The Toilet Paper

For the first week I was here, I'm pretty sure the girl who I share a bathroom and kitchen with was on vacation. Apparently she is at university learning to become a teacher. Because of this, we have only recently come in contact with one another. Now due to the fact that I speak no French and she doesn't speak any English, our experiences with one another have been brief and almost silent except for the occasional greeting or nod of the head.

However, just because you do not speak with someone, it does not mean that you are not affected by them.

When I moved in, one of the first things I did was stock up on the essentials. I bought shampoo, soap, dish washing soap, laundry detergent and of course, toilet paper. Now don't get me wrong, I am not cheapskate, however, when I bought toilet paper I bought regular white two ply paper. It works, it's not too costly and I see no problem with it. Yesterday however, as I was brushing my teeth, I saw in the mirror something a little bit strange. On the toilet paper roll, where my white regular two ply toilet paper hung, was now, yellow quilted four ply paper with hearts on it, and my two ply paper had been taken off of the roll, and put on top of the washing machine.

Seriously.

My flat mate, took my half used roll of toilet paper OFF of the roll, and put her toilet paper (which she felt necessary to buy?) on the roll in its place.

OK.

Now, I was thinking about this while I was brushing my teeth. Does this mean that we are supposed to use different rolls of toilet paper? Should I continue to use my white paper, which was now sitting idly on top of the dirty washing machine? Or should I move up in the world and feel the bliss of four ply between my ...cheeks. I have no idea.

In addition to the toilet paper switch, it seems that none of my "basic supplies" were good enough for my flat mate. She moved my dish washing soap that was barley used at all, under the sink and replaced it with a different brand. She pushed my laundry detergent behind the machine and placed hers on top, sitting proudly next to my pitiful excuse for toilet paper.

It's not that I particularly MIND having these items moved, it's not like she stealing my food or using my towels. It's just really strange. And on top of that, I can't really talk to her about it because she doesn't speak English, so I suppose I will just see where all of my bits and pieces end up in the next six months.