Remont

Our upstairs neighbors are remodeling their apartment. In a Khrushchev-era apartment where every wall is made of cement, this means lots and lots and lots of jack hammering. Yes, jack hammering. JACK HAMMERING.

And it is slowly but surely making me lose my mind! 

For a sample of how loud it can be, I submit the following video:

And that video doesn't even do it justice!

One day they were going at it so hard that they knocked a big old chunk out of our ceiling! We were just sitting in the living room, doing work while they jack hammered away, when CRASH! All of this plaster came raining down on the other side of the room. So then Jesse got to go up and tell them to chill out because they were destroying our apartment too. 

We've had some issues with them being super loud in the afternoons when Miriam is trying to sleep, too. One day, Jesse (who had just gotten back from a conference in Canada and was very jet lagged) went up and asked them to be quiet from 2-4, while our daughter napped. It seemed like they agreed, but then, lo and behold, at 3:15, they started jack hammering!! 

Guys, I was SO MAD. By that time, Jesse was sleeping off the jet lag and Miriam was asleep (and she needed to sleep for at least another hour, or she'd wake up grumpy). And they were jack hammering, even though Jesse had asked them not to a few hours ago! 

So, I put on my shoes and I went upstairs, and I chewed them out in my super bad Russian. Yes. Seriously. I did that. Basically, I sounded like every angry immigrant ever, who shows up on your doorstep to chew you out for playing your music too loud--she doesn't say everything right, but you get what she means and you feel bad for making her come chew you out. 

Here's a rough transcript:

Me: Daughter needs sleeping! So loud! SO LOUD! Please quiet. Daughter needs sleeping! 

Them: You said until 4, right?

Me: But now it THREE. THREE. Said from 2 to 4. Now it THREE. 

Them: *says something else I don't understand*

Me: Sorry, what you say?

Them: *repeats the thing I didn't understand*

Me: We need to live. It is so loud! 

Them: Well, we need to eat.

Me: Yes, I know. But it SO LOUD. You don't know how loud. Yes, you know how loud. SO LOUD. 

Them: *holds up sound blocking headphones* You should buy some of these. 

Me: Yes, should buy for daughter.

And then they were quiet until 4. And I shook all over from the anxiety of shouting at workers in a language I only barely speak for the next hour (and honestly, a little bit every time I think about it still). 

We've had some trouble with the noise since then, but in the last few days it has quieted down, so maybe we will have peace at last!