Bugs and more

Three more short bug stories for you.  First, when I was preparing some potatoes for dinner the other day, I set them aside after washing them.  I then started chopping them into smaller chunks and before I could make it to one of the potatoes, a little worm popped out of it and began wriggling around on the counter.  Since this is the second time this has happened--the first time was weeks ago with an eggplant--I didn't jump out of my skin like I did then.  I guess I'm showing some maturity even if it's just a slight bit.

Second, last night Doug discovered a centipede in our bathroom just minding his own business.  I was so grateful that it was Doug that did the discovering and that it was found before we went to bed (otherwise, I may have discovered him in the middle of the night on accident).

And third, on Saturday I sent Selah to the neighbor's house to return a dollar that was owed them.  She went but came running home about one minute later sobbing.  She said that something bit her and I immediately thought it might have been their dog.  Much to my surprise, it was not the dog but some bug she said that had crawled on her leg and got her through the little black pants she was wearing. Looking under the pants at her thigh we couldn't see broken skin but we could tell that she was developing a bruise in that spot.  Interesting.  I called my pickle-canning friend Susan and told her the situation since she is also a trained nurse.  Since she was not in Shell at the time, she suggested that I contact our mutual friend who also is a nurse and lives just up the road from us.  So, we called April and asked if we could meet up with her in front of a third friend's house where we could find some more wisdom from Melanie who has lived here in Ecuador her whole life.  Between the three of us, maybe we could discern what this mystery bug was. 

So, Selah and I headed out the door and within five minutes we were in the street, in a huddle over my girl assessing the damage and brainstorming possibilities.  Birgit, another friend who saw us outside her window joined our group and between the four of us, we decided that it was not overly concerning--we didn't know if it was an ant, a spider, or a wasp, but we did notice that Selah was quite content eating a pear and seemed to not be in much pain.  In the end, they suggested I walk over to a local doctor's house (who I had never met previously) and ask him his thoughts.  I did and he was kind enough to give his diagnosis.  He believed that was not a worrisome situation and that she'd be just fine.  Today, now three days later, all has healed and she doesn't even remember it since she's had other scrapes and bruises since then that have captured her attention. 

So, though bug #1,000,000 (or so it seems) has left his mark on us, we're going to prevail and carry on anyway.  I have to tell you though that as someone at the market today was chatting with me I had to smile.  He's here visiting from the States and asked how I was managing with the relocating to Ecuador.  I reported having a hard time with bugs.  He smiled and reminded me that I live in the jungle.  I smiled back.  Oh, yeah.  Did I expect anything different?  I forget that I'm the invader, not them.  May I have more patience (and be able to keep the most incredible bug collection as I capture them all!)

thanks for reading,
Blessings,
kim