Day in the life of a boarder

Boarding house. Oh the joys! Oh the sadness! Oh the memories...
So you wake up at an unheard of time, just so you can avoid the morning rush for showers, and also, shower in a cleanish bathroom. There is something about traffic that even the cleaning-up process of the body can result in so much dirt and untidiness! How ironic!

So, you wake up, go clean your beautiful body up, and then come back to your dormitory to sleep! I know I know strange. But that is how we did it back then.

Boarding house life as a senior girl is markedly different from life as a junior girl. At least you did not have to run so many errands for seniors. Yet when we became senior girls, just when you thought you were now in the most senior class, they changed the rules, now we were to be housed according to our classes, no more junior girls in the dorms. needless to say, the junior girls were happy to be released from the throng of errands, and felt they could regain some aspects of their life back. Or so they thought. Some of my mates still wanted the junior girls to pay penance for the way that 'they' were treated by other seniors, hence, the somewhat embarrassing trek to  the junior's dorm to ask a junior girl to fetch you water, or go buy something for you, or iron your housewear (we had the laundry room then where they did our ironing, but seniors, would be seniors).

The separation into class-dorms also meant we were responsible for the cleaning of the dormitories, and matey (Matron) obviously relished in this.  She would come in the morning, to wake any late comers up with lashes! Yes. lashes.

Ah, I digress. Boarding house life - you wake up - do your morning duty - sweeping, cleaning, washing, you name it, all to be inspected by an ever dissatisfied senior. Then you made your way to the dining hall for breakfast - usually bread with either fish stew, butter or egg, during the week anyways.

Afterwards, the bell rang (later became the siren) you 'crossed-over' to the main school for assembly, and the day goes normally, until after classes when the bell/siren rang again and you 'crossed-over' again for lunch - and siesta (or just plain-old gisting) and getting ready for prep.

The bell/siren rang again, prep was one of those social experiments - girls seemed to be able to fight over anything, noise, pencil, seat for prep, pens, stinginess, et ce tera!  There was some healthy competitiveness for marks and for revising hard, which was quite stimulating in an environment of very intelligent people.

The bell/siren rang yet again (did these people watch Sound of Music one too many times or something? Whistles? Bells? )

End of prep, and the time to crossover to the other side, for some much needed sleep.

However, you get to your dorm, and  you hear
"Who stole my milk/cereal/tissue/slippers? If it was you, you better confess now, or else, your feet will become twisted....blablablabla?" you try to sleep amidst this noise, and then you are confronted for being quiet. "It must be you! Why are you so quiet? don't you feel anything for Linda?" Noises...noises...noises....

Anyone mention Uncouth ladies?