My Pet Lice

So today was a fun day, filled with lots of joy and sunshine and general happiness. Ha. Not.

I found at 1 a.m. that I got lice from my flatmates, and apparently my roommate did too but no one told me before she went home. Since all the pharmacies were obviously closed at that hour, I went to bed itchy and got up early to start treating it with stuff I bought at the chemist. I also had to buy new sheets, pillow, and comforter, since our director told my suitemates to do so. They have had lice for a couple days already and thus have been dictating my moves.

The worst is that they refuse to help me unless I cut off my hair. They actually said that their social schedule was too busy today, so they would only help comb through my hair to get rid of the eggs and lice if I got it cut off--otherwise, they wouldn't have time to see all of their friends. Needless to say, I didn't agree. Alice came over to help me, and hopefully she will tomorrow too. I called the API director, Finn, and she agrees that I do not have to do anything that drastic. She knew all of the scientific facts about lice, such as they will die within three hours of landing on the floor if hairs shed because of the drop in temperature. So really, the only places I need to worry about washing daily are my pillowcase, sheets, and shirts, and I have to be careful to wear my hair up in a bun, ponytail, or braid when I'm downstairs near the couches. She promised that if I keep washing it with the treatment and comb, this whole thing will be over by Wednesday. I can only hope she's right, because the tempers in this house are ready to ignite.

Anyway, that's the basic gist of today. Lots of itching and yelling. Alice, Jackie, and I went out for a while today, though, to see the National Museum in the city. We had heard that it was pretty lackluster, but I did think a lot of the artifacts there were interesting. They seemed to have a theme of showing numerous reproductions of traditional boats, but some other exhibits too. There was this odd corner that was completely dedicated to JFK...it was a little strange.

After that, Alice and Jackie wanted tea, so we found this cozy bakery on Shopstreet (the main road in the city center, where cars can't drive on the cobblestones) and holed up at a table upstairs. I got carrot cake, Jackie got a brownie, and Alice got a tartlet; we all shared bites and already decided what we're going to get next time we go there. The carrot cake was everyone's favorite, though, so they both decided they'd get that!

We had planned on having a movie night tonight, but Courtney was at a soccer tournament all day and didn't get back until too late. We had already rented three movies, though, but thankfully they're not due until Tuesday, so hopefully we'll get together tomorrow and watch them.

That was basically my day here. I vacuumed a lot and bleached lots of stuff and have done a zillion loads of laundry, but otherwise it was pretty normal. It's kind of weird to actually stay around here on the weekend--I keep thinking that today is Sunday, then I'm pleasantly surprised that it's not.

I'll keep you posted on the hair issue. Please cross your fingers that I don't have to do anything drastic! Good night.