I found out last night that we did indeed catch the rat in the garbage bag!! After I left to go sort out my locked apartment with no keys or phone situation, my friend had a few of her friends who stopped by look for the rat. They went through the garbage bag and he was there!! Woohoo!!! Although, for the rest of the night, anytime I saw something move out of the corner of my eye (like a moth or something) I would startle and think "RAT!"
I really should write a pest book for all the expats- compiling all of our shared pest control knowledge. A friend in Asia told me about how she uses candles and light to control a mouse's movements so she can trap it and dispose of it- I'll have to try that next time. All of us have a good pest-control story or two and you can learn all sorts of things from them!! (I mean its not like you can call the exterminator here or anything- you've got to sort it out on your own). And we have all sorts of pest invasions- Nairobi flies, flying termites, safari ants (who invade by the thousands), rats- I've got stories for all of them!! And there are creative ways to either prevent them from coming in or getting rid of them once they are in your house. Like safari ants are deterred by salt, ash or boiling water. Geckos and other lizards will eat all the cockroaches. Baking soda also allegedly kills cockroaches. Turn off all your lights except one to get all the flying termites into one room, shut the door and wait till their wings fall off and you can sweep 'em all up, etc. Oh the things you learn!!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Rat Huntin'
I'm going to write a book and its going to be called "Rat Hunting for
Dummies" because I am becoming an expert.
Not always successful, but I'm developing some mad rat huntin' skills!!
A friend (who lives in the same compound as me) called me this evening saying she had a rat in her kitchen again and would I come and kill it?? How and when I was elected rat-control person for my circle of friends, I don't know, but I am. All the creepy crawlies are coming in our houses because of the rain and I get all the "kill it!!!!" calls.
But this time, this was the epic rat story (only out done but the time we found the rat we had been hunting for days in the couch and our housemate screamed bloody murder and brought every guard to our house because they thought someone had died, as we were trying to beat the rat out of the couch on the balcony).
So my friend Kimberly called, she had a rat trapped in her kitchen and she wanted me to get rid of it. I'm still at a bit of a loss when we can actually SEE the rat. If you know there is a rat around, you set the trap and hope it gets it. But when you have the rat cornered?? What do you do, bludgeon it??? Stomp on it?? Herd it towards the trap??
So my friend is hiding in her room. I get the trap ready and went into her kitchen and shut myself in. The goal was to get the trap set on her porch and then scare the rat out there and shut the door. Not a bad plan- but the EXECUTION of said plan left a lot to be desired.
I went into the kitchen with my big rubber rain boots on and the trap in my hand. I saw the rat (and this is not a small rat) sitting on top of her fridge, behind some stuff. But when I walked past it, I herd it drop to the ground behind the fridge. So far, all is going according to plan. I got the trap out on the porch and I go back into the kitchen to scare the rat (who is now on the floor) into the porch. I move the fridge. I move the stove. I move every single thing on her counters and bang on the doors and sides of the appliances. The rat is MIA. I KNOW I heard it fall but I checked under the fridge, behind the fridge, inside the back compartment of the fridge. Nowhere.
I moved everything, but this rat had hunkered down and was hiding somewhere in that kitchen. I looked for 30+ minutes but we couldn't find it. I said we should just go, let things quiet down and he'd come out again. But she had guests coming over and needed to bake something so I stayed with her and she cooked- standing on a chair- and I stood guard. No sign of the rat for another 20 minutes.
Until she opened the stove door. The rat ran out from under the oven (still not sure how he made it over there). Kimberly ran for the door- screaming. The rat ran for the door too. Its running all over her feet and she is wearing a long skirt so the skirt is sort of herding the rat along with her- and that just makes her scream louder! She got out the door and the rat ran into the corner. My friend is still screaming, so I leave to quiet her down before all the guards and neighbors come running. And then I ran back into the kitchen. I heard rustling in the garbage can and I think he got in there so I tied it up and threw it out! But after the bag was tied up and on the porch, it didn't rustle any more so we weren't SURE it was gone. I moved all her appliances again but no luck. So we called it a night and I went home and her guests were starting to arrive.
