{"id":183384,"date":"2025-11-12T11:06:42","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T10:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=183384"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:58","slug":"shirtless-in-a-newly-built-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/11\/12\/shirtless-in-a-newly-built-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"Shirtless in a newly built kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got a message on LinkedIn from a guy with a Frisian name. \u201cHi Giselle, I think you had a parcel delivered to my address. You can come and collect it!\u201d Nearly two years ago, my housemates and I were thrown out on the street without warning, because even though we always paid rent, we had never been given a contract. I hadn\u2019t seen the apartment since.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>, \t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

I climb the three narrow staircases I once walked down every day. Another guy, with a name like Bas or Bram, opens the door and hands me the box with my blue top in it. I blink and ask if I can have a quick look at the living room. I haven\u2019t been here for so long. He agrees, but one of his housemates \u2013 Thijs or Teun \u2013 is walking around without a shirt. Do I mind?<\/p>\n

Two years ago, I lived here with an Egyptian musician who also liked to go shirtless. Especially in summer, when the intense sun streamed through the big windows and he was still recovering from his shift as a chef. I didn\u2019t mind. My other housemate, a Chilean-Irish artist, also liked to go around topless. I didn\u2019t mind that either.<\/p>\n

But the musician was startled: breasts, he said, were for private moments with lovers and\/or babies. The artist thought there was no difference between his chest and hers, and that his view of her body said more about him than about her. He agreed. Calm returned, along with the nipples. I preferred to keep my top on, but it was nice to feel that I didn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n

When I see this half-naked boy, there\u2019s a flicker of recognition, but otherwise everything feels different. Once there was a kitchen with an apr\u00e8s-ski look: a tiled counter, trinkets hanging from the extractor hood, and cabinets with stained glass. A bit shabby, perhaps, but I found it charming. Now there\u2019s a sleek, glossy kitchen, a huge sofa and football on TV. Altogether, the rent has gone up by 1,250 euros.<\/p>\n

The boys don\u2019t know how long they\u2019ll be able to stay in the flat. The owner wants to sell it. I walk back down the narrow stairs and leave the house that is no longer mine. This morning, I got a message from the artist. Tomorrow I\u2019ll have tea with the musician.<\/p>\n\n\t

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