Three Things I Never Expected to Get Used to Living in Colombia

“No living thing is ugly in this world. Even a tarantula considers itself beautiful” ― Munia Khan

Last night as we were chasing a cute little bat around our house. I thought: well, this is a first. There are so many exciting things about living in the country that I never realized would become normal for me.

And yes, finding a bat flying around the bedroom will now make the #1 thing of things I never expected to get used to while living here.

Naturally, I had to capture a picture of the scared little guy. We did find a box and did a catch and release, with the bat going unharmed.

In case you are wondering, all things that are now normal to me involve animals or insects.

#2 thing that I have gotten used to is lizards wandering around my house at all times.

We had a little lizard living on our table outside for a while. She has since left and has moved to bigger and better accommodations.

I am assuming that is inside the house. We have a few that stay inside; at least they eat the bugs inside. It is customary here to have holes where the roof is and to leave the windows and doors open at all times.

It means you will become one with the bugs when you live in a tropical country. For me, this is not an issue; they do no harm. On the other hand, my boyfriend is constantly spraying his office, as he hates the bugs.

#3 thing I have gotten used to is waking up and having frogs inside the house.

They are huge, they look like toads to us in the US, but they are harmless. It is more common after it has rained, and sometimes they take refuge in my shoes.

A typical morning for me is going through all my shoes to ensure there are no cockroaches, spiders, lizards, or frogs inside my footwear. The other day I forgot to check, and there was a giant spider. Luckily I did not kill the little guy, and he was released back into the wild.

When I return to the US, I will have to readjust to having no bugs, bats, or frogs inside my house. I will miss these crazy little creatures, even though I am sure after most of you have read this, I have just terrorized you enough to never come to the countryside.

I hope that is not the case. We are all one with nature, including all God’s creatures, not just the ones we think are cute.

XOXO

S