We have big ones, little ones, ugly and cute ones. Trust me it took me a while to think any of them were cute. When we first got to Haiti they ranked right up there with the tarantulas! The main kind of lizard we have are called “zon- dough- leet” (bottom photo). They change color depending on the surface they are on like salamanders. I don’t even panic when I see them in the house anymore. Once when we were sitting outside together and David had his cup of coffee on a saucer a little spilled on the saucer. As we talked we noticed a lizard coming over and it came right up and drank from his saucer!
Another time I was sitting in the living room and a small lizard jumped on the chair and ran into the cap sleeve on my dress and across my shoulders and out the other sleeve. Trust me I was up and jumping around to make sure it was no longer on me. I’m sure I was vocal about it too.
My least favorite story is the time I got up early one morning and came out in the dark to open the living room windows to get air flowing through the house. I had closed them the night before when it was raining hard. Well, a lizard was on the curtain or somewhere and I startled him and he landed ON MY FACE!!!!! yes you read that correctly ON MY FACE!!! Well, everyone in the vicinity of our home knew something was going on. I was jumping all over the place but those little things have suction cups on their feet and he held on for dear life. Finally he realized he’d better get as far away from this screaming maniac as he could and fled. That was a hard one to live down.
One memory of lizards involves Amy. Remember she was 2 months old when we came so she grew up used to seeing them. Then we went on our first furlough when she was 4 years old and lived in DuBois for a year. When we returned to Haiti when she was 5 she would go outside to play and within minutes be back inside scared of the lizards. Finally I told her that she would be spending the rest of her life inside (and even then she'll see some inside-yikes!)unless she got used to seeing them. She loved playing outside so soon adjusted to seeing them all the time again.
The other kind of lizard is what we call a “ma-boo-ya” (top photo). These look like little dinosaurs to me. The one pictured here is a small one. They get about 8-10 inches long. I’ve never seen one outside but they live in our front and back yard areas. They can stay there as long as they don’t come inside! They just look nasty compared to the little ones. Anyway, there are other families of lizards but these are the most common.
I may address other “critters” that reside in this beautiful tropical country in future entries but then again I might not because just talking about them and remembering my encounters with them give me nightmares.
Hi Phyl,
ReplyDeleteThis was my first look at your blog, and I have just read it end to end, crying, laughing and smiling along the way. The photos are wonderful.
I love having a glimpse into your life there. Of course, I remember both sets of parents so well from the early days, and it really brings back memories. I am blessed by it all.