sleep tight.

Don't let the bed bugs bite? Easier said than done.

This morning I woke up with about 40 little bumps from my toes to my shins that itched like crazy. After a morning and afternoon of scratching my feet raw, I asked neighbor/supermom, Kristin, what she thought they were. She told me to talk to Paul, another neighbor, who has had BED BUGS before.

Gross.

I showed my mystery bug bites to Paul, who told me that it definitely looked like I had a case of bed bugs that could easily be taken care of, but might take a few days...

Sleepover at the neighbor's tonight!!

bush goat.

So I've spent what seems like forever trying to identify some of the furry (and scaly) friends I met in Konia last week, and I think I finally figured out what they are!

The reason my detective work took so long (besides the fact that the internets are really slow here) is that Liberians refer to animals using very different names than we do.

When I asked a man what type of rodent I was holding, he replied "bush goat."

Me: "Sorry, what?"

Him: "Bush goat."

 

Me: "Is it some sort of sloth?"

Him: "Bush goat."

When I got home I figured I could just google image "bush goat," find something that looked similar, and see what the unidentified rodent was really called. My results were extremely unhelpful.

President Bush reading a book titled, "My Pet Goat."

A goat in a bush.

After more thorough research, this is what I discovered about some of the wildlife I met in Konia:

What Liberians call it:	What Americans call it:	What it's actually called:
bush goat	mongoose	kusimanse
crocodile	giant lizard	nile monitor
meat	squirrel	african rope squirrel

Follow the links (in pink) to learn more about each animal if you're interested!

Here are some photos I took of the animals:

And photos friends took of me hangin' with my new pals:

back in the city.

Konia was incredible. So many new things to try, so much to learn, and so many stories to tell! I have hundreds of photos to sort through (and lots of clothes to wash!), but you can bet I will post them as soon as I can.

Living in the country is extremely different than living in the city. Wandering chickens speckle the landscape opposed to trash littering the street, and the sounds of children constantly laughing replace the noise of cars constantly honking. It's nice to have electricity and running water again, but I already can't wait to go back!

A young boy plays in a construction site in Konia.

photography.

While it's awesome to simply witness incredible sights and breath taking views with your own eyes, there's something even more amazing about capturing that scene in a photograph and being able to share it with others who weren't lucky enough to be there in person.

A young girl helps carry bricks for the construction of a school in Konia.

futbol.

pretty in pink.

dady.

Meet Dady (pronounced dah-dee) - a little boy I met on Saturday at Duport Road. He was carrying around a collection of bottle caps that he used to play some sort of game. It looked like a combination of tiddly winks and checkers!