ROOM!!!!!!

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So I have a room in Résidence Béthanie, the FJT I was talking about. An FJT, to remind you, is a foyer aux jeunes travailleurs, or a dorm-like residence for young working people in Lille.

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I’ll give you the tour.

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Walk into my room, #112 (significant for those of you who knew anything about me or my life at OU last year). The door opens into the room to the right and gives way to a room in the shape of an upside-down and backwards L.

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As you stand in my doorway, look to your right. There’s a closet there that sticks out of the wall a good two feet. On the right side are 5 shelves that provide more than enough room for my clothes and shoes. On the left, my dresses are hanging up (and my coat and sweater will be too, once I have a bit more money and can buy more hangers). Above the hanging things is another shelf.

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Still in the doorway, look to your left. It’s a door that leads into my bathroom. It’s a teeny little box of a bathroom, but it’s mine. Open the door, which opens out into the room, and stand in that doorway for a second. In front of you is a porcelain sink with a mirror above it. To your left is the toilet. The seat is a thin plastic, and there is a circle with the same circumference of one of those jumbo bouncy balls on the tank cover that you push to flush. In the top left corner of the room (don’t be fooled - it’s so small! Only about six inches separate the sink, shower, and toilet) is the shower stall. It’s actually just a square piece of porcelain on the ground with a rim maybe three inches high. Then there’s a thin curtain around the two sides that aren’t tan, tiled wall. The fixture of sorts is on the back wall as you stand in the doorway, but it only comes to my chin, so I usually just hold the shower head, get wet, shut it off, soap up, rinse off, shut it off…

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Anyway.

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Back to the doorway of my room itself. Straight in front of you on the back wall is a HUGE window. It starts about three feet from the ground and must be twelve feet tall, touching the high (duh) ceiling. There is a sheer curtain that goes all the way across the window, and there are two heavier panel curtains that are a mix of maroons, oranges, and yellows. Since I clearly couldn’t reach any curtain rods, the curtains are on runners like in hotel rooms. Pull and drag them from the bottom and they easily slide open and shut.

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Past the closet and before the back wall are: a simple, light, wooden desk, an end table with one small drawer, and a mini fridge. On the desk are sturdy, clear plastic cups filled with every Sharpie I own (if you know me at all, you know how obsessed with Sharpies I am). They are clearly arranged so that they look like a rainbow spread over five little cups. On the end table is my makeup. On the fridge is the little rack I found in the bathroom for hanging towels. Currently, there are no towels on it. I hung my little under-all tank tops on it instead. In the fridge at present is a liter of milk and one of orange juice, thin slices of chicken, a bottle of white wine, butter, yogurt, and Camembert cheese. Of course I have wine and cheese in my fridge - I am in France, after all.

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So. Walk into the room and keep going until you hit that back wall so that you’re right next to the window. Turn left and look straight ahead. You’re now in the short part of the upside-down L. Straight in front of you is a twin bed. Since the curtains are pretty imposing due to their incredible size, I went with their color scheme when choosing my blanket, sheets, and towels. This is the most uncomfortable bed I have ever slept on, so when I have more money, I definitely want to buy one of those egg carton foam pads or something. For the moment, I’m just going to sleep on my blanket instead of under it - ah, the importance of prepositions (a little joke for Daddul and Andy). I also would like to get a few decorations for my room if I ever have a little money so it’s not quite so sterile, but first I need to get paid and everything - you know, that whole thing.

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On the wall between bedroom and bathroom is a bookshelf made of the same wood as the desk, but the sides are open. It’s about three feet wide and seven feet tall. At present, there isn’t much on it - La Nausée by Jean-Paul Sartre, How Proust Can change Your Life by Alain de Botton (a present from David, who knows me so well!), Ensemble c’est tout by Anna Gavalda, and then all my various Important Papers that I have accumulated thus far. I really want more books!!! I miss having mine… On the top of the bookshelf are my plastic silverware and plates and my groceries. The groceries: bread, pasta, olive oil, salt.

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Résidence Béthanie also has a Multipurpose Room with a pool table, piano (Tom), tables and chairs, and several jacks to plug in for Internet if you have your own cord (guess what I’m buying tomorrow) - no WiFi here. Which is probably better, actually, because if I had Internet in my room, I would probably get out less, I’m guessing. There is also a kitchen on every floor, and a HUGE kitchen downstairs, where once a week someone comes in and whoever shows up can participate in making (and eating) dinner. There is a small gym. There is a computer lab with Internet. There is a little outside area for smokers, or if you just want to be outside for a moment, called a cour.

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It’s really quite nice.

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