I had left my apartment in a hurry and my housemate was home so I didn't bother to grab my keys or my phone. I got back to my place and found it locked up tight. That's no good. My housemate was out. And I didn't have a phone to call her. So I had to run back up to my friend Kimberly's to have her call (down 3 flights, up 5 more). But her phone battery is dead. She only has a car charger and her fiance has her car up country. One of her guests arrived and had a car, so we borrow her keys, run down stairs and try to charge Kimberly's phone in Katia's car- and I try to call Julia and see if she can come home and let me in. Thankfully, she was 5 minutes away and not halfway across town.
So I am back in my apartment, Kimberly is hopefully rat free (I'm sure I'll hear the screams if the rat thwarted us again...) and we all had a good laugh (well at least I did!!)
A friend (who lives in the same compound as me) called me this evening saying she had a rat in her kitchen again and would I come and kill it?? How and when I was elected rat-control person for my circle of friends, I don't know, but I am. All the creepy crawlies are coming in our houses because of the rain and I get all the "kill it!!!!" calls.
But this time, this was the epic rat story (only out done but the time we found the rat we had been hunting for days in the couch and our housemate screamed bloody murder and brought every guard to our house because they thought someone had died, as we were trying to beat the rat out of the couch on the balcony).
So my friend Kimberly called, she had a rat trapped in her kitchen and she wanted me to get rid of it. I'm still at a bit of a loss when we can actually SEE the rat. If you know there is a rat around, you set the trap and hope it gets it. But when you have the rat cornered?? What do you do, bludgeon it??? Stomp on it?? Herd it towards the trap??
So my friend is hiding in her room. I get the trap ready and went into her kitchen and shut myself in. The goal was to get the trap set on her porch and then scare the rat out there and shut the door. Not a bad plan- but the EXECUTION of said plan left a lot to be desired.
I went into the kitchen with my big rubber rain boots on and the trap in my hand. I saw the rat (and this is not a small rat) sitting on top of her fridge, behind some stuff. But when I walked past it, I herd it drop to the ground behind the fridge. So far, all is going according to plan. I got the trap out on the porch and I go back into the kitchen to scare the rat (who is now on the floor) into the porch. I move the fridge. I move the stove. I move every single thing on her counters and bang on the doors and sides of the appliances. The rat is MIA. I KNOW I heard it fall but I checked under the fridge, behind the fridge, inside the back compartment of the fridge. Nowhere.
I moved everything, but this rat had hunkered down and was hiding somewhere in that kitchen. I looked for 30+ minutes but we couldn't find it. I said we should just go, let things quiet down and he'd come out again. But she had guests coming over and needed to bake something so I stayed with her and she cooked- standing on a chair- and I stood guard. No sign of the rat for another 20 minutes.
Until she opened the stove door. The rat ran out from under the oven (still not sure how he made it over there). Kimberly ran for the door- screaming. The rat ran for the door too. Its running all over her feet and she is wearing a long skirt so the skirt is sort of herding the rat along with her- and that just makes her scream louder! She got out the door and the rat ran into the corner. My friend is still screaming, so I leave to quiet her down before all the guards and neighbors come running. And then I ran back into the kitchen. I heard rustling in the garbage can and I think he got in there so I tied it up and threw it out! But after the bag was tied up and on the porch, it didn't rustle any more so we weren't SURE it was gone. I moved all her appliances again but no luck. So we called it a night and I went home and her guests were starting to arrive.
I had left my apartment in a hurry and my housemate was home so I didn't bother to grab my keys or my phone. I got back to my place and found it locked up tight. That's no good. My housemate was out. And I didn't have a phone to call her. So I had to run back up to my friend Kimberly's to have her call (down 3 flights, up 5 more). But her phone battery is dead. She only has a car charger and her fiance has her car up country. One of her guests arrived and had a car, so we borrow her keys, run down stairs and try to charge Kimberly's phone in Katia's car- and I try to call Julia and see if she can come home and let me in. Thankfully, she was 5 minutes away and not halfway across town.
So I am back in my apartment, Kimberly is hopefully rat free (I'm sure I'll hear the screams if the rat thwarted us again...) and we all had a good laugh (well at least I did!!)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Let It Rain Meat!
The Long Rains are here and we need them. Rainy season isn't the most convenient of seasons (with tons of mud, power outages most days, cold nights, increased traffic jams and face it- the laundry on the line will just never dry) but we need the rain- desperately- so we'll take the inconvenience that comes with it.
