Since coming to UW- Eau Claire I have always lived with men. And with two younger brothers, my father and I, it seems male-centric attitudes and humor have always dominated the place I live.

But a few months ago I was given the chance to move into a duplex with two female roommates. Although I was nervous, I needed a place to live and sometimes change can be good.

Although different, I cannot say sharing a space with women is completely new to me. I used to spend significant time at my ex-girlfriend’s house. I also had the awkward experience of sharing a room with my younger sister until I was 14-years-old, and I’m talking bunk beds.

But I was still anxious about living with women I didn’t know.

Would I be too messy for them? Do women like to leave the toilet seat up or down? Would having a male in the house just make things awkward?

Well, a month and a half later, I can say having two female roommates is not that much different than living with two men. Thankfully my roommates are not obnoxiously clean or awkward and luckily I have my own bathroom so I don’t even need to worry about the toilet seat.

The real differences lie in the little things.

Living with women has introduced me to a new range of vocabulary I hadn’t been used to. The most popular word in my house is “Ewwww.” If I had ever heard any of my old, male roommates utter an “Ewwww,” they would have been mercilessly teased by the rest of the house.

I have noticed living with women means less refrigerator space for me as well. I used to only compete with my roommate’s bacon and six-packs for fridge space. Now I have to fight for any space available amongst the vast amounts of veggies and yogurt.

My roommates really like to entertain their fellow girlfriends, so the most feminine time of the week around my house is on Friday and Saturday nights. I will admit, I talk and act differently during a night of playing “Just Dance” with a room full of women, than I do when I’m playing guitar and spades with my guy friends.

There are times I wish I could duck out of my own house though. My roommates like to ridicule the way I play “never had I ever,” a party game where people list things they have never done.

Apparently I don’t get it, and saying I have never thrown rocks at children is not an appropriate “never have I ever” answer according to my roommates who take the game very seriously.

However, when it really comes down to it, living with two women is not that strange.

Pleasant, friendly people will be friendly and pleasant regardless of their gender. I will always be the new guy around my house, but I am happy I found some roommates I can coexist with.

After all, I am sure I could have done much worse.