universe: 1, sara: 0

And just to keep things in balance, our new washing machine has somehow brought an infestation of bugs. My arachnophile friends Kim and Ken, have brought to my attention the existance of a Turkish cockroach. Despite having only ever seen cockroaches in the zoo, I'm inclined to believe that my bathroom is the new home to several hundred (maybe even thousand!) cockroach friends. Of course I'm exaggerating, but after watching little bugs scurry all over my bathroom floor and walls, it wouldn't matter if there were four or four thousand. All are equally creepy and gross. Maybe it's time to get a cat or a lizard. Or maybe a cockroach-eating human-friendly spider of some sort. We had a similar problem at the old apartment; I think they had made a nest in the wood by the door, because I would often see them creeping in or out of the wood doorstop. After a couple of floor-flooding showers I didn't see so many of them, but I also adopted a policy of only using the bathroom when completely necessary and waiting a minute or so after turning on the light, so they would know I was coming and would all appropriately hide. After coming to this arrangement, my only qualm with the bathroom at the old house was the lack of toilet. That, unfortunately, was not as easily amendable as turning on the light a minute before entering the room.

This week begins the hell that is the residence permit. Today, Tuesday, I'll be accompanying some friends to the police station to translate for them at their meetings with the "foreigner's desk". I'm actually rather concerned because no one has really received a straight answer on what is necessary. I'd hate to have to come back again and again every week just to find a new problem has popped up. Many of the other Erasmus students have already gone, with limited success. My personal appointment is on Thursday, so I'm trying my best to view this trip as dress rehersal. I've already been issued a residence permit, so I'm a little concerned that this will be a big problem. If one has already received a permit and is applying for another one, the police station wants a photocopy of all necessary pages as well as the original and the number. I, of course, have put the damn thing in a box somewhere in Colorado. Thus, I have neither the original, a photocopy, or the number. I've indicated that it has been lost on my paperwork, but I'm sincerely hoping it won't be a problem.

My Russian class is looking to be equally complicated. The class for which I'm registered, LAN 431 Advanced Russian, has only two students in it. Apparently the other student isn't an advanced Russian speaker. This leaves me and the teacher. The teacher, an Estonian with a strange accent, only speaks Russian and Turkish. Between the two of us there's enough knowledge to hold a relatively successful conversation, but not nearly enough for me to inform him of what, precisely, we have covered in the last year with Luc. He seems to think I'm somewhere in first year. Regardless, he doesn't seem too keen on holding a class for two students. He's asked me to attend the level 1 class. The very, very beginning class. Where they'll apparently be learning the alphabet for a month. I'm happy to come and help out, but where is MY class? Do I get to learn anything? I need the practice, I need the review. Maybe we can work something out. However, until then, the score remains Universe 1, Sara 0.

sorry for any typos in this post. I typed it this morning in notepad, but the blogspot update doesn't seem to recognize the imported text as wrong.