This particular night, Josh and I had already taken our showers. When Daniel went in for his shower, we heard him yell, "Guys, there is a bat in the shower!" We both knew there was a bat that slept in the shower every night. As soon as you turn on the lights the bat flights out. We told Daniel to turn the lights on and it worked.
Maybe two seconds later we heard him scream even louder, "There's a cockroach in the shower! Somebody kill it!!" Josh grabbed the broom and went to kill the cockroach and I continued reading. I knew it was bad when Josh began screaming. (Daniel is the one who is scared of most things...I don't know how he has lasted this long in Tchad). Both of the guys ran back into the SM hut and begged me to kill the cockroach. I laughed so hard! It was ironic how these boys wanted the girl to kill the cockroach. They didn't care and there wasn't the slightest hint of shame when they handed me the broom.
I confidently got up, ready to kill the cockroach. (I really hate cockroaches, but someone had to kill it). It was huge!! It was one of those Samsung Galaxy cell-phone sized cockroaches. Let's be real, as soon as I saw it, I screamed and ran out of the shower too. Our security guard and the people at the hospital had a good laugh at us as we were huddled in a group outside of the shower arguing over who should kill it.
We came up with multiple ways for the cockroach to die, but no one wanted to put the plans into action. Josh and I would both inch close to the cockroach then chicken out and run away. We didn't want it to fly into our faces. Finally, I mustered up enough courage and grabbed the broom again.
The cockroach was strategically sitting on the inside of the door frame. You had to slide past it to achieve a good smashing angle. I carefully ran past it, praying my presence wouldn't disturb the cockroach.
Although I was able to slide past the cockroach, there were no fail-proof smashing angles available. I couldn't decide the best way to hit the bug and finally just swung the broom as hard as I could and prayed that it would die. The guys screamed loudly as they hugged each other and jumped around. Why? The cockroach wasn't dead.
It had dodged my first attempt, and was still in a bit of a daze. My screams almost harmonized with the guys as I swung the broom like a sledgehammer again. Honestly, the cockroach died after the first swing, but I pulverized the mess out of it. I wanted to be sure it was completely dead.
Our screams turned to laughs once the cockroach was dead. We looked so ridiculous, even for American standards. Daniel was finally able to take his shower in peace. Too bad Josh and I had a little more screaming to do.
Papa had come to see what all the commotion was about. He got a good laugh out of the situation. A big bug flew past Josh and I as soon as we entered the hut. Our reaction was a little over the top because we were still on edge from the cockroach. Papa reacted quickly and grabbed the bug. It was a grasshopper...
Normally, I wouldn't be afraid of a grasshopper; they don't bother me, and I don't bother them. However, this grasshopper was enormous. (You have to remember everything is bigger in Tchad). The grasshopper's legs alone were the length of my index finger. Papa started waving the grasshopper in our faces asking who wanted to eat it. After a few seconds of that "fun", Josh and I finally (and frantically) yelled for him to kill it.
It didn't help that the grasshopper had now gotten loose. It had jumped on the counter and almost gotten away, trying to run from Papa with one big leap it abruptly hit the ceiling fan. Josh and I almost ran through the screen door because the grasshopper had been slingshot-ted in our direction...well at least half of it was.
Haha. Long story short my nerves were on edge the whole night. My heart hurt and I almost lost my voice. (I may be slightly exaggerating). Once I got to my hut I found yet another cockroach!! It definitely wasn't my night. I was able to stifle my scream this time around. However, the presence of the cockroach destroyed the safe-haven illusion I had of my little hut.
When I first arrived in Tchad I distinctly remember saying, "I'd rather have a rat in my hut then a cockroach..." Well, now I have both living with me.
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