Creatures of the Night...and Day

Every biosphere (or is it ecosphere?) has its natural inhabitants and ours is no different.  The difference lies in the type of inhabitants in our new home.  The first bit of time we spent here was used to battle roaches of the gargantuan variety.  After finding bleach, raid, and some type of plug-in device, they have no longer been an issue.  I wish we could say the same for the rest of our little friends.

The mosquitoes almost seem more intent on making up for lost time now that the weather has cooled down enough that simply moving about doesn't seem like too arduous a task.  It's inevitable with the humidity here that a few of those guys and some wee gnats will make it into our home on a regular basis.  Though a bit of a nuisance, they are nothing compared to some of the other beasts we have encountered.

Some of them, like this goat, are cute enough at a safe distance.

A mouse or two has been found directly outside our apartment door...usually by the community, outdoor cat.  It's not unusual for us to either leave or return to speckles of blood trailing up the building's tiled stairway.  However, some of the creatures are a little more intimidating.

And yet, that guy - pincers and all - has nothing on what we have now termed the "cookie spiders."  Arianne first found one in her room and it was HUGE.  It earned the name cookie spider simply by being the size of a...well...cookie.  Her bravery was unrivaled.  Naturally, I contributed to the cause of ousting the beast by jumping around and screaming loudly enough to alert all neighbors within a 3 mile radius.

Our teammates (with the exception of one lady who had found a cookie spider in her kitchen) refused to believe us when we told of its massive size.  A few weeks in, one made its way into my room.  Thankfully, one of the guys was nearby and quickly returned it to its Maker.  That particular one was dubbed an "oreo spider" because it was significantly smaller than the monster that had graced Arianne's room.

Considering our relatively frequent encounters and my time being spent increasingly away from the other teachers (such as on their TL days), I decided to make an effort to be braver.  When I saw a normal-sized spider near my door, I quickly grabbed a flip flop, held my breath, and ever-so-swiftly smashed the ever-lovin' daylights out of him.  I patted myself on the back and went on my way.  Later that day, well into the night, actually, we went to our favorite tea stand after an especially grueling day and saw the Grandma's Great Spatula of Cookie Spiders (GGSCS).

Now, he may not look like much, just chillin' on the meter box (or whatever that is), but I can assure you he was Quite. Large.  As in, this Texas girl has seen tarantulas smaller than that guy.  I'm pretty sure the normal-sized spider I killed earlier that day must have been his son or something because he looked outraged - see the beady, red glint in his eye?  He wanted blood.  I'm sure of it. (Shudder.)

As you can see, David's no small fella himself, and the GGSCS looks more than ready to take on his over-sized flip flop.  We quickly and strategically devised a plan - Arianne would grab the camera from our apartment, David would smash him, Alice had the backup can of raid should David miss, and I was making sure the light on the landing (motion-sensor slap-pad thingy)  would not go out.

Thankfully the plan, as well as the GGSCS, was flawlessly executed.