why the move?

perhaps i should explain....

since the beginning, we thought our host family was a bit strange but because the three of us were together we could laugh it off. we were too preoccupied with preparing lessons, making friends, and planning trips to realize just how bad the situation was.

as soon as we got back from our winter vacation on february 24, our life at the house changed for the worse - the family became spiteful and unwelcoming. first, they stopped talking to us; for two days they wouldn't respond when we said hello, they left us notes instead of talking to us, and they avoided us during the day. then they cornered us individually to shout at us. as it turns out, while we were on vacation they got their six-month electricity bill and were astonished that it had increased (although the price of electricity has increased, they have an extra assistant and a third baby boy). then they made it personal -- they decided they didn't like the way we live in our space, that we occasionally leave a teabag on the counter or leave clean dishes on top of the washing machine or let the recycle bin fill up before we take it out. they even stole one of our light bulbs! one of the four was already burned out so we were left with 2 out of 4 light bulbs in our multi-purpose kitchen/dining room/bathroom/sitting room/laundry room. they didn't replace our water when it ran out and they were furious when we asked them to wash our sheets (although it had been two months since we got new sheets). they wouldn't even let their little boys talk to us - they would pull them away by their little arms if they walked toward us. that is scratching the surface.

you can imagine that we thought of plenty of things to do to retaliate. i won't indulge you. but we were mature adults and we tried to kill them with love. or, at worst, be apathetic with them.

monday morning we called, visited, and decided to move to the foyer, a type of dorm for young people working in nogent. after dinner on monday night we had to ask beatrice to come to the table - she was so upset with us (for what?) that she wasn't coming to dinner anymore. we told guillaume and beatrice - employing "i statements" only - that we were no longer happy at the house and that we didn't feel welcome anymore. as a result, we were going to move out. their response was incredible. they shouted at us for at least ten minutes about all of the terrible things we have done since we arrived. most notably, sometimes we left our bedroom lights on when we went upstairs to use the bathroom. also, we didn't clean the oven once. therefore, clearly we have no respect, no discipline, and we aren't nice people. then they got mean. beatrice said she hopes sadies mom never has a tenant like sadie (sadies mom hosts exchange students in bristol). she went on to say we would pay rent for the first three days of march (two of which we were gone), we would not get breakfast the next morning, we were not to use the telephone the next day, we would fold our sheets, and we would be subject to an inspection of our walls, mattresses and kitchen before we left. she finished the conversation by saying that she never wants to see us or hear from us ever again. i guess that means we are no longer invited to paul's baptism this saturday?! anyway, at the stroke of midnight they unplugged the telephone when i was talking to my mom and they locked us in the basement. when we had to use the bathroom at 12:15am we had to knock on the door for five minutes. mind you, we could hear them talking ten feet away. of course you can imagine what we thought we should do.... but we waited for them to answer the door. and got yelled at because the boys were sleeping. right.

the story doesn't end there. they woke us up at 7am tuesday morning by banging on our doors and yelling at us to get up. they wanted to know if we were intending to pay for the first three days of march. i said no. they started yelling and marching around and threatening to take our things. we were all afraid they would break something of ours or even hit us. we were given five minutes to move out. in fact, guillaume (who never talked to us until monday night) said that if we weren't out in five minutes he would move our things out for us. i said (with a smile on my face) that was really nice and that we could use the help. he was trying to look tough, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, threatening to throw us out, literally. but he didn't know how to respond to my comment and then he had to move aside to let me through. he didn't look so tough. anyway, we couldn't get out of there soon enough. imagine, three 20-something women all in their pajamas, standing in the street with all of their belongings. a little funny, huh?!

it is too bad that it had to end that way - it was better for everyone that we moved out and we could have stayed friends. but i think she has named us enemies. the only thing i want to do is talk to everyone we know here and make sure that no one ever lives there again. i already met with the head of the english department, she talked with the principal, and i have a meeting with the director of all english assistants in this region on wednesday in orleans. plus, we have a lot of friends in town, even more than the host family. last night we had dinner with the couple who own the local leclerc (target) here. we know a couple who are pharmacists and the husband will run for mayor in a neighboring town/county. and we know another couple who are both lawyers and the husband is the prospective mayor of nogent le rotrou (the election is sunday) and his family. on top of that, we know the principals of all seven schools in town. and everyone is on our side. we will probably not report them to the federal government (because of the children), but we will ensure that no one will have to endure their wacko family again.

anyway, we are happy to be together and in a better place. the couple who run this foyer have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome; they helped us move our things in when we arrived unexpectedly and without money, they put us all together on the first floor without many neighbors for some peace, they have warned us about weirdos living here, the husband skipped lunch to set up our wifi connections, they are lending us pillows, sheets, blankets, and kitchen ware, etc. the rooms are big enough and clean enough.

here is my new desk. the baguette was not included.

my new bed, across from the desk.

behind the headboard of the bed is my sink and bidet. dare me to use it?!

and i can still see the castle out of my window! look in the upper right corner.

everyone we have talked to here is outraged and embarrassed. they are afraid we will remember french people the way we were treated by this family; they worry it is a personal reflection of themselves. we have already been invited to live with a few different families and teachers and we have received several dinner invitations. we are happy and humbled to accept dinner invitations, but we will stay at the foyer together. that's sure.

so that's that.