2nd November: An Uncomfortable Situation

Yesterday being 1^st November, another month’s rent was due. I had been dreading it for days, knowing that I was going to be paying my landlady slightly less due to being away for a week – an agreement which is made between the university and the landladies when the contracts are signed. Having talked to the university, I had made certain that I was paying exactly the right amount and not short-changing Lyudmila in any way. The rule is that when students are absent, they only have to pay for board, and not food, for those nights, which works out at 200r per night instead of 550r. There is even an agreement that students can ask for money back when they have been for weekends away, which I haven’t done.

When I first arrived here and was discussing the rent charges with Lyudmila, she disputed the fact that students pay 200r a day for lodging and the remaining 350r for food, claiming that it was the other way around, so already I was expecting to come up against difficulties. Since I had talked to the university, however, there wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind that these figures were correct and that Lyudmila was well aware of this.

So, determined for there not to be any discrepancies about the amount paid, I calculated the month’s rent exactly (using two different methods, I might add), wrote this all out and presented it to Lyudmila along with the money. As predicted, she tried to say that it should be 350r for lodging, but I told her as kindly as I could that I had spoken to the university already and that if there was a problem, she needed to talk to them. She conceded then and said that she wouldn't ask for any more money from me – although this didn't stop her from complaining to me again whilst I was eating that I would pay far more in a hotel. That’s all very well, but I’m not staying in a hotel, I’m staying in a flat which costs her 5000r a month to rent, which my 13700r payment more than covers. She also added that I wouldn't be getting any food on the days I was leaving and returning, and that I was washing my clothes too often and using up the water. Not wanting to get involved in an argument, I apologised and said I didn't want to offend her, to which she replied, “Well, you have.”

Her attitude towards me hasn't improved since then, and when it was time for my dinner tonight, instead of coming into my room like she normally does, she just knocked on the door and said, “Come on, dinner’s ready.” I hope this doesn't last because it’s an unbelievably uncomfortable environment to live in, and last night I slept even worse than usual just worrying about how tense the next few weeks will be if she keeps up this resentment. The worst part is that I know I haven’t done anything wrong; I am just doing as the university has told me to do, which is exactly what everyone else has done too, without any problems from their landladies. I can only try to carry on being friendly as usual, and hope that she will have forgotten about it by the time I come back from Ukraine. If not, I’ll just have to try and deal with it for the last six weeks.