Spiders and Frogs and Ants OH MY

By Scott:

Yesterday was an interesting exploration into God's lesser species down here in the Caribbean. When I got to the office I sat at my desk and started working on some procedures manuals I am supposed to update and revise. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see movement. On the opposite wall a spider the size of a baseball had wandered up the corner and stopped half way. He almost certainly came out of my credenza where he had been making his home with the office empty and this was the first day I had opened it up and started using it. I called to Kelly (our librarian) in the office next door and asked her to come to my office but not into it. I asked her to look at the spider and let me know if it was poisonous. She jumped a few feet in the air when she saw it and said she didn't know but I should kill it. Kira from the business office and Vernette both came in along with Katie and after some discussion of the possible poison risk we decided upon "operation spider capture" as Kira called it and to catch the little guy and set him free in the world rather than end his life. Katie got a folder, I grabbed a trashcan and we maneuvered him (using masculine but for all I know it was a female) into the trashcan then carried him outside and set him free.

That evening I was closing up the classroom building around 10:20. I had turned off the outside lights and as I walked toward the vending room to go in and turn off the A/C a frog jumped from the roof of the building right onto my head. I about had a heart attack and honestly thought I was being attacked by a bird at first. I reacted, with some justification, quite violently pushing it off my head and onto the grass where it gave me a croak and promptly jumped away. I guess the croak was thanks for breaking its fall.

This afternoon while Katie and I had lunch we looked over at our door and we must have dropped something on our way in because a swarm of ants was crawling all over some food substance. Per our prior declaration we had a stomping party and killed probably a hundred or so of them then swept the bodies out, another reminder that we cant drop food and have to keep this place clean. The college is in the middle of a field and there are more ants than can be counted. Keith puts down poison every few weeks massacring millions but they keep coming back. He tells me that the rain washed away his last treatment so that is why they are a little more active now. Incidentally good news on that front, it rained last night and the roof seems to be working as there were no leaks. We are going to wait through one more rainstorm before starting to use the front room and closet.

First work week is done though both Katie and I are working tomorrow, I am proctoring an exam and she is doing some registration work. We are both enjoying our work though it is draining and sometimes you feel like for every problem you solve there are two new ones that arise. Still we are both very happy to be here and really enjoying the transition to Island life.