Nighty Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let the Rabid Rats Bite

I haven't blogged in like over 10 days or so, I'm not sure. Did you even notice I was absent? No? That's ok. I had nothing to really blog about. School is in full swing, which includes lots of daily homework, nightly reading and flashcards. Oy.

I cannot complain. I have no right, no privilege to utter a single complaint after I share with you what my baby sister (she's 22), Kate, went through on Saturday. She is serving in the Peace Corps in Tanzania, Africa (I had to learn how to spell Tanzania once she got her assignment) for over 2 years. She will be educating the locals in her small village how to live healthier, prevent the spread of AIDS and other deadly diseases.

She was initially stationed in a family's home, a Mama and Dada (sister), aged 18. The dad (I don't know the Swahili word for dad) is a teacher who lives in the town that he teaches in, and returns home periodically. She was fortunate enough to have a wonderful, caring family, who killed all the cockroaches and spiders on her walls before she went to sleep. There was no running water or electricity in her quite humble, humble abode. She went to school during the day, learning Swahili at a local school with her Peace Corps counterparts.

Once this portion of the assignment is complete, Peace Corps moved her out to a remote village BY HERSELF. Her hut was a simple 2 room set up, a bedroom and living room, completely empty, again, no running water and no electricity. The door doesn't come to the top or bottom of the threshold. You're thinking I must have forgot to mention a kitchen or better yet, a bathroom. Nope. Neither. The potty is a hole in the ground, outside in a courtyard type place. They cook outside on stones with used corn cobs that are lit. The food is boiled in a kettle of some sort over the fire. She managed to find a mattress and a mosquito net. And that's it for home furnishings. No food, no pots or pans, she's got to go get all of that, somewhere. And it's not like there is a local Walmart nearby. She will have to get herself by foot or bike to the nearest town to purchase that kind of stuff.

So, her first night in her new place, she was slumbering as best as possible on the mattress on the concrete floor, when she heard a scuffle. She opened her languid eyes to see a RAT, who had climbed up to the top of her mosquito net, above her head. She screamed bloody murder and the RAT fell INTO BED WITH HER!!!!! INTO BED WITH HER~!!! Oh. My. God. I'm having the heeby jeebys just recounting the story! BLICK!!! She screamed louder as the rat landed in her bed.

So, she spent her first night, terrified and cold in her "living room", sobbing and hysterical. First she called my mom who didn't answer her cell phone because she probably didn't hear it ring inside her purse. Then she called me, and of course, I'm no help.

"Get a broom and..." I begin.

"I DON'T HAVE A BROOM!" she screams.

"Ok, can you throw a shoe at it?" I lamely offer.

"I'M NOT GOING BACK IN THERE! ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"Ok, in the morning, can you get some towels and duct tape them to the top and bottom of the door, so nothing can come in through those spaces." I advise.

"AMY, THERE IS NO DUCT TAPE! ARE YOU KIDDING?! THERE ARE NO TOWELS!" she is beside herself.

"Ok, how about newspaper or rags..."

"Will you just tell mom to call me as soon as she can?" she gives up on me, since I am offering little or just plain sucky advice.

My last attempt went something like this:

"It's going to be ok. This is the absolute worst thing that could happen to you. This is rock bottom. Everything from here on out will be better. Tomorrow morning, go find some villagers who will help you. Call the Peace Corps people and have them help you. They will. It will be ok."

I seemed to have talked her away from the ledge because she seemed to be chilling out a little.

"Ok", she sniffed. The she added, "I think I'll be getting a cat."

So, the ending to the story is she borrowed a local villager's cat, who ate the rat~ gulp. But, there was...are you ready for this...another rat, but the cat was too full to get that one down, so Kate's neighbors helped get it out of her house and patch the door, and other holes in the roof. So, for now, no rodents...

Please visit her blog. Although she doesn't get to an Internet cafe but once every few weeks because it is so far away, any comment you could leave would be welcomed. Her blog is
on my blogroll listed as: Can I Wear Stilettos In The Peace Corps? And she really asked that question.