The Rains also bring out the bugs. And I mean tons of them. Nairobi flies are out (with their little acid filled bodies- they fight dirty!) and tons of other bugs are making their way into our houses to avoid all the water. But the biggest offender is the Flying Termite. When the rains come (because the rains usually come at the same time in the evening- right around dark with additional showers through out the day) the conditions are perfect for the Flying Termites to swarm. They are attracted to the sound of the rain pounding and the darkness outside their holes and they come out in huge swarms. They fly to the lights- so if your windows are open, our your windows just don't shut tight, they WILL find a way in to your house- usually in large numbers. Then they fly and bounce around the room until their wings fall off and then they wriggle and crawl around until you can sweep them up and get rid of them. They don't hurt you, they just get into everything.
I happened to comment about the invasion of the flying termites on facebook a few days ago- and a Kenyan friend responded, basically saying "what do you MEAN shut your windows!? Let it rain meat!!" Its true- flying termites are a favorite food of some Kenyan tribes and it is also true that they are a wonderful source of protein! The night security guards at my building will gather hundreds of the termites when they are out after a good rain and take them home to eat. I just don't see myself adding them to my next curry as a meat substitute...
My best termite story happened my first year in Kenya- click here for the story, or here for a lovely flying termite recipe I found in a magazine last year... it even gives you great helpful hints of how to collect the termites if its not raining!!
The Rains also bring out the bugs. And I mean tons of them. Nairobi flies are out (with their little acid filled bodies- they fight dirty!) and tons of other bugs are making their way into our houses to avoid all the water. But the biggest offender is the Flying Termite. When the rains come (because the rains usually come at the same time in the evening- right around dark with additional showers through out the day) the conditions are perfect for the Flying Termites to swarm. They are attracted to the sound of the rain pounding and the darkness outside their holes and they come out in huge swarms. They fly to the lights- so if your windows are open, our your windows just don't shut tight, they WILL find a way in to your house- usually in large numbers. Then they fly and bounce around the room until their wings fall off and then they wriggle and crawl around until you can sweep them up and get rid of them. They don't hurt you, they just get into everything.
I happened to comment about the invasion of the flying termites on facebook a few days ago- and a Kenyan friend responded, basically saying "what do you MEAN shut your windows!? Let it rain meat!!" Its true- flying termites are a favorite food of some Kenyan tribes and it is also true that they are a wonderful source of protein! The night security guards at my building will gather hundreds of the termites when they are out after a good rain and take them home to eat. I just don't see myself adding them to my next curry as a meat substitute...
My best termite story happened my first year in Kenya- click here for the story, or here for a lovely flying termite recipe I found in a magazine last year... it even gives you great helpful hints of how to collect the termites if its not raining!!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Todays's Adventure: Baking Lessons!!!
I love to bake. And cook. And hang out with my teenagers. Today was a great day because I got to do all three! School is on term break right now, so this was the perfect time to have another baking party with my teen girls.
Baking lessons soon morph into math lessons (hey, fractions are hard!), english lessons and science lessons. We skipped the savory stuff this time and went straight for the sweet. Chocolate cake. Sugar cookies (with homemade colored sugar to decorate them). All from scratch!!
If I were baking all this alone, it might take me 2 hours or so. I love that with these girls, this becomes an all day event. That is because its more about time together and enjoying each other then it is about getting the task accomplished. Sometimes this approach to life can drive me crazy (particularly when there is something we HAVE TO accomplish in a certain time frame), but on days like today, it just makes it more fun!
Since we had so many cookies and so much cake, I had a few of my friends from up country and their girls stop by and help us finish it all!!
So in the end, great friends, good food and a lot of fun. It was a great day!!! Now to take on the disaster that is my kitchen.... (although I can't complain too much, the girls helped with most of the dishes and mess...)
Monday, April 16, 2012
I Won't Be Putting Krispy Kreme Out of Business...
... but I just found a recipe for donuts!!! I've been missing donuts lately. A lot. I'd love a nice glazed yeast donut. From Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons, I don't care. So I found a recipe for them online. And these are even baked instead of fried so you can have the illusion of them being sort of healthy.
Honestly, they'd taste better fried.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
What To Do....
Today was one of those days. It started great and actually it ended great too, it was just the middle that drives me crazy.
