Chuck has been an attentive host to the boys and I. Of course his parents were too, but they left on vacation the day after we arrived. He showed me where things were in the house and how to get around. His home is located on, what used to be, an island along the river, La Marne. There is a locked, automated, gate to enter to the 'neighborhood', then another locked person and car gate to property where his house is situated. This house, like most European homes (What I've seen in Spain, Belgium, Portugal and the Netherlands), has locks, and doorknobs (or lack of at times) unlike the ones I am used to. Some houses you need a key to open the door and they have no knob, some have door handles that can be unlocked and opened with a key etc. This house is the same and the first night he left the deadbolt undone (just two manual locks engaged) and he even got out of bed to leave outside person gate ajar so I could easily leave for a run in the morning.
The second morning I found the deadbolt locked at both doors (they need keys to be unlocked coming in or going out). I tried a few keys I found in the front door, none were right. I figured out the back door needed a skeleton key (there is a little metal oval that swings down over the hole) and I remembered seeing one by the front door. I was so proud to have figured that out. Once outside I had no key to open the person gate. I tried to reach thought and do the outside key pad code by feel from the inside (like I saw Chuck do, you can't see what you are doing) only I pushed the 'call the house' button at the end, instead of unlock and could hear the phone ringing inside. I ran back in, worried all the slumbering 'young adults' would be woken up. I found the control phone, stopped the ringing and remembered Chuck saying there was a button to open the gate. I tried several (sure as pictures of keys flashed and it beeped that I was somehow locking it) and finally got the car gate to open. 15 minutes later I was running feeling so proud of myself . Getting back in was no problem.
Later when I saw Chuck I told him about trying to get out and how I figured it out and how I was kind of proud of myself and he said 'That is the AFS way'. He said it's how it is as an AFS student, particularly at the start of the year, and you are wondering how to do something and your host family is asleep. Even trying to do simple things like find how to turn on or off a light. I thought it was funny and it made me remember some times with Gesi, Lennie, and Kati (our German Au Pair that lived with us for a year).
