If You Give a Mouse a Cookie...

Okay, so I know that I haven't written anything in a while. I was actually planning on doing that in America next week when I go home for vacation. I also need to still write about my trip to Morocco.

I have one thing that I just had to write about now, now, so here it is...

Last Thurs night I had quite a shock! So it was probably about eight, and Lala and Sheriffo were hanging out in my house. Actually they were really excited and singing songs about cookies. I had gotten back from St. Louis that day, and I had to wait for Papa Jammeh to return home from work to give him my gift for the family. I bought some cookies, and you would have thought that I brought home visas for everyone. So then we hear a noise, and I look over. I see something dart behind my cabinet, and then my brain processes what I just saw. It was a rat!!! I kinda give out a half scream (I just had to for effect), and then Lala and Sheriffo freak out and tell me that they are going to go get Papa Jammeh. I tell them in English (they've gotten very good lately), "no go get Pa. Papa Jammeh was working all day and doesn't need to chase a rat." So I start chasing it around, and I got it cornered behind one of my side tables. With all of the happenings of Papa Jammeh running in with a machette, and me thinking "what is he going to do butcher the thing," the rat escaped. Papa Jammeh announced that it ran outside, and everyone agreed. I wanted to believe him, but I just knew better. I sent a pile of texts to Jenni that night, I'll just bullet them where they go in the story.

• Just found 1st mouse. It was behind cabinet. Actually may have come out of it. Then screamed. Kids went to get PJ. Cornered it next 2 door. Tried 2get its picture on its way out but it ran behind my end table. PJ came in w/ machette. The thing either ran out or hid really well. Afraid latter. (9:22pm)

So I didn't see it, but I just knew that it was still there. Couldn't do too much, so got ready for bed and did my nightly sudoku book.

• Ok now 11. doing sudoku & heard something on window pane behind bed. of course mouse. chased it out back door& it ran back in. Got it into other room after it went under bed. Thing kept trying 2 run out front door. Shined flashlight 2 keep it there but stupid thing kept jumping on the handle so hard to open door. finally got door open but think went behind cabinet. May have run out door when cornered but prob not. (11:14pm)

Sat down again to do some more sudoku. Some more texts that explain situation.

• Wish giant creature in rood could just kill it (11:15pm)



• Afraid to go to Brikama to get poison bc then it will die in here and if I don't find it then it'll stink up my house when I am in America. It's black and the body is the size of my hand. I'd offer it a cookie but then it'd ask for a glass of milk and so on. That book teaches important life lessons. (11:19pm)



• Just had another encounter with the mouse. Asshole was on my door into my bedroom. Got it in front again. Opened door but thing would not come out behind cabinet. Hope to God it didn't run back into my bedrooom. I locked my bedroom door. It can have the front. Pretty sure it can't squeeze under door. Good lord! (11:26pm)



• Off to bed. Hope it still in front and not now locked in my room with me. Good night. Enjoy reading these in morning. Turning off phone now. If you don't hear from me by mid morning assume I'm dead and call Pa to break in door. (11:41pm)



• A random thought had and wrote down before I went to bed: Could still hear in front room. Oh my God I'm super tired!

So the rat kept attacking my middle door while I was trying to ignore it. It ran around all night and at some point I went to sleep praying that it would not eat its way through the screen.

I woke up in the morning very tired. I went outside to greet people, and I saw Mama Tamba standing in the doorway to Papa Jammeh's place freaking out. I told her in Mandinka that I had a rat in my house last night so I couldn't sleep. I'm not sure if I used the vocab word for rat correctly, because she was like we had one as well. I looked into the parlor, and Pa was banging something with a stick. My first thought was "is this the same rat, and if so, how did it get into their house. Are our houses not completely sealed off?" Then when Pa was done, he put whatever it was onto the hand broom and started to walk out. He told Mama Tamba that he was going to throw it on her, so she ran out of the compound screaming. Then I saw that it was just a small lizard. I just started laughing. Believe me if there was concrete on the ground instead of sand, I would have fallen to the ground laughing. She told me to stop laughing because lizards are very bad. I was like it's a lizard! Then I told Pa about my visitor.

Pa and I went looking for the mouse. I moved my cabinet and there it was sleeping. Pa told me to stand to the side. I volunteered to go into my back room and shut the door to keep it from running into there. I should have also closed the front door so Pa could kill it with the machette (Jammeh's do not mess around!) but I forgot. Pa got the rat out from behind the cabinet, and it took off out the door with Pa right behind beating it with the hand broom. It got into the barn and Pa was smashing rocks down on it. Or not, Pa wasn't sure. I really, really hoped that he killed it! Pa told me if it came back later to let him know, and walked away.

All evening, and like 5 times before I went to bed that night, I looked for the freaking thing behind my cabinet. I never saw it again. We'll see now that I've been gone a couple of days again...

Some photos of it attacking the door.