The Profilactorium

The word profilactorium does not actually exist in the English dictionary, as far as we can tell. One day we asked Harley what exactly a profilactorium is and his reply was, “This is a profilactorium, after all.” And that settled it. This is a floor where Russian students can live for two weeks with a doctor’s note and where we are living for 6 weeks. I don’t know exactly what is wrong with the people here. Lica said that most of the people come here because they’re very stressed out and malnourished. The cafeteria serves better food here, the bathrooms are nicer, and little old ladies sweep out our rooms and make our beds. We have two people in a room, but the Russians live with four in a room. The floor is co-ed, so there are bathrooms on each end of the U-shaped hall. And by bathroom I mean there is one room with 6 regular sinks, plus a huge sink where we wash our hair and clothes. The room next door is where the squatty potties are. The shower rooms are downstairs and are open every day except Wednesday and Sunday.
I like our room. The first thing Jess and I did was to decorate the walls. The walls are mint green and orange and the floor is that plastic-ish wood. We have three beds, three nightstands, a table, two chairs and a bigger chair that doubles as my clothes hamper. We’ve strung a clothesline across the room and after we do laundry the room smells very clean. We have a window that overlooks a courtyard and the door to the building. The window is double paned and also acts as our refrigerator. There is a floor above us, but you can’t access it through the way we come in. But I know they’re up there. The people above us have parties. Techno parties. Every night. “Every day. Every weekend,” adds Jess. The bass is kind of like getting a massage as we’re going to sleep. Jess and I have gotten pretty close and I’m really happy we got put together.

The cafeteria downstairs is very small and meals are very interesting. We try to predict what little variation there will be. Here is a basic menu:

- Breakfast: Kasha or milk soup and bread with butter and a slice of cheese. And tea.
- Lunch: Cabbage soup (sometimes borsch) and a side dish variation of the following: potatoes, cabbage, carrots, peas, rice, mayonnaise, mystery meat, eggs, or beets. And tea.
- Dinner: Rice or potatoes with a variation of the lunch and a side dish variation of the preceding list (see Lunch). Usually served with a sweet bread roll. And tea.

I do like the food here. But I would love to find a Japanese, Indian, or Thai place for a little more flavor ☺ Meals are at a set time and we have to go to them all unless we let them know two days in advance so they know to make less food. Sometimes it feels like the food schedule is running my life though.

All right, so now you know all about stuff you never really knew you would ever know about. Happy belated-Valentine’s Day!