Bichos, Bichos, Go Away...

I didn't realize how much I disliked cockroaches until this year. I mean when we first moved in we saw dead cockroaches, mostly dead, I think there were a few live ones but no biggie. We had the school exterminate and it didn't seem like too big of a deal. Then, sometime at the end of April, I had three cockroaches in three days, and I didn't like it. First, I saw one lying dead in my shower. Not terrible, not pleasant by any means but fine... at least it was dead. The next day during math, my kids all started shouting "cucaracha!" I look over to the window where they are all staring with their eyes filled with equal amounts of disgust and wonder. There he is, just crawling along the windowsill like nothing’s up. Thankfully half of my class was in Spanish at the time so I only had 9 kids freaking out instead of all 18 screaming and running around. I got a cup and piece of paper because I loathe the feeling of squishing bugs with exoskeletons! ew, that crunch is sick. And proceeded to carry it to the office and tell Miss Eren (the one who is in charge of the maintenance staff and general upkeep). She tells me to 'just take it outside and step on it,' all matter of fact. Well, sorry, but no thank you! So she comes along and smashes it with her own foot, with just as much apprehension as I would have had I might add. So, ok, class back to normal in a few minutes and I have only a few hours in this room everyday.... still fine. But then later that night I found ANOTHER! and that was almost it for me. I was doing a load of laundry, gotta have clean towels, right?! I take out the first one to hang on the line to dry and notice a very big cockroach leg with the gross little feeler things on it!?!?! SICK, not ok. so I check inside the machine and ta da! just a cockroach body stuck to the side after the spin cycle, sin piernas. His legs were everywhere but his body, ergo all over my towels! Of course they all have those stick-y things so I had to pick them all off one by one, not cool. …Here ends the first segment of this insect-ified saga.
Around the same time, I woke up one morning with my legs covered in what I assume were mosquito bites. The first day it was kind of bad….then the second day I woke up with even more! They were so chicken pocked I had to wear pants, if not for vanity reasons, for a small attempt at obstructing the scratches. I even took a trip to the school nurse to beg some miracle cream to make the itch go away. I talked to the school and they came in to fumigate so the third night I didn’t add anymore and I slept like a baby with the Benadryl. Side note: It is funny how medicine works here… Most drugs are over the counter, at least in comparison to the States, and everything seems to have a second/unadvertised use. Vicks VapoRub is a sensation here (try saying with a Mexican accent, its better that way). It is the cure-all drug. Its much like the father in the movie Greek Wedding, “Just put some Windex on it.” When I was eating with Victor’s family I showed off my wounds to his aunt who is known to have a head full of great home remedies. Vicks was, of course, the answer to the itching. I didn’t end up getting it, although the cream I did get was recommended by another person and also not listed as an antihistamine (and kind of just seems like a glorified Neosporin, but their slogan is promising, “Que buena medicina!”). Thus the spots faded and there ends part deux.
The third portion of this tale takes place in the kitchen. Twice now this year, in a short amount of time, we have had a pantry infested with ants. I mean, who hasn’t seen some ants in the kitchen before, set out a poison of some sort and badabing-badaboom… But this is like a massive ‘the-ant-hill-has-changed-location’ ant infestation. They weasel their way into all open boxes and bags, even swarming an unopened bag of chips! So it costs us not only the time to clean that out and get it sprayed etc…. it costs us the unusable food they polluted and pilfered for themselves. Annoying.
The last section comes more recently and brings in the new era of detestation. Now I don’t remember exactly why, but I had not had the best of days at school (robably just some frustrations with behavior issues or lack of help…) so when I went to bed I only wanted to sleep and to forget… I was definitely not prepared for the day to get worse. The nightly routine began normally, I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and headed to the bathroom. I sit down on the toilet and think I hear something to my left, I look over and eye level with me not more than 2 feet away there is a cockroach crawling up my shower curtain! Sorry to use the word so many times in this blog, but SICK! I quickly shut the bathroom door and run downstairs to tell everyone what has happened. Like I said, I don’t really want to be the one to squish it. [just so you know… I have twice saved my roommate Emily from cockroaches running through her room. When I have to be the strong one I can, but sometimes I just don’t choose it] I went back up and tried to take care of it myself….because of my weird fear, I instead caught it and flushed it down the toilet. I know, I know, probably more work to catch and flush than to squash, but just let me be :) I go back downstairs for a bit of composure and reassurance, and finally decide its still fine, I’m still fine, I will just ignore my newfound little phobia. I sit on my bed getting ready to turn off the light and thinking ‘isn’t it weird that I heard the cockroach before I saw it. I mean big brown spot on a green shower curtain, how does one miss that?’ when suddenly I hear the noise again. That ticking scraping shuffle of bug feet. At first I think I am just imagining it and really do have full-fledged phobia… but I glance over to my shelves and see the creature crawling all over my backpack and some clothes that I have laying on the floor (not surprised are you mom?! :)) Ok, this is far too close for comfort! He’s creeping all over nearly 3 feet from the foot of my bed where I realize my blanket is hanging off onto the floor! I yell and freak out like the girl that I have now become about bugs. I grew up playing in the country outdoors…aren’t I supposed to be immune yet? I actually just left him wandering while I went downstairs for assistance. Jenna valiantly came up to save the day this time. The creepy thing is that when she came into the room armed with shoe, she couldn’t spot him. Only because I had watched him scuttle over, did I know he was in the corner right next to my headboard this time only 1 foot from my bed but hidden against the black baseboard thing! How many times have I walked in a room and unbeknownst to me there have been live cockroaches? The thought is revolting. I decide there is no way I am sleeping in this room tonite… no way. So I dont. :) The next few nights though, all I picture behind closed eyelids is a cockroach or two scurrying around in the dark, I can’t even put on my shoes or pants without checking them first. Good thing I keep my floor clean as a whistle, right mom!?
[what is with that phrase anyway… when I think whistle I don’t automatically go to ‘wow that’s clean!’ ???]
Not my story to tell but goes along the same lines…. I heard that this weekend one of the other teachers here was at a club and while she was in the bathroom she felt something crawling on her arm (don’t you hate when that happens? Especially when there is really nothing there, or its dark and you’ll never really know. It gives some sort of adrenaline rush, or panic attack whichever way you look at it, and you immediately swat at the spot in question.) Anyway, this night there happened to really be a bug and it wasn’t dark, so she knows… it was a cockroach! EWWWWW! My question is, how long had it been on her, to make its way all the way to her arm? Sick, sick, sick.

