There have been an incredible number of cockroaches in our kitchen, most of which I’ve smashed with our metal kitchen spatula. We had a major roach raid on Wednesday, during which we emptied out EVERYTHING from the cupboards and pantry, and then scrubbed the entire kitchen. Found that the roaches congregated in areas that had wood or cardboard, so got rid of much of that. Sprayed this super-strong poison (this is two-steps beyond Raid, think industrial grade) in our kitchen, and then we washed and moved everything back in on Thursday afternoon. The roaches returned Thursday night. It is so discouraging! It seems that nothing will kill them! I think they’re hiding out in our refrigerator door (between the inside and outside) and underneath the stove. I dreamed that about cockroaches had spread into the bedroom and were right in front of my face. I heard Eden talking in her sleep, and later learned that she was having a nightmare about being sprayed with the bug poison. We can’t win. You know the expression “dropping like flies”? I’ve witnessed it in my kitchen. The poison isn’t killing the roaches, but the flies are dropping by the dozens onto our countertops. At least it’s doing something.

The mission runs a medical clinic next to our compound, and I’m starting to volunteer in the lab once or twice a week. It’s been sweet – I’m actually getting to use my biology degree. I’ve done some observing, and then much of the slide staining, recording, and a few lab tests, finger pricks and blood smears to check for malaria. The lab technicians are teaching me to read the slides. I went in for a malaria test today (it was negative, no malaria this time), and was able to look at my own blood cells (they look healthy). Very cool. We definitely weren’t allowed to do that sort of thing in class – too much liability. The journey to the clinic is also an adventure. The rainy season has lasted longer than expected (usually ends in October, but this year is supposedly extending through December), and parts of the roads are flooding, including a forty-foot swatch I pass through as I’m walking to the clinic. The first day, I didn’t know the road had flooded, and so waded through the water in my sneakers and socks (definitely not walking through this water barefoot, it comes up to my knees and is too turbid to see through). I was better prepared today – carried my sneakers and wore sandals.

Miss you all, but am enjoying myself and the people here. Keep in touch!