Don’t let the bedbugs bite…

I found ants in my bed. Four nights in a four-star hotel, and still, ants. Small ones, big ones, fast ones and slow ones.

Upon first discovery, I brushed them away…mildly grossed out, but nothing worth changing a room over.

I proceeded to search the entire rest of my bed, going as far as to rip off the sheets and dig deep under my mattress…no further sign of ants.

I quickly searched my roommate Lisa’s bed…no ants.

Thinking I had killed the only sign of bugs, I went to bed under the impression my room was ant free.

However, the next three nights only brought more ants. A rational person would have simply changed rooms. But I was on a mission; I had to find the source of the ants.

Could it have been a fallen pillow chocolate? Cracker crumbs from the previous guest? The sweet scent of my perfume on the sheets?

Maybe it was the free internet connection in my room. Maybe it was that I had already unpacked for the eleventh time on this trip. Or maybe it was the hours of sleep I forfeited to ponder the insects who were sharing my bed…Whatever the reason, I did not change rooms.

I write this post from Aleppo, a town five hours north of Damascus.

It is my first night in a new, insect-free bed and still I lie awake, thinking about the ants…