Stepping Out of the Boat

One of my (Claire) worst nightmares has always been the possibility of bugs getting into my bed. Well, that nightmare of mine was realized last night. Here in Santo Domingo, we live with colonies of small ants. They are everywhere, and no matter how many times you spray or how many ants you kill, they always come back stronger than before. Last night after a long day and a big meal, I was getting ready for bed, and as I pulled back the mosquito net, I noticed that our bed was crawling with tiny ants. I flipped my lid, then John and I sprayed around the room and changed the sheets. How much longer must I endure this? Only seven more months.

I know there have been bigger and scarier bugs in our bed than the ants because I've woken up with huge, painful bites - but I didn't see those bugs crawling on the bed. I only hope the ants decide to leave me this one small area of our apartment to keep as my own. I think I'm being unrealistically optimistic in that hope.