MONKEY TALES #18
(12/6/03)
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 #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
(9/14/03)
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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Happy weekend! Today's car ride
consisted of the wind whipping our hair into a frenzy as we sat in the
bed of a wood-paneled, gasoline-soaked pickup truck. Not exactly safe,
but nothing here is, and besides, we rode for free! On second thought,
I should prolly stop describing our adventures in transport if I want
everyone to be okay with me staying here!
1. Many people seem to be very concerned that the "poor kids",
ie Minger and Bousco, aren't eating well, being that we're in Africa
and thousands of miles away from the nearest Kibbles 'n Bits. The dogs
probably eat better than we do, but just to assuage everyone's worries,
allow me to share with you a sampling of their Gabo-diet...
-Sardines and rice 3x a day until they reach maturity at about 6 months.
We throw leafy greens into the mixture when we have them, and sometimes
in order to get them to eat all the rice, we cook it in chicken broth.
-If they start eating dirt (iron deficiency), we buy the cheapest can
of liver patè we can find and let them feast on that
-In addition, they scavange on their own and feast on a veritable array
of African offerings--the newest fads are dried plantain peels, manioc,
and an assortment of grasshoppers that they like to catch, dismember,
and chew to bits on the front porch.
-Wednesdays are also "egg days" at my house---for lunch I
eat scrambled eggs and the dog gets an entire hard-boiled egg, shell
and all (calcium and protein in one full sweep!) There's nothing funnier
than watching her trot outside with her prize and eat it all in under
a minute.
-As if that weren't enough, when we eat at the restaurant once a week,
Antonio literally makes us doggie bags with the left over scraps and
fat. Then we have fun teasing the buggers and making them do ridiculous
tricks (you wouldn't believe how high Ming can jump) in order to receive
their food prize. If anything they're spoiled, so for all you animal
lovers out there, believe me when I say that we're taking very good
care of our babies.
2. I was "census-fied" on Thursday! I was outside in shlumpy
clothes debroussing my front yard (yes, with my machete!) when a guy
walked up my (29) front steps, showed me his gov't ID and told me I
was to be part of the census. I pointed out that I wasn't a Gabonese
resident, but he said it didn't matter and I still needed to be counted.
It took all of 5 minutes and we sat at my kitchen table while he threw
questions at me. When we got to the marriage/kids part, he thought I
lied the whole way through. "Are you married?" No. "Not
even in the USA?" No. "But you're 22!" It's different
over there, we marry later. "How many kids do you have?" None.
"Not even ones that died?" No. "You've never even been
pregnant?" No.... He looked at me like I had 3 heads. Then came
the section about appliances I had in my house. Out of a list of 30
items, I had 3; a fan, a radio, and a hot water heater (which I never
use). He couldn't believe I didn't have a computer, TV, fridge, DVD
player, or air conditioner like so many other people in town. It'll
be interesting to see how much Leigh Ann and I skew the country's results,
but it was fun nonetheless and a great deal faster than the American
version!
3. I did a very bad thing yesterday. Well, actually, it was very "African",
in the sense that whatever you have belongs to everyone else. My neighbors
are never home, since they have family members all over the region and
therefore never really stay in Ngouoni. Plus, I allow them to take water
once in a while, so we have a good relationship. Anyway, I noticed that
their papaya tree had some fruit that was just ripe enough and would
soon go to waste or be knocked down by neighborhood kids. Thus, in the
early morning hours I crept through the shoulder-high reeds like a stealthy
jungle cat, and after a few minutes wielding my broom handle, I managed
to acquire the papaya I was after. Victorious, I returned home, cleaned
the seed pods from my skirt and counted my new bug bites. I prefer to
think of the experience as "permanently borrowing" their fruit.
Wahoo.
4. I'm hoping that the following pics make it to you...The first one
is all of us dog owners over Thanksgiving (in my living room posing
on the orgy couch, nonetheless!). The second one is Minger and Bousco
during a rare moment of tranquility (Bousco is tan and black, Minger
is black and white). The last one is me and Ming on Leigh's front porch
with her wearing an improvised Santa hat in honor of the holidays. I
won't tell you how long we waited or how many shots we took before my
little beast sat still long enough. Hope you enjoy!
Love to all and happy holidays!
Leah
 
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