AFRICAN WILDLIFE

I have been if Africa almost two months and the only wildlife I have seen are 3 monkeys on the roadside while driving to Lushoto.  That does not mean we do not hunt big game.  We have had 3 huge black spiders in our house that look like tarantulas.  We are told they are poisonous but don't like to be around people.  They are almost impossible to catch, since they can scoot over a whole wall in seconds and know where to hide.  They supposedly prefer abandoned houses and I haven't seen one in the last couple of weeks, so hopefully they moved on.

We also have several geckos we happily cohabit with, since they kill mosquitoes.  I am not on prophylaxis, but am ready with malaria test kits and have the pills for treatment.  Hopefully it will not get to that.  Mama Caritas came over with our mosquito nets that finally arrived from Mwanza, but they are the kind that need a frame so she will have to arrange a carpenter to build one.  Still waiting for our stove.

I got up around 4:30 a.m. yesterday and found Bree trying to sleep on the couch.  Apparently there was a huge rat on her bed.  The security guard came by later that morning carrying a kitten and Bree arranged to adopt it.  She named it Poa, which she says means "cool" in Swahili.  Unfortunately, she says the kitten is smaller than the rat, so we will have to wait till she grows some to be a rat catcher.  Meanwhile, one of the teachers from her school came over, found the rat, and killed it with a stick.  Bree is exhausted from ceding her room to the rat for 3 nights.

 Bree and Poa, our designated rat catcher