Bed Bugs, Bees, and Bad Dreams

Ralph: not, in fact, a lizard
So, there has been this rustling sound in my room that I have, for the past 5 weeks, been attributing to a giant lizard that I happened to see scurrying under my door one day. I had become used to the sound waking me up a couple of times during the night, as I heard the pitter patter of little feet crawling across my bedroom curtains. The other day, I awoke and decided to carpe diem, and threw open my curtains to let in the equatorial sun. Much to my surprise, I was greeted by a little mouse resting in the top nook of the drapes.

Ralph the mouse: not a lizard.

Aghast, I jump back and recalled the fond five weeks that I’ve spent thinking there was just a lizard in my room. This discovery has left me befuddled. Should I let Ralph continue to inhabit my curtains and belongings for the 5 weeks I have left in training, or should Ralph be a victim of a non-lethal mousetrap (because that’s all that’s available at my grocery store)? I woke up in the middle of the night last night to scurrying and watched Ralph crawl around my room, from behind my mosquito net, for about five minutes. Ralph needs to go.


Bees! Bees Everywhere!
Last week, I traveled to Bushenyi with a fellow PC trainee to shadow a current Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV). The point was to see what it’s like in the shoes of a real life volunteer. This PCV works with bee farmers and a company called Bushenyi Honey. They sell the best honey in Uganda. I got to see the business in action! I attended a board of directors meeting (not in English), bottled just shy of 1,000 jars of honey, and worked in a room…full of thousands of buzzing bees! I kept thinking of the part in Tommy Boy, where Chris Farley jumps out of the car yelling,

“Bees! Bees everywhere! Save yourself…don’t be a hero!”

When it came time for us to return to Wakiso via Kampala, we were not looking forward to the 7-hour ride on a jam-packed bus. Eating dinner the night before our departure, we met a nice Japanese girl who worked for the Japanese Embassy in Kampala. Turns out, she was going back to Kampala the same time we were…but she had a car…and a driver. So, instead of a 7-hour trip on a cramped bus, we hooked a ride with the Japanese Embassy and made it back to Kampala in 5 hours. Score!

PS – I saw a wild zebra on the side of the road outside of Mbarara. Pretty cool.

I had a cheeseburger in Kampala. It was glorious.

Bed Bugs
Bugs. In my bed. 50 + bites over my body. Not fun.
My room was sprayed, mattress aired in the sun, and all of my sheets/clothes washed. I am once again bed bug free…for now.
That’s all I have to say about that.

Night Terrors: Just Another Side Effect
My malaria medicine has some super duper side effects. These include, but are not limited to the following: stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, insomnia, vivid dreams, night terrors, dizziness, hallucinations, confusion, and psychotic episodes.

Awesome.

So far, I have only had one night terror. I jumped out of bed all of a sudden, convinced that something had stung me. I spent the next 30 minutes inspecting my body for evidence of the sting with my headlamp. It took me 45 minutes to realize that it was a dream.
The more that I take this medicine (Mefloquine), the less I sleep and the more vivid dreams I have each night. I should probably get my meds switched, but I’m curious as to what my psychotic episode will be like.

Sugarcane
I had sugarcane for the first time! My host mom bought a giant stick of it for the kids and I to have. You cut the outside stalk part off, and then chew on the inside. It’s watery, spongy, and sweet. After you chew on it and get all the good juice out, you spit out the remainder. Messy, but good.


Job: Complain much?
I am so glad that the book of Job is over in my “Bible in 1 Year” study. That’s all.