MONKEY TALES #11
(10/4/03)
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 #10
(9/27/03)
MONKEY TALES #9
(9/19/03)
MONKEY TALES #8.5
(9/14/03)
MONKEY TALES #8
(9/13/03)
MONKEY TALES #7
(8/21/03)
MONKEY TALES #6
(8/14/03)
MONKEY TALES #5
(8/8/03)
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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What's kickin? Very short this week; two major events,
but other than that, Ngouoni life is slower than molasses...
1. I caved and GOT A DOG! The family behind the volunteer house in Franceville
had some puppies, so last week I bumbled over to check them out. They
had two left, and when they brough her out, I handed over 8 bucks and
bought her on the spot. She's probably about a month old, black and white,
and the little bugger has more personality than I know what to do with.
Still working on the potty training aspects (some days are better than
others) and her diet consists of sardines and rice, hard-boiled eggs,
and papaya...truly a Gabo-mutt! Heck, even her name came to me in a blinding
flash of inspiration (either that or heat-stroke)...drumroll...MINGER!
For those of you unfortunate enough to be out of the loop when it comes
to the magic world of British slang, a "minger" (derivative
of the adjective "minging") is a person (usually female) who's
not exactly what one would call attractive, to put it nicely. When I first
saw her, she was skin and bones, covered in mites and ticks, had patches
of fur missing, scabs everywhere, and a belly full of worms to boot. Multiple
days (and baths and yummy meals) later, she's bug free (externally--the
de-worming is next week) and healthy, a completely different dog; I'll
send a Polaroid pic home soon. However, I've never had a puppy this young
before, and it's freakish how much it's like raising a child....cue next
story...
2. When Leigh and I go to Franceville, I usually shut her in the bathroom
with food and water, so as to centralize the location of any potential
doggie excrement. I did the same thing today and went down to wait at
the crossroads for a bus. Only later did we realize we forgot our carte
de sejours (identity cards---crucial when traveling), so I returned home,
and thank God I did. The strangest noises were coming from the bathroom...not
human or animal. I opened the door and discovered that somehow Minger
had managed to wedge her little head behind the pipes for the bidet. The
space was impossibly small, and tho she could breathe (barely), she couldn't
move and just whimpered and whined, looking pitifully at me with those
eyes that only puppies have. I tried pulling on her (she yelped), prying
the bars away with a lever (bent the lever), and unscrewing the actual
bidet (nothing doing). I cried, yelled, and finally settled on trying
to calm her down, all the while praying to Saint Francis if Assisi, the
patron saint of animals. I had no idea what to do and no way to contact
anyone, so I kept trying different methods until finally Leigh showed
up and promptly took off running to the nearest boutique to solicit aid.
She dragged back two guys (the ONLY time anyone besides her has been in
my house), who laughed first, and then tried all the things I had, but
to no avail. Finally, one left and returned shortly with a short, thick
piece of metal, which he used to bust or bend a pipe, after which she
came skittering out and bounded into my arms with little sardine-scented
puppy kisses of gratitude. They fixed the pipe with duct tape (the wonder
tool, I'm telling you!), we all had a good laugh, I thanked them profusely,
and sent them on their way. Good to know that even in Central Africa,
I manage to find a dog who's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Eh, she's still precious.
3. The other acquisition which changed my life this week was a WorldSpace
satellite radio, and at over 200 bucks, the only real object of value
in my house. Now I can listen to tunes without blazing through batteries
like water on my Discman, but most importantly, I have news...a real-live
link to the outside world. We've been following the presidential campaigns,
the "Ah-nold" saga for governor in California, Rush Limbaugh
resigning, and the Cubs (me) and the Sox (Leigh Ann) in their World Series
efforts (see what Africa does to me...I kinda care about baseball now!)
God bless CNN and the BBC for restoring us once again to thinking citizens
of the world. It's also nice to hear some of the latest songs from home,
even if it's only from musical "geniuses" such as Nelly :-)
4. We keep meeting amazing people in town, so daily life is starting to
not pain us as much. I hitched a ride from one of Leigh's neighbors into
Franceville this week, and we spent the whole time talking about schooling,
fruit seasons, and what he would do if he were president instead of Bongo
(the only quasi-disident view I've heard yet). Plus, he invited us over
for dinner tomorrow with his wife and kids, so you know we're gonna hit
that up, especially since they have a computer, television, oven, refrigerator,
multiple air conditioners and a WASHING MACHINE...everything we drool
after but don't/won't have. Then today while waiting for a car, this mama
on her way to her plantation invited us to go en brousse with her sometime
to collect food, after which she'd teach us how to prepare it at her house.
When she found out that I love manioc in all its forms, she cackled out
loud, grabbed my hand, and with a sparkle in her eyes stated, "Oh,
tu es ma fille, tu es vraiment Gabonaise!" (you're my daughter, you're
truly Gabonese!) All it takes is saying you like the stuff, and you're
golden!
Ohtay, goobers, we're off to the marche to buy a marmite (mar-meet), or
a large pot used for cooking (or dog-bathing, in my case). We're gonna
turn it into an oven, but more on that process next week after we attempt
baking something for the first time. Enjoy the fall for me...while it
just gets colder out there, it's quite the inverse reaction over here.
Again, I'll have Leigh's phone manana...61.39.00. Miss you.
The proud new canine parent-
Mama Me
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