The creepy crawlers have got to go!

While traveling a few years back in Africa, Tanzania to be exact my husband and I went on a nature hike with a Masai tribe member. He left his village to attend college, studying to become an ecologist. After graduating he came back to support his village as a nature guide. The walk was nice but a little unnerving to tell you the truth. I am not the most courageous person when it comes to snakes and I am allergic to bees, but other than that, I pretty much leave the bugs alone and vice versa. So bugs snakes weren't the problem. I thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of my surroundings and all the new information I was learning about the ecosystems. In fact I became stuck so some sticker bush during the hike and within a minute he had some goo on my finger that stopped the stinging and the bleeding for the thorn. But, having an armed guard dressed in OD green military gear carrying around a very old looking Russian type M16 to watch my six gave me the heebie-geebies. Whether he was protecting us from the bison or from from poachers or both is still a mystery to me.

Later in the evening back at the bar of the nature preserve we were staying at, our guide sat down with us, and a few of us bought him a round of beer. He was a handsome man and had a very pleasant personality. We enjoyed hearing about his childhood and how he repays his village by helping to buy supplies and teach them new natural farming and herding methods. Some where in the evening this incoming dung beetle smacks me in the arm. They are attracted to the lights of course and screens are only used as netting over your bed. As my leg and boot is poised strategically over the bug who’s has a poop eater as a past time hobby, Mr Masai scoops up the bug and tells me, “It is only a little beetle, he has done you no real harm, why not place him back outside into nature?” I told him he could be my guest and place Mr. Poopeater where he wanted as long as it was away from me. He continues to tell me about the circle of life and where/how Mr. Poopeater fits in. The whole time we are talking he’s playing with the bug. It’s crawling all over his hands, up and down his arms, etc. Now okay fine, you didn’t want me to crush the bug, but all these sanitary things go flying through my head while a man plays with a bug that eats poop, blech! La, asante Mr Masai guy! (Swahili for No thanks)

The point behind this is that the last few days it’s been a heat wave as far as Germany is concerned. Of course all my windows are open and without screens (nope the things I bought have not gone up yet) the creepy crawlers are everywhere. The words of this probably really wise Masai were running through my thoughts up until the point where I killed my 10th mosquito and my 15th wasp. I am sorry but since these can and do harm to me do I have free reign to smack the crap out of them?

Asante sana squashed banana…Did you know how many words from the Lion King were actual Swahili? It took me going to Africa to find out but there are quite a few. I learned a few others as well. I like languages, but I've been told I'm strange on a regular basis.