Living with a Gecko in Thailand

I am currently living in a faculty dorm at Naresuan University in Phitsanulok, Thailand which is a one hour flight north of Bangkok. I was invited back for my third stint as a visiting professor. The faculty are lovely and it is always an adventure. A fascinating country.

When I arrived I noticed to my horror a gecko in my apartment. When I asked what could be done to “take care of”  this situation (that is, how to catch or murder a gecko), I received blank looks. It was suggested politely that I would have to learn to live with him.

And so I am trying. He hid for a few days but I was told – Nope he is not gone. He is just hiding. I learned that was true the other evening when I went to pull the cord to open the curtain. I nearly caught him with my hand to the surprise of both of us. He was resting along the cord, hidden by the curtain.

The scream I let out would have been the same if attempted murder had occurred in my apartment. No one came to my door to check on me in this 9-story apartment building. I did manage to survive.

The majority of people living in Thailand are Buddhists. Reincarnation is a pervasive belief here and it does not necessarily mean you come back as a person. So I am alone with this gecko for the next several weeks. I’ve named him Harold.