And now you know…. The rest of the story. No, just kidding, I was going to say Now you know that I am really just a frightened little girl when it comes to bugs. Thanks, Mom. Hahaha just kidding again…. But really ;)

Happy Baby Shower, Xochitl!

After Spring Break we had just two short weeks of school and another 5 day break to look forward to. The first full week of school went by pretty well, I think we all recovered from no longer being able to do as we wished but actually having to work. The second Monday rolls around and I arrive at school in our 'happy day of the student' spirit week theme for the day: pijamas. Ironically appropriate as I found out we would not be having school! Swine flu break out was scaring everyone and schools across the nation were canceling. And the rumor was that the Swine Flu Break would last until May 6 [this day being April 27]. When that date got closer we found out that the real return date would be May 11, two full weeks off for swine flu. We had a two week break, went back to school for 5 days and got two more. It was awesome. :) Anyway, during that time was the pre-planned 5 day break...

It was really touch and go on the decision to continue on the already paid for, 5 day/4 night, all inclusive resort trip to Acapulco. On one hand we wanted to get out of Torreon, everything being closed and everyone wearing masks that we were told didn't really help unless you were the infected saving it from others. But the other hand told us that travel on airplanes was one of the most dangerous due to the recycled air, I heard that one sneeze of infected air and by landing everyone would be carrying it. Plus we had to stop in the heart of the action Mexico City, DF. After asking around to people we felt would have the right answer we decided there wasn't really much risk involved after all and went ahead on our long weekend getaway.
Tye, Stephanie, and I packed only the most comfortable shorts Ts and swim suits and were off! Our hotel was pretty nice, the last on that stretch of beach, right at the water, complete with umbrellas to lay under. Each day was pretty much the same rundown. We slept in late, woke up for some breakfast, got ready for beach/pool, laid out on the chairs reading and getting served, every once in awhile rising to walk the beach, then clean up and supper, followed by card games on the patio for the rest of the night. It was another perfectly lazy vacation and I loved it. The beach was fun to walk down, we got in some goofy pictures, collected a bunch of ocean glass, I got stung by a bee, we got henna tattoos - Stephanie and I matching but opposite twins while Tye became Vin Diesel: XXX. The food wasn't spectacular and we joked about every [terrible] dessert being prison food, but there was still plenty of fun to be had. Turns out it was the best time to leave as well because the pool malls and the theater in Torreon closed! So if you have to be stuck somewhere.... make a resort in Acapulco!
[and I'm still a month behind in updating! I'll keep going, don't quit looking. Three weeks left and I'm out!?]