I Always Wanted to be a Disney Character....

I am officially a bush baby now! I have been living in my village since August 25 and so far so good. Ansel and I are the talk of the town! Here are some highlights of the first few weeks.

I was posted Friday morning and it went well. I woke up around 5am Saturday morning and had to pee but didn't want to go to my latrine. I figured that since it was still dark and I have a 6 foot high fence around my yard it would be safe to just go in the yard next to my house. I went back outside two hours later and someone had put ash on my pee spot! I don't know if someone saw and/or heard me but if they saw me it would have caused further alarm b/c I was only wearing underwear and a sports bra! I learned my lesson...I use my latrine no matter what time it is!

One afternoon I was sitting on my stoop and I heard a sqealing pig and barking dogs, which isn't all that uncommon, but this pig was more distressed than most. I, of course, had to investigate. I walked outside my fence to see the pig running directly at me so I went around the corner of my fence. The pig saw his opportunity and went in my gate and then into my house! The pig enjoyed his 10 minutes of safety but eventually the boys in my village caught him and loaded him on the back of a bike to go to pig heaven. I would guess the pig weighed 200+lbs and the only "damage" was some spilled water!

I have a crazy cat that acts like a dog by sleeping all day and begging for food. He hunts all night and sometimes leaves "presents" (mice) for me in kitchen and in the yard. I got him 2 days before I got posted and the next morning I took him to the vet to become less of a man and get his rabies vaccination. The vet told me I need to come back in 10 days to get the stitches out but I told him that wouldn't be possible and I would do it myself. Ansel isn't really into traveling and I did't have the money to go back to Chipata just to remove some stitches. I spent the next 10 days plotting my attack and saw my chance one night when he was sleeping. I used a Swiss Army knife and tweezers and he didn't even wake up! Getting him neutered was a whole 'nother story. It seemed as though I might be doing the surgery myself for a while but the vet eventually took control and 1/2 hour later my cats testicles were carried out on a silver platter!

The first week or two I felt like a Disney character or zoo animal b/c people would stand outside my fence and stare at me for hours. I think I'm losing my luster though b/c now they only stare for a few minutes at a time. I went to see some traditional drumming and dancing last weekend I felt like I stepped in a page in National Geographic!

I will soon get furniture and my hut will feel like a home! I will take pictures and while I'm in Chipata this weekend I hope to mail a disc home to be uploaded! I will post again next month!