Welcome To Australia

So my first semester in Australia was absolutely amazing! It was exactly what I didn't know I needed til I got here. I spent the first half living in a dorm style living facility, which is the Aussie version of American fraternities/ sororities. I loved every second but in the end the shared bathrooms and level of cleanliness became a deal breaker for me. I had one too many nights of hunting around for a bathroom with toilet paper, or finding a sea of urine or vomit left in the wake of drunken party goers. I applied to move to what is heralded as the best place to live at Macquarie University aka The Village. And after going home for the holidays I returned with high expectations. A house to share with four other roommates, my own CLEAN bathroom, and finally a 'student kitchen' that actually has more than a microwave and fridge... you know like an actual stove? :-) Yes. I was happy to be back after such a cold winter and happy for my first true experience having roommates.
Daydreaming of all the dinner parties I'd have, I put my guitar on my back and luggage in hand and headed to see my new abode. I'll admit that when I first walked in I experienced a moment of horror. I don't know if it was the beach sarong wraps on the ceiling which covered the light fixtures or if it was all the drinking posters on the walls that gave me pause. But all I know is that when I first walked in I thought, "Oh freakin' hell! I'm on the set of Van Wilder. " I half expected to find a snoring frat boy on the couch cluching an empty beer can when I peered into the living room, but no such luck. Since no one was around, I had time to start unpacking before the roommates arrived. Lucky for me it turns out I have fabulous roommates.... at least the two of the four that are currently in residence. And after meeting and talking to them I discovered that the posters and choice of decorations were their efforts to liven up the place. After seeing other apartments that have that sparse, just-moved-in look, our apartment decor has since grown on me.
What has NOT grown on my however are my other new roommates - namely the roaches and ants that are living rent free in my apartment. I've only begun to realize what a privileged life I've lived growing up in a pest/rodent free home. On my first day here, I spent a considerable amount of time trying to squash all the ants I could find. I think I did the job because I haven't found one in my room since. But it was on day two that the real welcome wagon came. I had rented a car for the weekend for moving purposes. On the second day of my arrival some friends and I decided to head into the city for a fun night out. Not wanting to wait for the bus, we decided to take the car to the train station and then head in from there. When we get to the car there is a huge hairy huntsman spider sitting on the roof. (And by huge I mean a good for or five inches wide). Not wanting to get in with it so close to the door we tried to get it off. But wow those suckers could run. Getting the spider off turned out to be a four person effort but in the end we got it on one side of the car while we jumped in on the other, while keeping it in sight. Imagine our surprise when returning from the city that we find the same freaking spider on the car! EXCEPT NOW THE SPIDER IS INSIDE THE CAR! Right behind the drivers seat on the window, no less. Needless to say it took well over an hour to complete operation 'Search and Destroy the Hairy Huntsman.' To top off the fabulous night, when I got home, I moved my laundry hamper in my bathroom only to find my first of two roaches so far. When I reported this to administration the next day, they laughed and asked, "were you scared?"

Only in Australia.