I’m a young woman who took a trip to see Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris to celebrate my 22nd birthday. In Paris, I stayed in a lovely Airbnb and my host was an older French woman who lived alone.

I was initially shy despite her being quite welcoming. However, during my day spent at the Louvre museum, I decided to get her a card to express my gratitude. Funny enough, the card I picked out at the gift shop featured one of her favorite artists!

She was happy when I gave her the card me suggested that we share a drink that night. We spent an hour sitting at her kitchen table, with a view of the sprawl of the city, talking about relationships and plants and art and languages.

I asked her if she was married and if not, why?

She told me she had been married twice. Once was to the father of her daughter, and that she didn’t regret it because it’s better to have a child when you’re married. The second time was to an Algerian man whom she loved because he needed papers to stay in France. Both were understandable decisions but she wouldn’t do it again.

I shared with her my opinion that marriage for women is often servitude. She agreed. We talked about this unfairness and I even told her about how my generation is seeing a resurgence of the idea that women should submit to men.

It was really nice talking to her! I gave her a glowing review on the Airbnb platform and she gave me a review as well.

It’s always nice to learn from older women and their experiences :) I’m so grateful that I chose that place to stay.