Friday, June 1, 2012

Bed Bugs and Geckos...Among Other Things


Just a few days ago I discovered a pattern of small itchy bumps all over my legs and feet.  At first I thought they were mosquito bites, but then I remembered that I wear jeans and tennis shoes almost every day, which would mean mosquitoes have no access to my legs or feet during the day.  After thinking some more about the bumps, I realized that I only seem to be getting bitten at night.  Hmmmm....what have we here??  During language class I ended up talking about these small bumps with one of my fellow PC trainees and she said that she had the same thing.  We gave the doctor a ring and what does he say??....BED BUGS!  Naturally I am terrified of this news and am not sure how to deal with the information.  I just went home after language class, lay in my bed bug infested bed and cried my little heart out.  I eventually ended up falling asleep on my tear-soaked pillow and about an hour later, my sister called and woke me up.  She ended up making me feel a lot better about the situation (she always knows just what to say).  In a nutshell here is what she told me: everything within the realm of my transition from the US to Rwanda has gone perfectly smooth.  I made it safely with all of my luggage, I have an amazing host family, unlike some of the other volunteers, I don't have snakes or rats, and my language training is going quite well.  In lieu of moving to another country and starting a new life, something is bound to go wrong; and if I really think about it, things could really be much worse.  Yes, bed bugs are annoying.  You can't see them, they itch like crazy, and they are tough to get rid of, but I am alive and well.  I am not sick.  And above all, I'm in Africa living out a dream that not many people get the opportunity to live out.  Regardless of the bed bugs, I am blessed and still grateful.  Hey, not too many people can say that they've experienced the bed bugs...IN AFRICA!

To get rid of the bed bugs (or fleas; after seeing the patterns of bumps, the doctor is unsure of what they are): 
I was told to mop my room floor with boiling salt water, clean the corners of the walls with boiling salt water, sit my mattress out in the sun all day, wash my sheets and linens in boiling water and iron them once they dried, and wash all of my clothes in boiling water.  This sounds like A LOT of work, and indeed it was!  Hand washing everything absolutely sucks and mopping with a squeegee isn't exactly on my list of fun things to do.  The process took FOREVER and I'm not even sure if it worked or not.  I hadn't gotten bitten the last couple of nights, but now as I sit in my bed typing this blog, I'm feeling some itching and seeing some small red bumps rise up on my tummy :(  I was told that the mattresses we have in our rooms were brand new, which means that the bed bugs (or fleas) that are attacking me at night are in the house, not just in my bed--meaning no matter how much I clean my room, they can still come back from the rest of the house! The Dr. also said that they can come from animals.  The other girl who has bed bugs has a chicken, some goats, and a cow.  My family just has a cat...so if it is fleas, I guess at least I know who the culprit is.

Now for the geckos.  These little guys are all over the place; on the walls of every room of every building (but they aren't so bad because they eat mosquitoes and other annoying house critters).  I have been fairing just fine seeing a gecko every now and then...that is, until I saw one on the dinner table!!  When I was setting the table for dinner, I did a double take and saw a pale gray colored gecko just sitting next to the beans!  I yelled, "mama!!!" and of course my host mom came running.  She saw the gecko, and if I'm not mistaken, I think she was just as scared as I was!  She ran to grab her "broom" (just a bushel of leaves and branches) and went for the gecko.  It ran to the edge of the table and my mama gave it a flick with her finger while making a small shriek at the same time.  The whole time I'm cracking up because once she flicks the little guy onto the floor, all she keeps saying is "Utuyehe? Utuyehe? (Where is he? Where is he?)  I'm trying to point my finger and flashlight in the same direction as the gecko and she's flinging her "broom" around trying to fling the gecko through the front door.  That definitely gave me a good laugh for the day.  My mama really does crack me up.

Love and Peace Corps,
Dametreea




(Written on 5/22/10 at 9:31pm)

2 comments:

  1. wow! I don't know how you are doing it, I got chills just hearing the words bed bugs. I'm itching right now. As I read about your adventures I can't help but think how far God has taken you. You are conquering all your fears and you have been blessed to be apart of an amazing loving family who by the way I am growing to love just reading about them. I feel you have the three main comforts of home which are love, laughter and tears. I Love u Much..MY little HERO. Mommy #1

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    1. I love you and miss you mom!!!! I can't wait for you to come and meet my host family! You and the mama are going to love each other!

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