Today was our meeting day. I had a pretty big group of teens, things were going well as we sang and enjoyed each other company. Until the heckling started. There was a group of young people, from the same ethnic background as my teens, who were in the compound. Its a long story I won't go into online, but this group of young people basically kept teasing and yelling pretty much the dirtiest slur you can yell at people here- all directed at my teens. We don't have a direct translation in English, well we have a direct translation for the word but not for the weight that word carries.
I've got to hand it to my teens. They were angry. I was angry. I said "well if they think its funny that we are singing (they were calling the others inside a building to come to listen to us and join the heckling) why don't we give them a good concert!" I've never heard my teens sing with such enthusiasm! And considering my teens tend to be a "fight first ask questions later" group, I was amazed that there wasn't a brawl. Seriously. The teens were able to pull it together and we continued on with the lesson.
We dealt with the problem, but it still galls me. My teens take flack from people all over the city- in school, on the bus, in the market, on the street- simply because of their ethnic origins. They are the minority and they are judged for all the things people from their home country have done. Then they go home and take flack from some of their families, friends and neighbors because of life choices they have made. I can't do much about all those other people but they WON'T be treated like this when we come to meet! I won't stand for it! And thankfully, neither will my coworkers.
But then I have to set a good example (which is probably a good thing- having to be a good example kept ME from starting a brawl today!) I want to teach them to stand up for themselves, they don't have to take this abuse from people. But also, there are times, when you have to be the bigger person and let the insults (as horrid as they are) pass.
Today was our meeting day. I had a pretty big group of teens, things were going well as we sang and enjoyed each other company. Until the heckling started. There was a group of young people, from the same ethnic background as my teens, who were in the compound. Its a long story I won't go into online, but this group of young people basically kept teasing and yelling pretty much the dirtiest slur you can yell at people here- all directed at my teens. We don't have a direct translation in English, well we have a direct translation for the word but not for the weight that word carries.
I've got to hand it to my teens. They were angry. I was angry. I said "well if they think its funny that we are singing (they were calling the others inside a building to come to listen to us and join the heckling) why don't we give them a good concert!" I've never heard my teens sing with such enthusiasm! And considering my teens tend to be a "fight first ask questions later" group, I was amazed that there wasn't a brawl. Seriously. The teens were able to pull it together and we continued on with the lesson.
We dealt with the problem, but it still galls me. My teens take flack from people all over the city- in school, on the bus, in the market, on the street- simply because of their ethnic origins. They are the minority and they are judged for all the things people from their home country have done. Then they go home and take flack from some of their families, friends and neighbors because of life choices they have made. I can't do much about all those other people but they WON'T be treated like this when we come to meet! I won't stand for it! And thankfully, neither will my coworkers.
But then I have to set a good example (which is probably a good thing- having to be a good example kept ME from starting a brawl today!) I want to teach them to stand up for themselves, they don't have to take this abuse from people. But also, there are times, when you have to be the bigger person and let the insults (as horrid as they are) pass.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Who Invented Skype??
Seriously, whoever invented skype is my hero. It makes living on a different continent than my family so much easier! I remember my first overseas trip, we weren't even able to call home and we had incredibly limited email access. On my internship in India, we would call home once a month from sketchy phone booths (we had to call our families in the middle of the night their time because we couldn't be out on the streets after dark. And it cost an arm and an leg.) We were only able to email on the weekends. My roommate, who was engaged to a guy back home at the time and was always anxious to get his emails, would wake us up at the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings yelling "its EMAIL day!!!" and we would argue over who's turn it was to take her to the nearest email cafe.
Now I can skype with my family and friends anytime!! I just met my nieces who are still in the NICU!! They can't have any visitors but I can skype with them! I can skype with my nephew and see how big he is getting! Skype is awesome.
Now I can skype with my family and friends anytime!! I just met my nieces who are still in the NICU!! They can't have any visitors but I can skype with them! I can skype with my nephew and see how big he is getting! Skype is awesome.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Baby Elephants
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Amefufuka!
Ok all you Lutherans out there, you know how this works. If someone
says "Amefufuka!" (He is risen!), you say "Amefufuka kweli kweli!" (He
has risen indeed!)"
