Gettin' buggy with it.

Let me start by saying that I am not afraid of bugs. I am not exactly a bug enthusiast, but I'm also not the type to run screaming when something buzzes in my ear. I was a camp counselor and a Peace Corps Volunteer; I can handle bugs with the best of them. But I have to admit that the bugs here in Costa Rica are starting to BUG me. Maybe it is because of the way they invade our everyday life:

• ants the size of grains of sand that somehow find their way into EVERYTHING - and then BITE!
• big, fluttery things that get stuck between the curtains and the window and make a buzzing sound all night long
• mosquitoes and "no-see-ums" that have turned the kids into itchy-twitchy little things

Or maybe it's because they are also finding their way into places that are surprising and startling:

• like the larvae that fall from the ceiling all over the floor of the shower
• or the cockroaches that scuttle away in the kitchen when you turn on a light
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• or the giant fire ants that suddenly appear in droves right where you just sat down in the grass

On the other hand, some of the bugs here are just amazing. The giant black and red grasshoppers are too cool for words. The butterflies are more magnificent than I could have imagined.





And don't forget the lizards - who are plentiful here because there are so many yummy bugs to eat. Just this week we discovered a red-headed gecko living in the tunnel we walk through to get to the school each day.



I am looking forward to a life with fewer bugs back in the States (not having to put all cereal in the refrigerator to protect it from bugs and not waking up in the morning with new ant bites in weird places). But I am also appreciative of all the cool things I've gotten to see (the pair of giant, yellow tiger swallowtail butterflies flitting past us on our walk across campus this morning comes to mind). Just another chapter in our on going series... a little sacrifice yields some big gains.