There are zillions......and zillions of bugs in Africa: big ones, tiny ones, fat ones,and skinny ones; crawling, flying, skeetering, hopping, slithering, and scurrying; every kind imaginable and some you could never even imagine. Yesterday there was a stick hanging on our patio railing. When Gary told me it was an insect I didn't believe him. Then I looked closer. Sure enough, it had two beady little eyes but other than that it looked EXACTLY like a twig. We see lots of earthworm-looking bugs, except they have lots of tiny little legs like centipedes. They are anywhere from 4 to 5 inches long and about as big around as Gary's thumb. The butterflies are numerous and we even saw a florescent bright green snake on one of our morning walks--but that's not an insect.
We share our apartment with bugs. It's supposed to be somewhat airtight and we have screens at every window (which are never opened anyway), and yet, somehow, every morning we wake up to bugs of all kinds in every window sill, in every room, and all over the floors. We have even taped some of the windows all around the sills and openings, but to no avail. When we lived in Nkwabeng, they didn't really show up as much because the floor was a painted speckled cement, much like garage floors at home. But here in our new apartment, the white and grey marble floors show everything. So every morning we either sweep or vacuum the residue of bugs left from the night before.
Because all of the compounds have bright security lights that are turned on every evening and off at dawn, the bright lights attract the bugs. Especially after a storm, there are literally thousands and thousands piled outside under the lights.
When we go on our morning walks, they are everywhere. Some are actually really interesting. Most are just annoying. The mosquitos don't bother Gary much, but they seem to love my skin, so I am constantly itching. Because malaria is contracted from a mosquito bite, we take a "doxy" (doxycycline) pill every morning. It isn't 100% effective, but it's supposed to help with the severity if you do contract malaria. The pills sometimes make you a little dizzy and they initiate the most unusual and weird dreams. The malaria-carrying mosquitos only come out at night, so we lather up in bug spray if we are out after dark.
Potty Talk: African bathrooms (if you have a bathroom) are called "washrooms" and are really unique. They are a series of three rooms. The first is kind of a parlor or entry. Most of these are at least a 6 x 8 or 9 and have a sink with a mirror. But remember you can't get any water into your mouth, so we also have to have a bottle of purified water on the sink so we can brush our teeth. Off of this room, there is a step up and over and two long rooms adjoining it. One is for a large walk-in shower with two shower heads, and the other is for the toilet. The sink area is relatively, but not completely, bug-free. The other two are disasters! I have to take the hand-held shower head and rinse all the bugs down the drain each morning before showering. I refuse to share the shower with any bug.
The toilet area is another matter. African toilet paper is just a step up from from fine grade sandpaper and the inside cardboard tube is twice as big as at home, so you have half as much paper on a roll. If we ever get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, we are careful to check before going, because the toilet room always has an assortment of all kinds of critters, flying, crawling, or just the creepy kind.
All in all, I'm quite proud of the adjustment I've made in the bug area. Before coming to Africa, even the sight of a tiny bug would freak me out. Now, they're just an irritation--no big deal. It's amazing how one's perspective can change, especially if there's no other alternative but to relax and accept the inevitable.
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