Since then I've had a less than easy transition into the kiwi life.
The room I had rented was making me sick. I know it sounds weird, but I really think it was against me, like the room and I did not vibe. Almost immediately I became sick with a cold that refused to leave me alone. Then I got the flu. Then I got whopping cough. Then I became ridden with flea bites and had to dispose of my mattress. Then I discovered that a sound I had been previously excusing due to the age of the house was actually a rat living in my wall. That's when I decided it was enough, and found a new place. Before moving out though, I had to spend 3 weeks sleeping on the couch with the only personal space I could claim coming from a frigid room with just a lawn chair for me to sit on and a dead rat in the wall.
The flea thing was a hassle and a half.
It was two weeks before it sank in that the itchy dots on my body were flea bites. At first I thought I was just having an allergic reaction to something, or that maybe I needed to clean my sheets. The bites came in slowly, with just a few speckled here and there. By the time I got rid of my mattress, I had them littered all over my left arm, my legs, and my stomach.
It wasn't a sure thing that they were fleas at first. Bed bugs were going around Wellington since the beginning of the year, so initially that's what I dubbed them. However, once they spread to my flatmate's room and we had an exterminator come in, he proclaimed them fleas. Which, discovering after careful consideration, I probably inherited from the rat.
Disposing of my mattress cost me $80. Medication from the pharmacy cost me $20. My portion of the exterminator cost was near $40. The bug bombs that I purchased from the supermarket were $15. And in the end, I had to get rid of ALL my blankets. All of them.
That's right, my special trip across the city that I nearly became physically sick from? Worthless. The washing machine did not get hot water, and the dryer didn't get hot either. So I couldn't even attempt to salvage an extra duvet cover or pillow case, and I didn't dare keep anything that potentially had a hidden flea nesting in it.
That is, I didn't dare keep anything that potentially had a hidden flea nesting in it except for Duvey.
(JOKES guys, I haven't REALLY named my duvet cover...but the name just HAPPENS to keep reappearing throughout my stories...)
For the record, I don't ever bite or try to consume my duvet covers. That was just for the photo. You know, to be cute or what not.
So here I am in my new apartment, still in need of purchasing my own bed which will be over $100. Then of course I'll need to buy sheets and a duvet and... ow, my wallet! But in the end, I'm very happy to have that stage of my Wellington life behind me, and I look forward to this next chapter.
My new flat is also much closer to my job. While I was plagued with whopping cough, colds, and bug bites, I was also walking 50 minutes to and from work 5 days per week. Now I only walk a leisurely 25.
Cheers to a new stage of life, and new experiences to come!
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xxKa
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