Hello Readers!
I have been so busy lately, I haven't written my blog in over a month. I pledge to do better going forward!
The article below was written for Air Namibia's Flamingo Magazine. It received a lot of positive responses and people seemed to enjoy it. So, I decided to put it in this blog for you to read it too!
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This is a view of the deck at Namibia Wildlife Resorts' Dolomite Lodge
in Etosha National Park. You should come to see and enjoy it for yourself! |
“Waiter! What is this fly doing in my soup?”
By Jackie Marie (my nom de plume! for this magazine)
One of the adjustments I have had to make in my life as a transplanted urban American girl now living in Windhoek, Namibia, has been to make my peace with bugs.
When I was a kid, there was a joke around school that went like this:
A patron in a restaurant having been served his meal and upon looking at it is enraged and calls the waiter. He angrily points at the bowl in front of him and says: “Waiter! What is this fly doing in my soup?” The waiter, nonplussed and totally calm, leans over and looks into the soup bowl with a slight raised eyebrow and responds: “The backstroke, sir.”
My work in tourism in Namibia takes me into rural areas, national parks, pristine bush areas and other raw environments. The vast landscapes, moon-like vistas and wildlife in their natural environment are stunning and I am thankful that I have a job where I can experience such things regularly. The Namibian foods, music, and cultural activities are an uplifting part of any vacation experience and you will enjoy it during your time in Namibia. But, there is a downside as with anything else in this world.
For me, it is the displeasure of meeting up with indigenous Namibians of the insect species.
Bugs are an integral part of the eco-system certainly. They have their very important role to play and in fact, without insects, all life would soon degrade. That general information aside, my reality was that bugs are simply icky. I didn’t discriminate. Some people are ok with flies and not ok with spiders. I was an equal opportunity screamer; they all set me off.
While bugs in Namibia are not as huge as the insects from Hollywood movies like Indiana Jones, for one such as myself who has an aversion to anything with more than four legs (except delicious Namibian crayfish!), I used to run for bug spray when such ‘icky, yucky’ visitors entered my line of sight. The thought of insects crawling over my face in the night or huge beetles with their pincers crawling up my leg or mosquitoes buzzing in my ear was enough to reduce me to trembling in a corner in the fetal position.
However, as time went by, I had my ‘A-Ha’ moment about bugs.
I had my wake-up call while on a camping trip. One of my good friends came up to me while we were sitting at night around the camp fire, and he had a huge moth in his hands.
OK… to get the picture I am painting with this story, first let me clarify the ‘camping thing.’ For those totally urban, city folk like me (born and raised in Washington, D.C.), ‘camping’ in Namibia is the real deal, with tents, backpacks, sleeping bags, cooking meals over a fire, washing in ‘nature’ exposed, and flashlights. In the States, ‘real camping’ happens a lot, but not in my youthful summers with various church groups taking urban kids into the wide open spaces.
I went to summer ‘camp’ (usually a name supposedly based on American Indian words like: Camp Tacoma wa Tonka or some such thing) every year. This was the typical ‘camping-lite’ USA-style, i.e., log cabins with soft single beds, pillows and warm blankets, ghost stories and silly songs, canoeing, fishing lessons, roasting marshmallows and eating dinner in the cafeteria, etc…
Well, one evening while camping with friends, one of my good buddies walked up to me with cupped hands and smiled happily. He opened his hands showed me a gigantic moth he had captured alive. In the spirit of ‘true’ fish tales, I tell you dear reader that the moth was the size of a basketball.
I wanted to run away screaming in terror, but my friend soothed me with the fact that moths are harmless and actually quite useful in the environmental chain of things. He talked on about the type of moth it was and told me some old African folk tales about moths and the markings they have on their wings. This particular moth was rather large (though as I calmed down, it seemed to shrink). I could even see its ‘eyes’ when I looked closer.
As crazy as it sounds, that moth seemed to say to me: “Lady, what is your problem?” I declare honestly here and now that the moth winked at me. Seriously, I’m not kidding.
Finally, by the end of the talk, my friend got me to gently hold the moth for a bit and then release it unharmed. I believe that the moth gave me final look, shook its head at my stupidity and then flew away into the night.
Since then, I have asked more questions and done some reading about bugs. I have learned that they are not so bad after all and in fact, help Mother Nature in many interesting ways.
It is funny to watch the dung beetles collect animal droppings and roll it with their stronger back legs into their nests. These little janitors-of-the-jungle are busy and important.
I have learned that there are flat, fast moving spiders that are great mosquito catchers. That is definitely a good thing! The point is that bugs have no interest in human beings at all. In fact, they go out of their way to avoid us.
For my part, I still have the fear of something crawling on my face and I still hate buzzing of anything by my ear, but I am relieved to report that I am convinced now that there is no great bug conspiracy to eat Jackie-meat! Hurray!
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Plan your holiday to Namibia. Check out the GONDWANA COLLECTION. Google them and see their offerings. They have lodges all over Namibia and their price range is FANTASTIC!
When you come,
Tell'em, Jackie Sent you!
Bye-Bye
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