Ants and All Saints Day

Last night there was a major invasion of The Siafu. I first encountered siafu when I lived in Tanzania, with the Ross family. They are large, fierce ants that travel in great caravans. They cross over puddles by sacrificing some of their soldiers to pave the way. If an animal - even a large animal, is constrained - they will eat the entire thing. 

If you happen to step across the path of The Siafu - you may not know it right away. That is part of their strategy. They wait until several of their number have made their way up your legs, usually to about waist level, and then they start to bite. And when they bite they don’t just bite and move on. They bite and hang on with strong jaws. You can pull them off but the jaws will stay clamped into you.

I had the nice thought of going to bed early, after a long and busy day. So around 7pm I went to bed, only to be aroused by the neighbors. First Mama Anne came in telling us we would need to meet at 7am at the shipping container. WHAT?? 7am on our only day off?

Since it’s All Saints’ Day - it wouldn’t be a regular work day. It’s an official government holiday, which means we don’t have to work in the hospital!!! Our only holiday since we got here and we can’t even sleep in. I think Esther might have cried.

The next disturbance came a few minutes later. The Siafu were invading our house. When the Siafu invade - they come by the thousands. If you have small children, it is best to keep them up on beds or chairs out of the way. The only way to contain the ants is to pour kerosine on and around them (it is something they cannot cross over, no matter how desperate - they will perish). So you pour kerosine around the beds of your children (if you have children, that is). In our case, Papa Masky, our kind and generous neighbor, came to the rescue. Armed with a bottle of kerosine and a broom, he got to work. 

After a long and bloody fight, there was peace in the house once again, and we all got to sleep.

In the morning, it was raining, so we didn’t have to go to a meeting at 7 after all. What a relief. I woke to a very disarranged house and a VERY greasy floor. The damage was done. Thousands of dead bodies of Siafu ant soldiers and a ruined floor. The price you have to pay to avoid being eaten. I was grateful to our helpful neighbors and started the morning out by trying to clean up the floor. There was kerosine and ants everywhere, but not a live soldier in sight.

Oh, I almost forgot - Happy All Saints Day!!!