacket with a fur lining, jeans, and leather boots. The stench was terrible.
It was simply impossible to sleep. I opened the window, it was winter. I slept closer to the window and it was cold. But the smell was so strong it stung.
I couldn’t close it, and I caught a cold from the draft.
I put in an air freshener. But it wasn’t enough…
On the second day, I told the administrator about the situation, but she said he had already left. So he stayed next to me for two days.
After that, the smell lingered for several more days. It wouldn’t go away, even with the air freshener.
Until I finished the semester and left.