Living on the Res, you get to see a lot of things. Some are beautiful, and some not so beautiful.
On my way to work the other morning (which is a three minute walk for me), I saw a couple of coyotes (Sumanitu) hanging around the culvert under the road. They were kind of cool to see, but they weren't very excited to see me. They were pacing, like they were ready to go check out the cattle pens, but they didn't want me around when they did.
Then, on the way back from town the other day, I saw an eagle (wanbli) lift up off the side of the road when we passed it. In its talons it carried a huge snake almost as long as its wingspan. How I wished I had a camera when I saw that. It was an amazing sight to see.
The not so amazing sight I saw, however, was when I came into class on Monday. I went to my back table, where I prep for the day and make sure everything's ready to go, and saw something white moving on it. I thought, "EWW! Bug!" So I picked up a crayon to squish it. When I went to squish it however, it jumped away. Then the dreaded thought came to my mind, "LICE!" It took me a couple of tries, but I finally managed to get the little bugger and squish it with my crayon.
Lice can live about 4 days off of the host, and we had a 3 day weekend. So, someone who had been in my class had lice. The problem is... who?
Life for the people of this tribe is not easy. They make very little money and therefore don't have the means to properly take care of themselves. Lice is a common problem that we deal with weekly, it seems. I'm afraid to bring home a bag that I left on the floor for fear it might have lice eggs on it. That's something my wife would hate me for- bringing home lice. So, until my room is bug-bombed with one of those new bombs that kills the eggs, too, I am not daring to bring that bag home.
Well, I better get to work!
Wasichu-Witko
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