My Very Rational Fear of Bugs (That I Try to Convince Myself is Irrational Every Night)

Disclaimer: If you’re a person who is squeamish about bugs, I’d recommend sitting this one out.  Consider yourself forewarned! :)

Bugs are a reality in Liberia.  I probably kill at least 10 bugs in my apartment every day and I let a ton of smaller ones go because what is the point.  I make sure to clean any dishes promptly and I keep food sealed up, I don’t open my sliding door, all that stuff, but like I said, bugs are just a reality.  And they don’t bother me… until I’m going to bed.

Today is my sister Naima’s birthday (happy birthday shout out!) and in her honor, I’m going to put up this post about how she scarred me for life – or at least my Liberian life.  Naima was a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin which means that we can swap similar stories of life in West Africa.  One of Naima’s stories, though, is about how her friend had a cockroach crawl into his ear and get stuck.  Yes, a big bug crawled into his ear and he couldn’t get it out until he rode all the way down to see the Peace Corps doctor and yes, it was still alive in there (or at least for a while).  Now when I was here in Liberia the first time, as some of you may remember, Peace Corps issued me a bug tent to sleep in which was my prized possession.  Keeping that thing zipped up all day, I knew when I climbed into bed at night there would be no surprises waiting for me.  This time, I’m tent-less.  I did bring a mosquito net with me, but there isn’t a way to hang it in my room and the problem is crawling bugs so there doesn’t seem to be much point.  Every night I do a bed check, lifting up all the bedding and making sure there is nothing there.  But then I have to go to sleep… and I’m petrified something is going to crawl in my ear!  I make sure I’m on my side so only one ear is exposed and then pull the sheet up to cover that ear, but a bug could still crawl under the sheet!  So then I have to put my hand over my ear.  I’m telling you, it is a good thing that sleeping is a particular skill of mine because I’m having a lot of restless nights as it is!  I’ll wake up in the middle of the night and realize I’m leaving my ear exposed!  Who knows what has crawled in with me since my bed check!  So I roll over, recover my ear, try to go back to sleep…and maybe curse my sister a little bit :)

Alright, time to go do my bed check!  Here’s to hopefully another bug-less night!  Love you Naima, I'll be thinking of you! :)