Sometimes There’s a Lizard in the Shower

When living in another country, so many things are different. One thing I’ve learned is that you have to appreciate the humor of the odd things you experience.

Have you ever woken up early in the morning, groggy and barely able to keep your eyes open, stumbled into the bathroom, turned on the shower only to find a lizard staring back at you? No? Is this something that only happens in my house?

I’m not sure how the little guy got there, but there he was, perched on the shower head like he owned the place. At first, I thought it might be a weird shower accessory but then it moved, and I realized that it was, in fact, a living, breathing, tail-wiggling lizard.

I’m not normally a person that would freak out at the sight of a small reptile, but I must admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled about sharing my shower with a lizard. What if it decided to crawl on me while I was washing my hair? Or worse, what if it fell off the shower head and onto my face? I shuddered at the thought. I think lizards are kind of cute but at a distance.

The lizard seemed pretty happy just hanging out up there so I decided to leave it alone and hoped it would find its way out of the bathroom on its own. I left the bathroom window cracked open to encourage this. I was also worried that one of my cats would get the bright idea that it would be fun to chase and kill the lizard and I didn’t want to encourage lizard murder.

So I gingerly stepped into the shower, keeping a close eye on my new reptilian roommate. And you know what? It wasn’t half bad; it was like having a little shower buddy to keep me company.  The lizard eventually got bored and scurried across the window sill in the shower and out the window.

My brother and niece recently visited us and my brother had a similar experience. When he mentioned it, I told him, “Yea, sometimes there’s a lizard in the shower. This is what happens when you live in northeastern Brazil.”