Invasion of Safari Ants

Invasion of Safari Ants

Yesterday afternoon was an eventful one. After my attempt at a run, I had some time to read and relax (difficult life, I know). Then, when I went to take my shower, Borre, the wonderful man that fills up my shower with hot water, pointed out that the safari ants had invaded my tent. Safari ants are very interesting creatures- they travel by the hundreds of thousands, sometimes a million. The ant colony is run by the queen, but other ants have just as interesting roles. There are guards that flank the troops and protect the young as they march. They’re really cool to watch. NOT so cool when they decide to march through your tent and belongings. They REALLY hurt and swarm when there lines are disturbed. (Google them for a visual). ANYWAY. They invaded my tent, making their lines in different patterns around it. The major line though (the one that will eventually carry the queen) went around the edge of my tent, then UNDER it, and out right next to the front door. Richard and I examined it and decided it was okay to sleep there, but I must not walk on the left side of my tent for fear of disturbing the ants underneath it. I still had dreams about ants swarming me…

 

Anway, at dinner, I sat with the family from Switzerland. The parents spoke English but the two kids only spoke German and French so the parents translated. They had 2 funny things I particularly wanted to share with you: the first was when I said I was born in Texas, the 15 year old’s face lit up. He and all of his friends knew what Texas was and what it looked like because they use Texas Instruments calculators! I thought that was special.  Next, we were discussing how many Europeans think Americans are dumb (don’t worry, I stand up for us) and the Dad (Max) told a story about a trip to France. He was looking at a WWI war memorial of a soldier, with a plaque below it that said 1914-1918. He was standing next to an American girl who tapped her friend and said, “Ohhh!!! A four year old soldier! How sad!”  So I guess this is how we get our reputation.