La maison d'un Parisien.

I have a little time today before I head off to see the catacombs (eek!), so I thought I'd share with you all a little about the apartment I'm living in with my host family and what stood out to me.

The biggest thing that's different for me to get used to is the way the bathroom...or bathrooms...are setup. What you see above is one room; I'm standing in the doorway taking this picture. There is no sink in that room and you press a button to flush the toilet. There's another room with a sink and a small shower. Apparently, I got a good bathroom because some people don't have a shower head attached to the wall or a shower curtain. They have to turn on the water to get wet, turn it off, scrub and rinse. Makes you thankful for your shower, right?

This bread bag hangs in the kitchen. You think people are exaggerating a French stereotype when French people are always shown carrying baguettes or eating baguettes, but it's no joke. I see people walking with them often. We have bread after every meal with cheese (very good cheese!!!!) and fruit or yogurt. I guess it's their version of a desert and I heartily approve. Bread's also available to me at breakfast. It's always crunchy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. I'm a big fan.

Every room in this apartment has a radiator. I've heard heat is very expensive here, so I guess this is the solution. This radiator is in the living room, so mine's a bit smaller, but still very nice. It allows me to adjust the heat how I like it and I think it makes everything much warmer than any normal heater would. I keep mine on a pretty low setting and I feel cozy. 

Finally, my room used to belong to my host mom's youngest son. It makes me very happy, because just above my pillow hangs a Harry Potter poster :) He has another HP poster and a Star Wars one as well as other things you might expect to see in a boy's room, like Playmobiles, old Gameboys, and model cars. He has one yellow beetle car that looks exactly like the one my brother has and makes me miss him a lot. He has all the Harry Potter books (the Britsh versions) and a couple in French. Maybe if I have time, I can read a bit. I'm feel more and more comfortable in this house everyday and hopefully that will only continue.