MONKEY TALES #14
(10/24/03)
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 #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
(9/14/03)
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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Hey, hey. Leigh and I are crashing
in Franceville tonight before heading off to Bakoumba for the weekend
to see two of our pals. Oh, and it just so happens that Bakoumba is right
on the outskirts of one of Gabon's national parks (complete with critters
and vine bridges galore---rough life!). We left the dogs at Leigh's in
care of one of her students, so we're taking bets on the excrement clean-up
we'll have to do come Sunday. Yum.
1. Speaking of dogs...took the buggers to the vet last Thursday, who turned
out to be an incredibly nice (!) French man who usually works on gorilla/AIDS
research. He gave them shots and de-worming drugs all for free, in addition
to little medical record books to document their immunizations (crucial
if we want them to come home with us). But in further health news, Leigh
noticed that one of Bousco's nipples was highly inflamed and solid underneath.
We showed it to one of the guys who works at the hospital with me; he
took one look, picked up the dog, and squeezed the nipple. You guessed
it...out oozed the same kind of worm that was in Minger's tail, wriggling
and twisting around in all of its fat grubbiness. Heck, some people get
nipple rings, so why not take it up a notch and go for nipple worms? It
could be the newest rage and anything African is highly exotic and replicated,
right?!
2. We met another amazing family last week- our favorite thus far. Monsieur
Toviezan (they're from Benin) and his wife and 3 kids offered us a cool
drink and chocolate cookies as soon as we walked in. Then we sat around
talking about how unwelcoming the Gabonese are, educational systems, cuisine,
etc. We also discovered ahead of time that Mme. Toviezan is a tailer,
so we brought some fabric with us to be measured for some news duds (since
everything in my meagre wardrobe contains irreversible armpit stains and
a perpetually rank odour of sweat). Then we all went walking down the
street en masse to see a neighbor's "garden" (more like a plantation),
stopping along the way for Leigh Ann and I to flag down a mama just returning
from being en brousse; she had fresh feuilles de manioc and we were beyond
excited. It was truly like spending a few hours among family, and upon
returning to their house, Mme. Toviezan handed us free homemade peanut
butter for our dinner and I bought some lait caille (they have a little
store they run from their house) to eat in the sweltering heat on the
way home. We love them dearly and can't wait to see them again when we
pick up our clothes this week.
3. I can in no way explain the most recent event at the hospital which
changed my life, so I'm not going to try very hard. Put simply and clinically,
I saw a birth on Thursday. Stevie (the maternity nurse I primarily work
with) clapped me on the shoulder as I walked in and said, "Tu verras
une accouchment aujourd'hui" (you'll see a birth today). Thus began
the twilight zone. I donned my white lab coat and went to the birthing
room where I talked to Patricia (the sage femme, or midwife) and the mother.
She was almost 30 and it would be her 6th kid (but the rest were all healthy
and adequately spaced, so hooray!). I'll spare you the graphic details
of the sights, sounds, and smells (just picture an airless room, atrocious
heat, and blood---let your imagination go), and I don't know how many,
if any, of you have ever witnessed a live birth before. There was nothing
that could have prepared me for this. No films, no pictures in books ever
captured the complete awe I felt staring at this woman's body and knowing
that a tiny human was inside and about to be born. I watched the whole
thing, from start to finish (4 hours-nice and fast and not even an epidural),
my eyes as wide as saucers. I saw the head crown and a thatch of curly
black hair, then the shoulders and the cord, and finally the itty bitty
arms and legs of a beautiful baby girl. She seemed so tiny, even smaller
than Minger, and I helped clean her off (she barely made a sound) and
bundle her up before taking her over to see her mom for the first time.
As cliche as it is, the miracle of birth bowled me over. The whole process
was so hard to imagine, and afterward, there was only a deflated abdomen
where the baby had been. I was never squeamish, except for when they cut
the umbilical cord (what do you expect-it's long and slimy and filled
with blood--I kept picturing the baby as being "plugged in").
When would I ever have the chance to see this in the states? And it was
as close to natural childbirth as I could get (only a glucose IV drip).
I still haven't decided if the whole episode makes me want 5 of my own,
or if I should just hoof it to the nearest adoption agency when the times
comes. On verra! (we'll see)
4. All the new volunteers in the Haut (7 others) are coming to Ngouoni
next Friday to celebrate my birthday (the 29th) and Halloween. We're all
excited, tho Leigh and I keep laughing; if everyone thought we were nuts
because of our dogs and the bikes, what are they going to think when 9
Americans go sauntering around town together? It'll surely be the event
of the year. We're going to ask the local restaurant owners to "cater"
the event (they offered), one of our friends is going to bring her lap-top,
and we'll settle in for a night of scary movies and popcorn, topped off
by a jumbo sleep-over. Just makes me laugh because my 21st birthday celebration
last year was cancelled due to a blizzard, yet my 22nd this year will
be held in the midst of Gabon's staggeringly hot rainy season. My what
a difference a year makes!
Alright, that's all the news for this edition. Anyone who was planning
on calling me Sunday, please do, but not until early evening my time when
we're back in Ngouoni after our Bakoumba excursion (there's no phone reception
down there). I'll also have the phone on Wednesday (still waiting for
the shipment of phone models I can afford to arrive). Love to all, and
in case I don't check email again, have a fantastic and safe Halloween---enjoy
it extra for me since, afterall, it IS my favorite holiday.
I SAW A BIRTH!
-Leah A.
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