Students dormitory SASUMA - an amazing canteen; laundry

Residencia Universitaria – SASUMA and its service

I wrote an article about SASUMA – the student dormitory some weeks ago. This dormitory accepts students who study at Universidade da Madeira, so if you are a regular student or an Erasmus student, there is a chance you would be applying for this dormitory. If you are just a traveller, you might stay here over some nights as well (as described in the article Where to live in Funchal – part one).

Today, I am going to bring you some information about the service which is offered at the dormitory like a kitchen usage, laundry, a canteenand a security.

Picture: SASUMA

The Snack bar/a canteen at SASUMA

I have decided to start writing about the canteen because I believe that is the best what SASUMA dormitory offers. The canteen is in the area of the student dormitory, so you do not have to walk far. Ask at the reception where it is exactly because when I arrived I did not have an idea there was the canteen in SASUMA.

The canteen is open from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 17:00 (I hope I remember it well. There is a lovely lady called Maria who let you order some meals and will serve it later. She always used to say she was like our second mum. She speaks a little bit of English, but is very excited about teaching you some words in Portuguese which are needed indeed in the canteen. So even if you do not want to learn Portuguese during your Erasmus (which I think is a pity), you will leave Madeira with words like “Pera ou laranja? Sopinha!”Maria (or Fatima as she has got two names) is so nice that when my parents came to visit me, I wanted them to meet her. And when I was moving out of the dormitory, I did not forget saying goodbye to Maria.

Picture: All of this for less than three Euros. (The bun is missing in the picture.)

Well, you can order a meal in the canteen in advance (which is few cents cheaper) or even on the same day till 11 o’clock. I always used to buy the whole menu which cost about 2,80 EUR and it included a drink, a piece of fruit, a bun, a bowl of soup, salad and the main dish. Yes, all of this for such little money! Now you might think that the food from there must not have been too tasty. Oh, it was! And what kind of meal did we eat? We ate tuna steak (yes, the price has not change, still less than 3 Euros), espada, bacalhao and other kinds of fish. We also had meat with rice or potatoes/pasta. Lasagne was a very popular meal as well. If you are vegetarian, do not worry, there were plenty of options what to eat, so even vegetarians got what they liked.

You can order meal even for a dinner. You can go to the canteen to pick it up later or you just pick it up when you go to the canteen for your lunch. If you are busy – you have to be at the university during the day, so you cannot really get to the dormitory to eat there or pick the menu up, you can order the meal in the canteen but for university (so then you just go to the university canteen where your lunch is ready). Also, if you do an internship, you can order the meal and ask Maria to leave it at dormitory. So when you get back “home” from “work” you just ask at the reception for it, they open a door and you get it from a fridge where your meal is.

Can you believe? This kind of service is incredible! It is really nice, tasty, cheap and comfortable.

Laundry

It is obvious that when living somewhere for a semester or two, you will need to clean your clothes and wash it somewhere. There are some washing machines at the dormitory and there are also some machines for drying your clothes.

At the beginning of the semester, everything might seem a bit confusing. Moreover, many students want to do the laundry on weekends so it seems there is no space where you could hang your clothes to dry it. But the situation will get bettersoon.

Picture: You might even end up hanging your clothes in your room.

Even though there are quite plenty of washing machines and driers, most of them do not work (or at least during the academic year 2018/2019 did not work). So you have to check whether there is a washing machine which is not being used at that moment otherwise you might bring a bunch of clothes but then have no space where to wash it. I suggest doing laundry also during some other days than only on weekend days.

Have you already considered that you are given just one set of beddings upon arrival? So when you feel like it is time for washing all sheets and cases, it is better to do it on a hot day (and put + stretch  a cord somewhere in your room where you would hang it) or just put it into the dryerafter washing, so you can use it in the evening.

Picture: You might want to use any space you will find to dry your clothes.

How often are you allowed to do the washing? Well, there is not said anything like: “You can wash your clothes only four times per month.” However, you can ask for four “fichas” – coins at the reception. They will usually give you one, or two when you ask for it and they will write it down. You are allowed to receive and use four coins per month for free. If you need to have more, you will have to pay 2 Euros per coin. I have say, though, that I was quite all right with only those four ones. What I suggest is that if you get on well with your roommate(s), share the washing machine, so you save coins for other days of doing the laundry.

Is a detergent included? No, it is not. So when you reach your Erasmus destination and go for the first huge shopping remember that not only you need food, toilet paper, shower gel and so, but you will probably need the detergent as well.

Is this all I need to know about SASUMA?

Well, I mean you know a lot now (especially if you also read the previous part called Where to live in Funchal – part one). Although, there are still few things I would like to share with you. These things were described also at the beginning of this article. So, I still want to share some information about how reception work, about parking and some SASUMA rules. I would like to write about kitchen equipment, which might be very useful upon arrival, too. SASUMA has also organised some very nice events for us during the school year, so that is also on my list of tips I would like to pass on you.

Though, as usually, I think the length of this article is appropriate to be finished and continued in another part of the series. Now you know that there is the amazing snack bar/dormitory canteen and you have a clearer idea about the laundry room and its rules.

I hope this article will help you to decide how many pieces of clothes you will need and that you do not have to be stressed if you do not know how to cook and your family will not live with you...

So, keep excited about your new “home” space.

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