Katherine Gurda, International Internship Program: Paris Summer 2024
In Paris, the living situation for my program is a homestay. I live with a lady in her 60s who is from Paris. She lives alone but a couple of days a month another lady stays there. I have my own room which was a requirement for a homestay. It is right near the Arc de Triomphe so it is in a great area with a lot of stuff around. There are a lot of stores on my street and most days there is a food market. A challenge I face in this home is that she works from home and is home at all times. It makes it harder to do things in the house and if I ever wanted to be alone for a little bit it was harder because even though I had my own room the walls were really thin and I could always hear her. She has a really small kitchen. Sometimes when I was cooking she would come in to just move things around and there isn’t really enough room for both of us to stand in there. I would also feel a little awkward because it is her house and I don’t want to intrude. So I only go into the kitchen and things when she is doing something else so when she comes in when I was already cooking and I can’t just leave it I would feel awkward. There were a bunch of things I love about it. I am able to get a local’s perspective about Paris and what to do. She is really nice and is always willing to help. If she is going to shower she always makes sure I don’t need anything from the bathroom before. Part of the program is that she also provided breakfast every morning which is also really nice. It is also in a great area which is really nice because there are always things to do within walking distance. The apartment is close to my work so I only have to walk a mile there unlike a lot of people who have to take the metro to work.
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