MONKEY TALES #5
(8/8/03)
MONKEY TALES #25
(3/13/04)
MONKEY TALES #24
(3/8/04)
MONKEY TALES #23
(2/12/04)
MONKEY TALES #22
(2/5/04)
MONKEY TALES #21
(1/31/04)
MONKEY TALES #20
(12/22/03)
MONKEY TALES #19
(12/13/03)
MONKEY TALES #18
(12/6/03)
MONKEY TALES #17
(12/1/03)
MONKEY TALES #16
(11/22/03)
MONKEY TALES #15
(11/13/03)
MONKEY TALES #14
(10/24/03)
MONKEY TALES #13
(10/16/03)
MONKEY TALES #12
(10/11/03)
MONKEY TALES #11
(10/4/03)
MONKEY TALES #10
(9/27/03)
MONKEY TALES #9
(9/19/03)
MONKEY TALES #8.5
(9/13/03)
MONKEY TALES #8
(9/13/03)
MONKEY TALES #7
(8/21/03)
MONKEY TALES #6
(8/14/03)
MONKEY TALES #4
(7/29/03)
MONKEY TALES #3
(7/24/03)
MONKEY TALES #2
(6/29/03)
MONKEY TALES #1
(7/17/03)
"YO!"
(6/27/03)
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That time again folks, coming to
you live from Franceville the day before we leave site visit to head back
to Koula Moutou for 5 more hellish sweat-drenched weeks of training. Can
you hear the excitement in my voice? Anyway, totally spent now, so short
and to the point...
1. Travel logistics: Franceville is an approximately a 5-hour bush taxi
ride southeast from Koula Moutou, tho apparently that was record time.
No 7-Eleven's, so a pee break consists of squatting in roadside bushes
with the other 23 occupents of your 13-person capactity bus and hoping
that you don't end up with fire ants in unmentionable places. Return to
car, recommence severe sweating which helps the bright red road dust adhere
to your skin even faster (note...it DOES NOT ever come off). My post,
Ngouoni, is a pleasant 45-minute ride north from Franceville.
2. Post logistics: I LOVE my post. It's a bitty town, only 800 people,
tho the population balloons to 2,000 during the school year. We just acquired
a restaurant last year, and there are 4 boutiques total (think convenience
store and then downsize selection by at least 99.3%). My house is older,
but it sports 3 bedrooms (I'm thinking my room, a guestroom, and a study)
a toilet, 2 showers, hot water, a gas rangetop, and a family of bats.
However, the best part is the "orgy couch", a festively green
circular cushioned affair which greets you as soon as you walk in. I will
be cleaning for weeks to make the place liveable to my standards, but
I'm happy. OH, and one of Bongo's houses is literally on the next hill
over from mine, so all I have to do is look left and it feels like I'm
back in rich American suburbia again.
3. My postmate, Leigh Ann, and I live a 15 walk apart on opposite ends
of town from each other. Her house is brand new, but she has NO furniture
and therefore will need to spend most of her move-in allowance on such
items. Otherwise, we're looking foward to finding her a dog we can quasi-share,
having sleepovers, and whipping up gourmet feasts (there's nothing else
to do BUT cook, whixh explains why all the volunteers have packed on the
pounds in the last year. And here I had all these delusions about wasting
away due to nutritional deficits and stomach parasites...guess I'm truly
destined to eat like a bovine, no matter where in the world I go). Speaking
of Leigh Ann, we found a worm and its egg sack in her toe last week, but
we caught it before it got too big and were able to scrape the thing out
before complications arose. Why does all the good stuff always happen
to everyone else?!
4. I've decided that it's not the animals we need to protect, it's the
natives. Seriously, the Gabonese are an endangered species. I can count
on one hand the number of real, live, actual Gabonese I've met in the
last 6 weeks. The majority of the population is West African (tons of
Senegalese) and Lebanese, with some dirty Frenchies thrown in just to
peeve everyone (on the white totem pole, the French are at the bottom...Americans,
Brits, and South Africans are at the top). I'll keep you updated as to
my conservation efforts.
5. Also had a convo abou the seasonal (human) fetish killing here around
election time. Black magic, vampires...creepy stuff and very real, like
voodoo. However, everyone keeps saying that as long as you don't believe
in it, you're safe (tho they can still grab you...ppl disappear all the
time during these events, tho so far PCV's have been fine). Will keep
you updated on that as well.
Alright, must go. Be in touch soon (hopefully, depending on K-town's craptastic
interenet connection) with my new mailing address. Love to all and enjoy
the last days of your summer...SUCKERS!
-Leah
P.S. The woman right across the street from me in Ngouoni makes manioc.
I swear, my life is complete!
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