Is that...bat s***? Crazy

During one of the “Here are some of the terrible things that can happen to you in Panama” sessions we had during training, the Medical Office told us to be aware of the existence of a li’l fella called the Chinche (or the Cone Nosed Bug in English) because it spreads an unpleasant infection called Chagras fever.

This, in and of itself, didn’t bother me too much. When the doctor told us that the Chinche spreads Changras fever by defecating on a person’s face, and then smearing the feces around so that it gets lodged in small cracks in the skin,however, I found myself a bit off put.

“So try not to let any bugs go to the bathroom on your face,” the doctor said.

I frankly, didn’t think that would be much of a problem, because I´ve tried to abide by the maxim ¨Don´t take any crap from anybody,¨ in both a literal and figurative sense.

I relate this anecdote only as a way to provide some context as to just how traumatic the events of the past week have been for me.

I was well along into the night´s journey on the Slumberland Express when some sensory input from the real world broke into dreamland. What was that…some kind of…liquid…that had hit my back? “No…,” I thought as I quickly gained consciousness and scrambled for my headlamp. “NOOOOOOOO!!!” I thought as I heard the fluttering of mammalian wings and shined the lamp toward the ceiling, where I saw the following:

The next morning, I spent several hours conducting a CSI: Bat crap investigation, trying to determine whether we had a single shooter situation, or some kind of conspiracy:

The next day we cleaned off the net, decided the whole thing was probably a fluke, and went to bed just like before, assuming that we´d be alright...and were awoken a few hours later by another attack.

So now we´ve got a piece of plastic set over the mosquito net, which manages to keep the bat crap from landing on us.

The good news is that, if my memory of Ace Ventura, Pet Detective 2: When Nature Calls serves me correctly, bat crap, or guano, can be quite valuable. If true, we´re waking up every morning under a gold mine!

Comments

[Peter Redmond]

Hey Jay and Julia - I came across your blog (actually Dlybot's and then yours) while researching PC Panama on the Internet. I really enjoyed catching up on your service and your insights - got a good laugh on the MTV cribs takeoff _ I imagine the Panablog fans must be booking their tickets for a visit, especially after learning about the oro de guano that has baptized your bedroom.

All is well in DC - getting used to the new job and experiencing some reverse culture shock - mostly having to do with the cost of living!

Look forward to reading more on the Blog and of course I hope some of your stuff ends up in La Vaina.

FYI - The last batch of donated books was delivered to my house (forwarded) last week. Will forward them back to the new CD Brian so he can get them to you.

Yours in service,

Peter Redmond
predmond@peacecorps.gov