Inconvenience

[Xinfu]

-More inconvenience was felt at night. In a room of this kind, if your roommate was asleep, with the lights off, to see your way in the room, you would have to put your slipper between the door and the frame to let in some light, but at the same time the signal of the elevator, and pressing of the button and the slamming of the door of the floor would all come in, sometimes together with the noise of people chatting at the pantry.


Could you make the sentences grammatical and succinct?

[Rusty]

More inconvenience was felt at night in a room of this kind. To see your way in the room with the lights off, you'd have to insert your slipper in the door to let in some light. But because the door was propped open, you'd then hear all the sounds of the elevator, doors being slammed and, sometimes, the chatting of students as they were snacking.

[Xinfu]

Thank you.

Originally Posted by Rusty

More inconvenience was felt at night in a room of this kind. To see your way in the room with the lights off, you'd have to insert your slipper in the door to let in some light. But because the door was propped open, you'd then hear all the sounds of the elevator, doors being slammed and, sometimes, the chatting of students as they were snacking.

Dictionaries say the verb snack means

to eat snacks between or instead of main meals

Is this what you mean?

[Rusty]

I didn't know what to think of 'chatting at the pantry'. In American English, a pantry is where food is stored, not consumed. And, because you mentioned that it was dark and your roommate was sleeping, I assumed the students were snacking instead of eating an evening meal.

[Xinfu]

The definition I find in dictionaries is the same as yours; if PANTRY is not the correct word, what do you call the place where uni students usually gather in halls (=the place with their rooms on campus) to chat and cook things?

[Rusty]

Very few university students prepare their own meals on campus (in campus housing/halls) in America.
They eat food prepared for them in dining facilities, which can have several names-cafeteria, dining area/room, food court, café, etc.

Each floor in campus housing may have a kitchenette, which usually has microwaves, vending machines, table and chairs and a sink. There is usually no way to cook/prepare your own food in these areas.

Students usually chat in (student) lounges, where games, video games, computers, TVs, couches and chairs may be found.

It's been a long time since I was at a university, but I don't think students prepare their own meals while chatting with other students.

[wrholt]

My university experience was similar to Rusty's: the undergraduate student residences did not have cooking facilities that residents could use. We were required to pay for a meal plan and we took all of our meals in university-owned cafeterias.

The residences had lounges, living rooms or other types of common areas for socialization and recreation, and we could also use the Student Union, which was an activities building in the center of the campus.

[Xinfu]

Thank you.