While in Utrecht I am living with
a family at Kievitdwarsstraat (yes, it is one word - the name of the street) 50 bis.
The house in which I am staying is on top of a one story house. I live on the
second floor of the house (third floor of the building) with a man named Adriaan and his
wife, Khin - she is originally from Burma. Khin and Adriaan have their kitchen,
dining room and living room on the first floor of the house. My room, my kitchen,
the bathroom (which I share with Adriaan and Khin), and the baby's room (they are
expecting a daughter in September) are all on the second floor. Adriaan and Khin's
bedroom is on the third floor.
Pictures-
Left: De Kievitdwarsstraat
Right: Kievitdwarsstraat 50 bis
My room is about twenty square meters... much larger than I had expected. I have my own phone line and a television with cable in the room. European television mainly consists of an interesting combination of nudity and movies & sit-coms that America will no longer have anything to do with (with the vital exception of "The Simpsons" which is on every day at 18:30 - Thank God, Fox is international!). You'll be glad to know that such vital contributions to television history such as the "Jenny McCarthy Show" have found a home on European cable.
Some pictures of my room -
The neighborhood I'm living in seems to be quite typical of Utrecht judging by the other neighborhoods through which I have wandered. There are many houses crammed up against each other and absolutely no privacy - not that the Dutch seem to mind. Every single house has large windows and absolutely no window coverings, inviting passers-by to glance in and, of course, allowing the residents to keep track of the happenings outside.