#houskeeping: Stories week 6 - 13

5 or 6 days work?

The more days you were allowed to work, the faster you could make money. And as you all know: money doesn't stink. So almost everyone wanted to work 6 days. But you had to 'earn' the 6-day work week. Wanna know how? Anyone who worked quickly and thoroughly was 'allowed' to work more. Funny, right? Every week Shakun documented everything precisely and she thoroughly examined every casual girl. When I think about the terrible phase we had to endure, it makes me sick. At the end of the week, it was announced who would be allowed to work how many days in the following week. Bibi and I were always safe. We were delighted every time because we almost always got to work 6 days. The slowest casual girls were criticized harshly by Shakun. 'If you work too slowly, McKay will fire you,' she said. None of the casual girls were slow. Everyone gave their best and worked 8-10 hours without even taking a tiny break. Another cruelty that I will always remember.

Adelas mirror

Adela and Bibi were in a team that day. Adela, the quick and fast mouse, made the beds and cleaned the mirror when suddenly Shakun came by and began to check the room for cleanliness. In a moment of carelessness, she ran her dirty fingers over Adela's freshly cleaned mirror. Then she boldly told Adela that she had forgotten to clean the mirror. 'What? I have already cleaned it,' Adela defended herself. 'You see, it is still dirty,' Shakun criticized. Yeah right, as if anyone believed that...

Forgotten strawberries

As a guest at the Kiwi International Hotel, you better check three times if you forgot anything. Because... 10 minutes after check out, you can be sure that the 'good forgotten' things have disappeared. Once a guest forgot strawberries in the fridge of his room. Shortly after check out, he wanted to return to get the forgotten strawberries. No way... they were gone. Half an hour later, Hannah Shakun could be seen walking down the corridor happily, stuffing one strawberry after another into her mouth. Well then, enjoy your meal, 'dear' Shakun...

Have you ever seen a condom, Shakun?

One day we entered an apartment and we were quite amazed. We were supposed to clean this apartment. Apparently, a funny bachelor party had taken place here. Empty alcohol bottles could be found everywhere, along with various party equipment and inflated condoms among other things. When Shakun entered that apartment, she was very surprised by the nice 'balloons', so she immediately grabbed one of the 'balloons' and walked through the corridors. No comment on what the guests thought... Among the casual girls, there was a burst of laughter when Shakun walked through the hotel completely unaware that she was holding a condom in her hand. :D Well...

Don't disturb

In summer, the rooms get really hot, so fans have to be brought into every room. On that day, Bibi and I had the pleasure of distributing the fans in the rooms with Shakun. When I read "do not disturb" on a door sign, I knew that I wouldn't knock. That sign meant nothing to Shakun, and she knocked loudly on the door. Suddenly, the guest yelled angrily from the room asking if she couldn't read. Bibi and I were deeply ashamed and wanted to dig a hole and jump into it :D

The stolen items

Normally, every housekeeping staff member was allowed to keep the forgotten things, as long as they weren't valuables, personal belongings, or obviously forgotten items. Once, Adela found tea and Nutella in a guest room and placed it on the small fridge that was in every hotel room. She wanted to come back later and take the found items. When Adela came back half an hour later, she was shocked. Where were the found objects? Gone?? Adela was immediately sure that Uma must have taken them, as Uma was 'accidentally' always in the same corridor. So she politely asked Uma if she happened to have taken her things. Suddenly, Uma completely freaked out, asking Adela how dare she accuse her. Adela didn't want to take it any longer, so she told Uma that she could keep the things if she needed them so badly. During lunch break, we could observe Shakun, Uma, and Sheeda coming down the stairs with a full bag and being happy about the found items, which happened to be tea and a jar of Nutella. It was incredible once again what the Fiji monsters came up with this time.

Lost properties

I was known as the Lucky mushroom because I found something left behind by the guests almost every day in the hotel rooms. Just like on that particular day. When I came down the stairs with three plastic bags during lunch break, I noticed jealous looks from Shakun, Uma, and Sheeda. But I didn't think much of it and I was happy about my find. The next day, Shakun already gave the instruction that we had to show her everything we found, even if it was just a half-empty shampoo, cookies, or a lost sock. And honestly? Would you return to the hotel for a forgotten sock? It was so ridiculous that we took the instruction particularly seriously and hung up all the 'Lost properties', as she called them, on her office door. We simply had a blast with this instruction. It was obvious that she didn't like us finding things.

Liquid pou

As I was cleaning a shower once again, I noticed something strange in the drain. At first, I thought it was a piece of the packaging of the hotel soap. So I wanted to fish it out with gloves. Unfortunately, my assumption turned out to be wrong and it was something brown and sticky. So I smelled it, which turned out to be a mistake. So someone actually did their business in the shower. Bravo.... When I told David about it, he said, 'liquid pou?, what's that? Is it a chemical?' We couldn't stop laughing. :D

christmas party

Just like us, the Kiwi Hotel also had a Christmas party. And it was quite funny and different. The party started at four in the afternoon. Dressed up nicely, we made our way to the party that afternoon. We had shopped for the Christmas outfit a few days earlier in a huge shopping center. We were already super excited and really looking forward to the evening. When we arrived at the hotel, we were very surprised. Everything was so festively decorated. Everyone was dressed very summery and pretty. The Fiji monsters were hardly recognizable. I had to look three times to recognize Uma in her pink dress and high heels, as it was a 100% transformation. McKay opened the buffet. There were various salads, pasta salad, spring rolls, ham, and many other delicious dishes. For dessert, you could stuff yourself with cream cake and fruitcake. After dinner, we played a fun game. Everyone had to draw a number. Each person had to bring a gift worth about 10 dollars beforehand. The gifts were numbered and everyone could unwrap a gift without knowing who it came from. Everything from cookies to a penis bottle and growing balls was there. After the Christmas dinner, the tables were suddenly cleared, which confused us. The 'oldies' suddenly disappeared and what was left was a fun group of casual girls, young receptionists, laundry boys, and Lusi. We chatted, played billiards, joked around, and had a great time. We all went home at eleven. Most of us had to work the next day. The Christmas party was really different from what I was used to in Austria, but I will still remember that evening fondly. :) 

fijian language:

• kirten - curtains

• dirti - dirty

• matsch bisi - very busy

• tri - three

• kom end vekum - come and vacuum

• swib end mob - sweeping and mopping

• its still dirti in de korner - it is still dirty in the corner

• put shower power end ten skreb - put shower power and then scrub