Ok this post is a bit late….like the end of the summer late, but we did something life changing this summer and got an air conditioner!

Air conditioning is very rare here. Even many stores, restaurants, and doctors offices don’t have A/C….so summer here can be sticky (and smelly).  We survived our first 2 summers here without A/C, but when I saw another expat selling one, I had to snatch it up.  And according to Ryan, we are now living like rich people.  Now, this A/C is not like having central air in our home back in the US…its a big thing that we have to fill with water and stick a hose out the window.  However, none of our windows open by pushing them up, they open like doors, so when we put the hose out the window there is a large gap which we need to cover with styrofoam (which sometimes blows in and we have to fix it).  It doesn’t get too cool in here, but just enough to feel comfortable and it works better than the fans we were using.

It’s funny how you can adjust to things that aren’t what you are used to.  While we’ve had some days in the past that were about 100 degrees and very uncomfortable inside, we survived and it’s not a big deal to us anymore.  While I love the comfort of A/C in the US, I do think we overuse it.  Stores and restaurants have the A/C so high that some people need to wear a sweater.  However, I think in France they do the opposite.  In the winter the heat in the stores can be so high that I am sweating even if I take my jacket off.  Nowhere is perfect, right?