The Most Unwelcome Guests

July 15, 2013

Most of you who have seen my facebook already know about this little story but for those who have not I might as well explain what happened. This weekend I stayed in site because I wanted to spend some time with the host family and a bunch of my host aunts and uncles and cousins were coming to visit. In addition to all of these family members, I also had the pleasure of hosting some fabulously unwelcome guests in my room. The first night I walked into my room and saw some weird splatter looking marks on my wall, upon a closer glance I noticed it wasn't the paint peeling like I had thought but in fact thousands upon thousands of chiggers (small red ticks that can hardly be seen). Then I started examining my bed and naturally of course it was full of these nasty blood sucking little monsters. I quickly took some gorilla tape and tried to trap as many of them as I could. It was beyond foul but strangely a little rewarding to look on the backside of the tape and gleam with pride at the number of buggers I had trapped and then to make three-point shots of tape basketballs into my trashcan. I thought I had gotten them all but right before going to bed I looked to my  bed with disgust and noticed that once again my bed was full of chiggers.... I didn't even let my pup sleep in the bed with me since the last time but even though he had been sleeping on the floor, my bed was pressed against the wall so as the chiggers fell off my pup they climbed their way up the walls and then promptly made themselves comfortable in my bed.... I guess I will be doing another thorough cleaning as well as leaving my dog outside for the rest of his natural life- no matter how much it breaks my heart to see him with those precious puppy dog eyes. In addition to waking up the next morning with chiggers all over my body I also received a prompt scolding from my family for letting my dog sleep in my bed with me.... but. but. he's so cuteeeee..... never again. Pulling bugs off of literally every part of my body is not how I enjoy spending my mornings. 

The following night my room was host to a much more unwelcome guest. Right before dinner I decided to change into my PJ's and spray on another layer of bug repellent when my host sister walked in to tell me something and promptly pulled  me out of the room and pointed behind me next to my bed and there just hanging out was an adorable little snake, minus the little and the adorable part. I ran out of my room and told my host mom about my little friend and she ran into the room and then pushed me back and told me to run to my neighbor's house to grab his machete to come and kill it. It was confirmed by my host mother, whose opinion I trust in matters of campo life that the snake was in fact poisonous and it was "bravo" meaning it was bold but really what it meant to me was holy crap this thing is trying to bite me... luckily for me though my neighbor came over and quickly hacked the thing in a million pieces, then proceeded to hang it from a tree near the street. Apparently they do that here to warn everyone else in the area that there are poisonous snakes around. I still don't know how the thing got into my room though... my door was shut the whole day but since I just have cement blocks for windows without any screens or anything I suppose it could have weaseled its way in that way. I am fine though and so is everyone else... thank GOD my host sister saw it before I went to sleep or it could have slithered its way into my ear or something, or killed the pup.... just another pleasant reminder that I am in fact living in the jungle and not enjoying the safety and security of life back in the states. Also I am going to be a lot more vigilant about making sure there are no monsters under my bed before going to sleep....