Spiders, Snakes and Bugs in Popcorn
It’s funny how your perspective can change so quickly. Yesterday I went grocery shopping with a friend. She bought a bag of popcorn in the course of the shopping and we eventually made it back to her place, hands full with shopping bags. As we were unpacking the bags, she noticed something inside the popcorn bag…a little bug. We open the bag and removed the bug. We shrugged. It was just a small bug. That’s when I noticed something strange about the popcorn. We eat a fair bit of popcorn…actually a lot. You get to become familiar with the kernels, and something didn’t look right. I picked up a kernel that had a hole in it, and noticed there were several others with holes in them. We tipped the bag into a container and that’s when we saw them. Dozens and dozens of these little bugs swarming in the popcorn. We spent the next half an hour picking them out and finding the kernels with holes in them (the bugs homes) and tossing them out. Squashing the bugs. 6 months ago I would have chucked the bag, but now there was just a sigh and a shrug. The rest of the popcorn was still good. Plus, it would be superheated in oil before cooking… ;)
There are so many bugs here. And Spiders. I have to be on the lookout for termites in my house, and cockroaches are common visitors. There are wall spiders and geckoes that run up and down my walls, in every room of the house. One ‘wolf spider’ (that’s what he looked like. I’m not really sure what he was) trapped me in the bathroom for a few minutes before I realized I was bigger than him. And that’s just inside. Wasps, bees, centipedes and flies. Black beetles, ants, dung beetles and bugs I can’t identify. It’s just a part of life here, a part which I’m slowly getting used to…I’m still not a fan, but I’m learning to live in the same space as them all.
There are also quite a few snakes around. Most of them are baby Boomslangs; small little things that slither through the grass, but there are a few nastier ones. Puff Adders, Black Mambas and Spitting Cobras. I thankfully haven’t seen any of these yet, but a spitting cobra did wander into my back yard and leave his skin there. When I asked the gardener about the snake he said, “Oh, if it gets you and you get the medicine, it won’t kill you. Just hurt a lot.” A comforting thought…
I guess what I’m trying to say is that there is a lot of wildlife around here, although not the giraffe, zebra, lion type. Does it stop me walking around barefooted? Nope! I love doing that. My feet are slowly getting tougher and it saves my shoes. (Just kidding, I don’t even consider my shoes when doing it ;) ) It’s just part and parcel of living here in Africa. Something to keep you on your toes. I’m still careful when walking around, and I do check my food carefully before buying, but I’m learning it’s not the end of the world if there is a bug inside…besides, a some of them are quite edible…
*since writing this piece, I found a snake in my house…sitting under my school bag. Any familiarity I found around the plethora of snakes, insects and spiders disappeared in an instant and as I made a small squeaking sound and called for my friend to grab a broom, I realized that it will take a bit longer to get used to having slithery visitors in my house. In case you are wondering, the snake is no longer in my house…
