Kafka!Night

[rebness]

I went to a barbecue on Saturday, which isn't all that notable except for the part where it was overseen by an Argentinian friend. By God, my pathetic English barbecues will never be the same again. Mmm. 

Anyway, drama of the weekend was when the neighbours called the police (again, not all that notable -- for some infuriating reason, Barcelona residents don't knock and tell you to keep it down, but will call the police at the slightest sound). We left in the early hours of the morning to get the nightbus back into the city centre. 

I believe that was when my friend Louise started singing La Cucaracha. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "Why are you singing that?" I asked. 

"Because," she said, "There's a cockroach. And there's one over there. And one there. Oh, and over there..." 

Internets, I screamed my damned head off. Understand, I had up until this point never seen a live cockroach, ever. They're just so big and fast and oh my, I knew to expect them in Spain, but they freak me the hell out. My skin was crawling as I watched them skittering about the road. Louise told me to calm down, because my flat "would definitely, definitely have them." 

Sleeping hasn't  been a problem since. At all. o_O

Comments

[ozfille]

I assume the barbecue was no place for a vegetarians. My memories of Argentinian and less so Brazilian barbecues were that the load of meat eaten by most participants was humungous and I come from one of the chief barbecuing countries. Ths slabs of steaks hanging over the side of the plates, the infinite variety of sausages and body parts eaten in Argentina boggles the mine. I wonder how vegetarians survive in Argentina.

As for cockroaches well here they grow to about 7 to 8 cm and they fly as well as scuttle everywhere. I remember as a child a cockroach ran across my forehead in bed and ran up my body across my shoulders and down again while I was doing my homework. My parents' house backs onto a storm water drain where they breed. At night you can hear them in between the walls, they crawl up from under the house and scratch and scratch. Needless to say I never do sleep well at my parents' house. All the insecticide sprayed seems to make no difference to their numbers. Do you know the children's band, the Wiggles? They were once a not particularly successful pub band called The Cockroaches. Their name said it all in explaining their popularity.*g*

[rebness.livejournal.com]

You're right - it was very meat-heavy. When I've held or attended barbecues before, there have been plenty of veggie options, but not so this time. The British and French guests brought some salad, potato salad and rice with them but the main barbecue was all these weird and wonderful cuts of meat, heavy on the beef and utilising every part possible. It was really interesting.

Oh my God. If I heard a cockroach scratching in my flat, I would run screaming, I swear. I'm used to my bugs being swat-friendly (have I just discovered an advantage to coming from nothern Europe? Yes, yes I have).

How do you control them, anyway? Do you have to set special traps? *Shudder*

I couldn't imagine going to see a band with such a horrid name, either. ;)

[ozfille]

have I just discovered an advantage to coming from nothern Europe?

The advantage will only be temporary as global warming advances so will the inevitable tide of cockroaches advance northwards, just as the ugly cane toads advance south in Oz.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Do you know, and I swear this is true, that I have weighed up the pros and cons of global warming back home. I realised that, scorchio aside, being at sea level probably didn't help. Above all, the idea of more mosquitoes and cockroaches and big hairy spiders terrifies me more than the idea of being flooded.

To Greenland!

[ozfille]

But the glaciers of Greenland are all melting, it will be awfully soggy.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Cockroaches, sogginess... I'm stuck between a roach and a soft place.

Ahahahaa. I slay myself.

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

HA HA.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

You won't be so smug come winter! >:O

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

But I won't scream like a little girl if there are spiders in my shower. :D

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

(Because I'm a REAL WOMAN.)

[rebness.livejournal.com]

REAL WOMEN scream at spiders, faint and then come to, fanning themselves dramatically. Huh!

[saffronlie.livejournal.com]

Whatevs. Real women crush cockroaches underfoot. And drive manual cars. And bake quiche.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

Mmm, quiche.

I can't make quiche. :(

[jaffacakequeen.livejournal.com]

i haaaate cockroaches, the day will come when they hit the british shores. the invasion is coming. i am so scared of them they are mean, hard and evil. to big to crunch under foot too. get loads of Raid and bug stuff. spare no mercy, each and everyone deserves to die!

i hope i dont come back as one. urrgh i am shivering thinking about them.

[rebness.livejournal.com]

:O

I can't even bear the idea of them crunching underfoot! I swear I'm moving to Finland or something come the Day of the Cockroaches!