MUMENA, Zambia - Sometimes I lay awake listening to the rustle and squeaking on my grass-thatch roof. I've gotten used to the sound so much that it's become a routine that oddly gives me comfort.
The family of mice on my roof has become a norm in my Peace Corps experience. We've almost become a family with each other. Sometimes the baby mice even tease me by running back and forth and squeaking over the headboard of my bed.
In addition to the mice on my roof, my hut is filled with termites, spiders, roaches, ants, and mosquitoes.
We all have a "special" place in the hut. The spiders rest on the wall behind my shelves and posters. The ants file through the cracks in my cement, while the termites build tunnels from those cracks. Prior to coming here, I'd never seen a termite and now they devour fences, posters, roofs, and frames.
I cannot even leave out bananas, apples, or peppers, as the bugs and mice are just as hungry as I am.
In the states, a cockroach sent me screaming and now they act like pets - beings that share the same space with me. I'm not proud of this friendship, but it's a forced coexistence that I've had to cope with this past year and half.
I'm visiting the states in June and I hope I can rest peacefully without the "soothing" sound of mice in my roof.
Gracie Geremia is a Peace Corps volunteer and past Lovelock Relay for Life community coordinator for the American Cancer Society. She is now on a 27-month assignment in Zambia, Africa. The Lovelock Correctional Center sends occasional care packages to Geremia. To be part of this package program contact Lt. Olivas at 273-4279 or donations can be dropped at the LCC gatehouse. The Lovelock Review-Miner will publish periodic updates of her adventures in Africa.[[In-content Ad]]
