A nomad friend just posted a Facebook video of one of the most disgusting AirBNBs I've ever seen, down in Tonga. And just like that, Thanksgiving takes a whole new twist on me. I'm SO THANKFUL for a home.
In my first month as a nomad, I spent 3 days trying to get the landlord to agree to give me my money back on my beautiful AirBNB apartment that suddenly had a cockroach infestation (the space was AMAZING, but they came in from another suite on my third day & doubled daily).
I once lost half my rent because it was my first, and last, Craigslist rental (Mexico) because I didn't think that just because "rats are normal in Mexico" meant it was okay that one came into my apartment just after midnight one night. I was moved out by two, refund or not,
Then there was the place I rented off a famous blogger in Oaxaca where there were all regular big black cockroaches in the halls. But you learn they're the good ones because you can kill 'em. The little brown ones are fast-multiplying motherfuckers.
I had the brown cockroaches in San Miguel de Allende -- the same apartment where the scorpion crawled out of the sink drain and headed toward me while I was washing a glass. I killed it and SCREAMED SO MUCH and then I washed the glass again.
There's twice that I rented apartments with "real beds" only to find out they were nothing better than a camp cot and had to put the mattress on the floor.
There's the time a 3-inch spider raised toward me in a toilet in Cambodia and I screamed like a girl and ran out of the stall with pants down. Never use a dark toilet in Southeast Asia. NEVER.
Then there's the bus trip from Tirana to Sarajevo where I went to the women's bathroom -- squat floor toilets -- and vomited upon entry because THE THINGS I SAW BUT SHALL NEVER SPEAK OF made Trainspotting's Worst Toilet In Scotland look like a fucking glam spa.
Of course, there were numerous friendly geckos that hung out in kitchens and ate pests. They were fine.
I also had a dead raven on my step in Sicily and a snake on my stoop in Laos.
I also had a dead raven on my step in Sicily and a snake on my stoop in Laos.
So, what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? My home. A good apartment management company. A comfortable bed. No threat of scorpios. No bugs seen inside this apartment since the day I moved in 6 weeks ago. No countdown to the next travel itinerary. That's what I'm thankful for.
@threadreaderapp Unroll, please.
