Bat Baseball

One night after dinner, a bat got in the house. I was unsure what the procedure would be. I have heard that some families are completely un-phased by animals in the house and others do everything in their power to kill it. During training, we had mice twice and both times my host father trapped them in the bathroom and killed them with a wooden spear.

We all realized there was a bat in the house. It was obvious. My host father went to get the broom and then started swatting. My host mom and I were responsible to tell him where it was and he was swinging away. It would fly from the kitchen to the living room and back again. I really didn’t think he was going to be able to get it but he completely surprised me. With one good swing he nailed it. I immediately started laughing hysterically. It was such a ridiculous site. We then took it to the neighbors to show their 2 year old son and I of course took some photos. 

Although Bat Baseball happened a few weeks ago, I am dealing with bats droppings in my room this week. It completely grosses me out but my host family doesn’t really seemed phased by it. I did research on it today and it looks like I will be hanging aluminum foil strips from the beams. Thankfully, I sleep under a mosquito net and it catches all of the bat droppings but it’s completely unpleasant to wake up to it every day. Hopefully they find a new place to hang out soon! 

A bird, a squirrel, a spider and an iguana

In addition to Lorena, the bird

 














and the squirrel

We also have an iguana

 












And my first week here my week was filled with bugs and lizards. While sitting on the couch a small lizard fell off the ceiling. Then the next night there was a large spider on the side of the toilet.

That was the day after there was a cockroach the size of my palm on the bathroom wall.

And yesterday we had two mice in the bathroom. I told my host father and he took care of them!
 

More pets

So the squirrel that my brother caught is now a pet and it sleeps inside the house at night in a cage that is in my opinion not completely secure.

My host brother also caught an iguana the other day so it´s also a pet. He used to have it awhile ago but it ran away one day when it was hanging out on the patio when the dog scared it away.  It seems to live outside always in a cage.

My host brother also have about 20 chickens that run around. They are sort of like pets because he won´t even eat their eggs.  Instead, my host mother buys them.

Also, according to the PC doctor, all the bug bites are flea bites. I have no idea when I got them but my host mother has since washed my sheets and changed my mattress. It´s likely I got them earlier this week when I was standing in the driveway with my little host brother drawing in the dirt.  Haven´t gotten any new ones. Thank goodness for bug spray and anti itch cream! I am using the bug spray all the time now!

I have more animal stories that I´m saving for next time. I´ll include some pictures also.

My interactions with animals

I´m covered in bug bites. I did not realize that I should be wearing my PC issued bug spray every evening. I have over 30 on my right leg and over 40 on my left leg. I have started to wear bug spray and I used anti itch cream last night to sleep.
Also, I saw my first cockroach while brushing my teeth before bed.  It was huge! I asked my family about it and they brushed it off as something completely normal. However, the prior night there was a spider and they spent 10 minutes finding it and killing it. 
My family has 2 dogs, Espy and Roky.  Roky, the guard dog, broke free yesterday and we realized it while I was eating outside with one of the sisters outside on the patio. We had to sneak into the house and shut the door and wait for the father to come back (he went to go get eggs for their hens).  The dog doesn´t really like me yet. I asked my host mother, Yelba, if he is dangerous and she told me not yet because he is young.
And on Sunday we were sitting watching the TV and a lizard fel down from the ceiling into the middle of the room. I was certain it was dead but after about 30 seconds it flipped itself over and climbed up the wall.
In other news of animals, my host brother, Bayardo, caught a baby squirrel. He went around showing everyone this morning. He said it fell from the tree. He also said he used to have two lizards and they ran away one day while playing on the patio because one of the dogs scared them.