...So says my host-family father today after putting the following little contraption in my bedroom.
A few weeks ago, I was on the phone and I thought I saw a shadow of a mouse. I did not have a clear view, and I told my host-mom that I was a bit concerned. She said that she would call the "Maire de Paris," Paris Mayor's office, and have them come over to the house and put some poison on the ground. (Yes, even the mice are controlled by the government in Paris) But as all things French, it takes a long time for anything to be done. So the inspectors are scheduled to come on Tuesday. Well thank goodness for that, because today I saw a mouse. Not a shadow, but a real, small, almost-cute-if-it-were-not-uninvited, gray mouse.
There is construction next to the house that I am living in, and though my host family is very nice, cleanliness is not exactly one of their strengths. (We have a cleaner that comes once a week, but its not enough to keep this place clean throughout the week.) But what surprised me most was not the mouse. Even though I was disgusted by the mouse, the explanation for the mouse was perhaps of more concern.
"The garage next door to us had mice, obvious since it was a garage." My host-dad starts, trying to console me after I ran downstairs in a panic.
"When they tore it down, the mice went looking for food. And since we often keep the door to the garden open, they sometimes come in." (I'm not joking here) "So they go through the kitchen,"
"WE HAVE MICE IN THE KITCHEN?!?" - Me
"Well, they just run through looking for food, and since you don't keep food in your room, you don't have to worry. They're only passing through."
OK. I consider myself open minded....but mice just "passing through" my room does not much to console me... So he gives his famous gem...
"Think about this: the national hero of children in the US is Mickey Mouse."
So perhaps living with mice is a "city adaptation," much like cramming into a subway at rush hour with no personal space.... the sounds of construction or police/ambulance sirens going off almost all the time...being comfortable with the time that I had a crumb on my lip and a random stranger tells me and then proceeds to wipe it off with her hand...or living in apartments that are about 1/4th the size of American average...
Don't get me wrong - I love the conveniences of living in a city. I love walking and taking the metro everywhere, and I certainly don't miss driving and high gas prices. I adore the fact that I can get a fresh baguette every day without going out of my way to do so. I <3 the fact that when I go to the corner store to buy a tomato for my salad, the owner remembers me and asks me how I liked the wine that I bought there a few weeks ago. And even though sometimes people stare (a major reason I have only gone jogging in this city once), they actually communicate with strangers.
But at the end of the day, I am a suburban girl...and I like to consider Mickey Mouse as a cartoon character only and not a rodent who "sometimes passes through my room."
<3
Daria
P.S. Did you know that mousetraps are made with bread rather than cheese?
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