After having tarantulas in my house, lizards in my printer (see previous post) ants in my toothbrush (going after the trace amounts of toothpaste that may not get rinsed out,) red ants in my bag (they bite and sting) and ticks in my skin, I'd thought I had come to terms with Belizean wildlife. Not so.
This morning our breakfast regulars were chatting over oatmeal when my friend Molly says, "What's that?" while pouring sugar on her oats. We all looked up and saw a strange dark blob in the sugar. Nick, a second-year volunteer, grabbed the sugar and scooped the something into the garbage, "Just a piece of sugar-cane," he said, "just a unprocessed piece of sugar cane." Needless to say, I was dubious.
It took me a while and considerable effort, but I finally dragged the true story from a recalcitrant Nick. "It was a beetle," he said, "but not large one." I guess this was supposed to be comforting. I guess I might just eat a small beetle and not notice right? "Golly, this sugar is crunchy today." At least beetles aren't considered part of the daily diet right? "And for lunch, we are having carmelized Hercules beetles! Yum!"
Apparently, you can take the sugar out the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the sugar. I want to go home.
You don't like it in Belize anymore? How could you possibly want to go home!
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