Not So Serious

I’ve been reflecting lately over the last year and my time here in the Dominican Republic. I’ve thought about the changes in my life, the struggles and successes, the people I have met and the lessons I have learned along the way. It occurred to me that others might be interested in some of the lessons I have learned. So, for what they are worth, here are some things I now know that I did not know before:

1.       Roosters crow at any time of the day or night – not solely at sunrise. This lesson was learned on my very first trip to the DR in 2012. It remains true to this day.

 

2.       Laundry is best done in the early morning – after sunrise but before others are awake and using electricity. There seems to be a sweet spot where the washer actually has enough power to pump the water out of the tub. Miss that sweet spot and drain the tub by hand.

      

      3.       Electric wires do not have to be attached to a straight pole.  Sometimes a dead tree will work just fine.

 

 

       4.       I actually like avocados and guacamole.

5.       Wasps are intelligent. After trying numerous times to build nests on the overhangs outside my windows or on the metal grates of my windows, they have found the perfect place to build – one foot beyond the reach of Raid from my balcony and out of the line of sight (or spray) from either window.

 

 

      6.       Never bring a broom in the house without shaking it first – especially after dark. While your intentions may have been to help one lizard who is running along the top of your wall to find the door, chances are you will actually gain a second lizard who jumps off the broom right for your head.

 

      7.       Raid will kill lizards – no, not the two mentioned above. Before you decide to leave nasty comments on my blog, this was discovered purely by accident. I honestly thought it was a large spider hiding behind the books on my shelf. Not wanting to move the books and deal with it, I sprayed the area thoroughly with Raid only to discover it was actually a lizard who, sadly, did not survive his experience. Please note – the two lizards in #6 above were alive and well when they were escorted out of my apartment.

 

 

8.       Lizard poop looks remarkably like mouse poop. For a couple months, I was sure my balconies were being visited by mice every night. Not wanting them to find their way into my apartment, I put out D-Con. Several weeks went by. Nothing touched the D-Con but the poop continued to appear on the balconies. One day, I found the poop on the wall – either there was something else pooping in my space or mice in the DR are extremely acrobatic. A little research via Google and, sure enough, it is lizard poop. The difference? Lizard poop usually has a little white on the end. Who knew that coming to the DR would make me an expert on lizard poop.

There you have it. I hope you will allow me this slightly tongue-in-cheek look at what I have learned in the last year. I have, of course, learned other lessons – deeper and life-changing lessons. One day I will write about some of those, but not today. And for those of you who object to instruments of death – Raid and D-Con to be exact – please forgive me and offer a little grace. The lizards have. They have learned to come around only after dark. I have rarely seen them during the day since the unfortunate demise of their friend. Or, wait a minute, maybe they are actually exacting their revenge by pooping on my balconies every night.