Bom Dia

Hello hello, and welcome to the new blog!

To be honest, "new" is a bit of a misnomer; same title (but open to new ideas?), same writer (but hoping to post more often?).  I decided to start afresh mostly for practical reasons-- Google accounts and photo access and such.  But still, this new beginning feels nice and proves my subconscious refusal to give up on making writing a healthy habit.

Plus I have some good source material at the moment, as Shad and I have been living in Europe for about a month now.

When meeting up with cousin Hannah in Paris a few weeks ago, I gave her the run-down of how to travel as a poor newlywed couple.  And I thought, hey, I should blog that.  So I will tell you all my secrets!  But not today-- that's a post on its own.

For now, let me fill you in on what we're up to.


Shad and I are in Portugal for a couple of months as he completes an internship in a research lab at a local medical school.  He found out about this internship through BYU's Neuroscience department; they sent an email, he looked into it, we felt good about it, and now we're here!  We knew Shad's lab experience for his med school applications needed strengthening, and this internship has proved to be, in Shad's words, "legit" so far.  The project he is part of focuses on treating depression, but Shad spends most of his time working with these little beauts:

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Sometimes I'm afraid Shad will come home looking like Peter Pettigrew via too much rat exposure.  But so far the lab coat seems to be doing its job.

I've had some interesting animal encounters of my own on this trip!  It's a funny story...

So, Shad and I flew into Paris and spent some time there before coming to Portugal.  While in Paris, we received notification from the program that... somehow... wehadnohousingforJune.  So we had to hurry and find somewhere to stay for a month.  Naturally, we jumped on Airbnb-- well, Shad did.  I was half asleep at the time, which was our first mistake.

"K Whit.  I've found us a place that I think will work.  But they have a cat.  Is that a problem?"

"Hmmm-- You know I'm allergic to cats.  But whatever it'll be fine I don't care.  It'll probably stay in the other room."

"Are you sure??"

"Yeah uh huh fine it doesn't matter."

Idiot me.

But we had stayed in other Airbnbs with pets, and those pets did their own thing and left us alone.  Plus we needed something cheap.  Plus we were in a hurry.  Plus I'm tired so stop talking to me.

It was made pretty clear right after arriving that this dear, dear cat would indeed be a problem.

Problem #1: This cat owned the place.

As many Airbnbs are, our living space was a spare bedroom in a lady's apartment, and this apartment was quite small; in other words, there was no "other room" for the cat to stay in.  "Your space is my space," quoth the cat.

Problem #2: This cat craved attention.

Most people I know that own cats own the antisocial variety (at least when visitors come over), but this cat would follow you around, slither between your ankles, meow, meow meow outside your closed and locked door.

Problem #3: This cat was a demon.

As I went about my business in the apartment that first day, I noticed a few times that it seemed the cat was... jumping at me.  Like, I would turn my back to walk away from it, and in a split second the cat would be up in front of me, but only after a flash of gray in my periphery and light contact on my legs.  The more I paid attention, the more I realized the cat was jumping at me when I tried to leave, and getting some solid air, at that... which unsettled me.

It was only a matter of time before the inevitable happened.  The cat parked itself outside my bedroom door that night.  And as I tried to sneak my way in without granting access to kitty cat, it went in for the kill.  Attacking my legs!!!  I even caught a video.  I'm ashamed of my foul substitute language, so proceed with caution.

Problem #4: We had paid to stay at this place for a month.

I was not excited about dealing with this cat every single day of June.  But, that night I read up on cat behavior and learned that the cat was probably acting out because she was bored; her owner had been out of town for a few days (we hadn't met her yet).  The cat's aggression was mostly likely the "playful" kind based on what I had read, so perhaps she'd chill out if I gave her attention.  Problem was, I couldn't touch her without painful consequences due to my allergy.  What could be done?

Solutions #1 and #2:

I'll tell you what could be done: latex gloves and paper balls!  It was simple: I would toss balls of paper any time I needed the cat to go away from me (which totally worked, by the way).  And if the cat needed me to touch her, I could do so with a latex glove on.  See, simple.

Things were looking up on day two, but it was not to last.  That night, despite my best efforts to avoid cat hair, I started to react.  And significantly.  Facial hives, tight throat, wheezing breath, itchy arms, all of it.  So from midnight to 3 am, Shad and I found a new Airbnb and chatted with headquarters to see if we could get a refund.  I did not expect them to give a refund to the idiot who knew she is allergic to cats, but THANK HEAVENS I took that video of the cat going at me.  It turned out to be my get-out-of-jail-free card.

So, disaster averted, guys!  We spent the next two nights at another Airbnb before finally making it to a third Airbnb, the place we've been the past few weeks: a beautiful apartment near the university, just the two of us.

What Shad said he learned from the whole ordeal: "to put my wife above my wallet."

What I learned: that my opinion of cats has always been and will always be correct.

On a better note, here are some photos of a visit to lovely monastery (see first photo) and its accompanying gardens not far from where we're living this summer!