Creepy Critters

Alison and I broke bug sighting records today. Typically, we find one to two large insects each day. This morning, in an attempt to escape drowning from the downpour, six cockroaches crawled into our kitchen only to greet death in a different way: Baygone (Bolivian Raid). O.k., make that seven, Alison just screamed.

Just the other day, I shook out my jeans and a cockroach fell out of the leg and scurried behind my door. Recently, four of us were chatting in the living room when as Alison recounts "a look of sheer horror" came on my face. Rising above our heads, an oversized cricket leaped to the height of the ceiling and hovered in the air. However, it wasn't jumping, it was flying. Apparently crickets come with wings in Bolivia. Grabbing my digital, I recorded the event, as four freaked out friends dodged the swooping manouvers of the insect. Two more flew in, like miniature bats crashing the party, later on in the evening.

Mulititudes of small ants, burrowing termites in the bathroom, and centipedes who's bodies truly earn the right to have one hundred legs are just of few of the creepy critters that add so much "joy" to our lives. Groups of geckos congregate on the roof of our porch every night, but they bring an exotic appeal. Gatherings of other gross creatures cause us to fill the air with toxic fumes of insecticide and delight in the death dances of the imposters.

Meanwhile, at the girl's home, I am confronted with two tick infested dogs and the problem of lice. Surprisingly, I don't live in a state of heebie jeebies all the time. My skin isn't constantly crawling and my reactions to the ghastly bugs are "fairly" calm. Forget Texas, the bugs are definitely bigger in Bolivia! Forget American Airlines, when I go back to Canada, I'm flying Jiminey Cricket...with a lot more leg room and allowance for luggage too. By the way, make that eight, Alison just screamed again.