One with the Roach

When I began telling people about moving to Georgia to go to school the most common response seemed to always have something to do with the cockroaches that live in this area.  So even before I came here I was terrified of the supposed excessively large creatures.  When we finally arrived in Augusta last Tuesday, the first thing I made my parents do was pull out the bug spray and douse my new home.  Once we were sure the place was roach-free we began moving my things in.  My parents did a phenomenal job making sure my apartment was clean, livable and felt like home by the time they left on Friday.  I was and still am so grateful!

Then on Sunday morning while going to make my morning coffee, I pulled out my coffee machine and a small bug scurried up the wall to seek refuge between my kitchen cabinets and the wall.  He disappeared to quickly and we couldn't find him.  Roach 1; Netta 0.   Later on Sunday evening Jon and I were getting ready to go to bed, he was in the bathroom and I was in the hallway.  As we were talking, he would look up at the bathroom wall and then back at me.  After doing this a couple times, I ask 'Jonathan, is there a roach on the wall?!?'  He immediately said, 'No.' but then he smirked and his eyes began to dance and I knew he wasn't being truthful. I followed with, 'Jonathan you better kill that bug and get it off my wall!!!' Roach 1; Netta 0; Jon 1.

Monday rolls around and it is the first day of classes.  In our afternoon lab we learned to take vitals.  While practicing on each other I began asking some of the girls about the roaches here. They had quite the stories to tell.  One girl proceeded to tell me about people going to bed, waking up with roaches stuck in their ears and having to go to the hospital to get the roaches removed!  I was immediately terrified and asked if that only happened to people with poor hygiene.  They said that it doesn't matter if you have good or bad hygiene, it just depends on if your home has an infestation.  By this time I am freaked out. Roach 2; Netta 0; Jon 1.

After class I took Jon to the airport (tearful goodbye), went back home and did some studying.  Before going to bed I made sure I checked every crevice of my apartment, grabbed some cotton balls, stuck them in my ears and went to bed.  I didn't sleep very well that night and woke up repeatedly thinking about cockroaches crawling on my bed.  Roach 3; Netta 0; Jon 1.

By 4:30 AM on Tuesday morning I finally decided that enough was enough.  I needed to make peace with the fact that roaches are a part of life down here and I am going to need to get use to them.  So I proceeded to remove the cotton balls from my ear, set them on the night stand and began to say some prayers.  My prayers went something like this, 'Lord, please help me to not be terrified of the roaches.  I need to make peace with this creature I will be residing with for the next 16 months.  Jesus, please help me be at peace with the roaches; help me be one with the roach.'  After repeating these thoughts I finally fell asleep until my alarm woke me up at 6:30.  I woke up with a whole new outlook on the roach business and I am happy to say that last night I slept like a baby!  Roach 3; Netta 1; Jon 1.  I am staging a comeback!