Burundi Night Life

Last night I awoke to the sound of rain slapping the earth and a chill in the air. With the rain comes two things, cool temperatures and high humidity. I am used to the humidity now so it doesn’t bother me. The cool temperature was very welcome. The temperature rises when the fan turns off. At around midnight the power goes off. (I feel like I’m at Camas Meadows) The rain woke me up but the sound of mosquito buzzing in my ear kept me up. I waved it away hoping that it was on the outside of the net. I was wrong. I found my flashlight and turned it on. I was worried about waking Stephanie but on she slept. I found the little bugger. He was small, and fast. The mosquitoes in Washington are big and slow, easily killed. I chased him around the net for a while to no avail. I got up to go to the bathroom. When I came back I noticed a cockroach crawling on the arm of the chair in our living room. I’m not sure if it was because I don’t understand the function of the cockroach that I didn’t kill it or the fact that it is big and I would have to dispose of its body afterwards. (If someone knows the functions of a cockroach, besides lapping up the water left on the floor after showers are complete, please let me know). The mosquito under my net has one purpose in life, suck blood and I was not going to have it, not tonight. I put my head down on my pillow. I waited. And then I heard it. I grabbed my flashlight and sat up. The light went on. This time Stephanie looked over at me. I looked at her and she jumped. I apologized and told her there was a mosquito under the net. She rolled over. Then she shivered and said, “I just heard it.” I knew it was close. I chased it again thinking that this would be a futile endeavor. It was down by the foot of the bed. I just watched it for a while. Then it was on the move again. I placed my hand on the sheet next to it and quickly moved my hand as if I meant to smooth the sheets. “I got him” I called out. The light went out and I went back to sleep to the sound of bull frogs outside my window. Never a dull night in Bujumbura