Today is Easter! Its been a busy week and I got to the end of the week realizing I never really planed anything for Easter. So a friend and I decided to have an Ethi Easter (ie lunch at the local Ethiopian restaurant!) Best plan ever! I love Ethi food and it was the perfect time to catch up with my friend before she moves out of the city!
Shiro and shekla is a great way to celebrate Easter!
Today is Easter! Its been a busy week and I got to the end of the week realizing I never really planed anything for Easter. So a friend and I decided to have an Ethi Easter (ie lunch at the local Ethiopian restaurant!) Best plan ever! I love Ethi food and it was the perfect time to catch up with my friend before she moves out of the city!
Shiro and shekla is a great way to celebrate Easter!
Saturday, April 07, 2012
Happy...
One of the kiddos was trying to write "Easter" on my board today. This is a darn fine phonetic attempt! Too bad English doesn't make any sense and spelling is tough...
Friday, April 06, 2012
Happy Birthday Ams!!
Today is my dear friend and teammate's birthday!! We got all dressed up and surprised her at a Thai restaurant in Town.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
I Am My Father's Daughter...
I was getting my lesson ready for this weekend but I had already printed it out when I thought of something to add. So I grabbed a pen and wrote in the margin. Then I looked at it and realized I could hardly read what I had written. And it reminded me of the old days, before my family had a computer, and my dad would write his sermons by hand. His handwriting is worse then mine, so there were weeks when he would get to a certain point in the sermon and have no idea what he had written. I am very very lucky I live in the age of computers! Because between my handwriting and my spelling, my teachers weren't sure I'd survive. (I had one teacher tell me it was a very good thing we didn't judge people's character by their spelling anymore... I didn't appreciate THAT backhanded compliment!)
When The Rain Comes
We tend to mosey here. I mean we walk to get where we are going but most of us don't always break any land speed records to get there. We enjoy the walk, the people us, whatever. Until the rain comes. Days start out nice and warm and sunny. But out of no where these certain kinds of clouds roll in, the sky get dark, the wind picks up and we know. The rain is coming. NOW. There isn't a lot of warning.
At first, when the dark clouds come in, everyone starts to walk with purpose. Moms start hurrying their kids, all the people selling things on the street start to pack up. But it gets darker and the wind gets stronger and everyone starts to jog. MAYBE you can make it home before the rain! Probably not, though. Then the rain is eminent- and everyone is flat out running for anything that will block the rain. Its hilarious! The eminent rain makes all the matatu and bus drivers drive even crazier then usual- the roads are treacherous when the rain is coming!!
I got caught in the storm a few days ago (and every day since then...) but this was the first real day of Rainy Season- we weren't expecting it. I was at my office, and when everything went dark, I rushed to shut up the office, gather my things and leave- trying to beat the storm. I was within site of my destination when the rain came. And this was not some nice, spring drizzle. This was like someone opened the fire hydrants. It took me 5 minutes to get inside and I was wading through 6 inch rivers running down the road. I was soaked all the way though. I mean, I could wring out my jeans, soaked.
But we need rain. Desperately. So I don't mind. Plus my jeans and hair needed a good wash anyways. Looks like the rainy season is really here though! Its rained every day this week!! And we need it!
At first, when the dark clouds come in, everyone starts to walk with purpose. Moms start hurrying their kids, all the people selling things on the street start to pack up. But it gets darker and the wind gets stronger and everyone starts to jog. MAYBE you can make it home before the rain! Probably not, though. Then the rain is eminent- and everyone is flat out running for anything that will block the rain. Its hilarious! The eminent rain makes all the matatu and bus drivers drive even crazier then usual- the roads are treacherous when the rain is coming!!
I got caught in the storm a few days ago (and every day since then...) but this was the first real day of Rainy Season- we weren't expecting it. I was at my office, and when everything went dark, I rushed to shut up the office, gather my things and leave- trying to beat the storm. I was within site of my destination when the rain came. And this was not some nice, spring drizzle. This was like someone opened the fire hydrants. It took me 5 minutes to get inside and I was wading through 6 inch rivers running down the road. I was soaked all the way though. I mean, I could wring out my jeans, soaked.
But we need rain. Desperately. So I don't mind. Plus my jeans and hair needed a good wash anyways. Looks like the rainy season is really here though! Its rained every day this week!! And we need it!
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