independence

When I moved to my village this summer, there was talk of me moving into my host families main house during the winter because then I wouldn't need to use my soba.
"No." I said. "I prefer the independence of living a little separate. I need it."
They just looked at each other and smiled. She has no clue what she's getting into, I'm sure they though.
Well, the winter is just what I would have expected of a normal wisconsin winter and since I've lived through those, I've lived through this one fine.
My plumbing, however has not.
The third time the pipes to my bathroom froze, I realized I had to come to terms with my need for independence. So during the coldest part of the winter (so far) I ended up using my gazda's bathroom for a week and taking bottles of water up to my bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.
As it started warming up and the bathroom water unfroze, my gazda graciously offered for me to continue using their shower instead of taking a shower in my barely-above-freezing bathroom.
So I said, "The h with independence" and now take luxuriously warm showers in piping hot water.
Sometimes independence is overrated.