Watch where you stand

This is the hive. I know it doesn't look like much in the picture but it's about 12ft across and goes quite a ways under ground. A lot of the people here try to kill them with gasoline because they sometimes damage their crops. I hear it's still hard to get rid of them though.
No sewing, but lots of reaping.



They never stop, there are literally millions of them walking in this line.






Here they are coming and going up this tree trunk. The ones with the yellow flowers are coming down and there are a lot going up that you can't really see.







Here's one of the paths they have cut in the grass. Such a big help when it comes to accidentally standing on them. Army ants are not nearly as nice. They leave the grass and eat everything that moves. Yes including toes. One interesting thing about the army ants down here is that they will occasionally move into peoples homes, by the millions, or at least hundreds of thousands. They only way to deal with them is to leave. You physically cannot stay in your home. So you leave go hang out with a friend or go into town and about 5 or so hours later they are all gone. Along with everything else that was living in your house. They eat the bugs the geckos even the spider webs. They are very good at what they do.


Hey guy, J here.







Not a whole lot has happened for me the past few days that's been very blogable. Mostly because of the amount of rain we have been getting. I have mostly just been hanging out in the apartment either reading or attempting to do some writing. I also drove NH to the hospital while she was on call every other day last week too. I don't believe I have posted any pictures yet of the leaf cutter ants they have here. So that's what all these are of. A still shot doesn't do them justice, but I didn't have the other camera so stills are all I have right now. I have decided that there are more ants on the property here at the hospital than there are humans on the planet. I have been bitten/stung at least 30 times since we have been here. luckily they were mostly from incredibly small fire ants and a few army ants. The army ants were by far the worst. The fire ants would sting for about 30 seconds or so, but if you rub the bite it would go away pretty quickly. I guess because they are so small here the amount of venom they can deliver is a lot less. The army ants however throb for a good 5-6 minutes and continue to burn for another 10 or so. I haven't been bitten by these leaf cutter ants though, mostly because of how obvious they are. They completely cut down all the grass where they will be walking making a little dirt path. Not sure why, I guess it helps with travel speed. Then they will pick a tree and completely strip certain types of leaves from it. The ones in the pictures are mostly harvesting the flowers from about 4 trees. Whats really cool about them though is that they don't actually eat the leaves they harvest. They gather all these leaves and take them down into their hive putting them in their "fields" near the bottom of the hive and actually grow a fungus that they then eat. Pretty amazing stuff.




Well this may or may not be my last blog before we head off on our vacation since we are going to try and go internet free and actually enjoy ourselves without worrying about who poked us on bookface. I know my blogs are light hearted and are often less than serious, but that has simply been to counter my wife's blogs which have been very deep and insightful. I have actually learned a lot on this trip. Not just about the culture here, but about our future and what that may look like. I'm not saying we will be coming back here, just that we have both discovered new points of view to consider as we move forward. This is the first time I have ever been able to see my wife actually being a doctor. Accept for the baby conversations with Casey. lol. I was actually able to come into a delivery room after a 2lb baby was born at about 29 weeks and watch my wife fight to save it's slim chance at a life, and then ride with them into town at 2am while they breathed for the baby the whole way. I have met some of the bravest people I think I will ever have the pleasure of calling my friends. All below the age of 12 years old. Their stories of rape, abuse, starvation and abandonment would bring anyone to tears, quickly followed by an overwhelming sense of perspective. For I think the first time in my life, i have met children, even babies who cry for me to hold them and pull away from anyone else who tries to take them away. I presume this is because of the lack of men in their lives. I have also had my heart melted by a little girl I can barely understand. All she has to do is smile and say "Joush!" Sadly this children's center is closed to international adoption and I can truly say that brings tears to my eyes every time I think about it. Even now.







Thank you so much to all of you who have been faithfully following along and for keeping us in your prayers. To have shared this journey of growth and discovery with all of you has truly been a blessing.







I would also like to thank you all for the unanimous vote to allow my wife a almost guilt free vacation : )







Adios



J