Rainy Day (9/6)

Another rainy day in my village. Rainy mornings are a fun relief, because it's a guilt-free way to just sit around the house, sleep in, read, catch up on my journal, and just be alone for a minute. If the rain lasts all day it's maddening and I about lose my mind with cabin fever, but a few hours is a welcome break away.

So what's new? I never get tired of the livestock here or how it's a constant part of daily life. I think baby goats may be the cutest things ever invented. Their little ba-a-aaa-a screams and how they (like most other baby animals, including children) run around aimlessly with their knees locked like they don't know they're there. I think it's hilarious how babies put their legs our in a camera tripod type fashion and run on locked legs like they're hopping around on 4 peg-legs. It's adorable.

2 days ago I saw a roaming goat eat an entire teabag off the ground. Bag, rope, and all. Well he did spit out the Lipton tags, but come on, that's clearly the least tasty part. The other day I was riding my bike to the junction to meet Mr. Bubu at his recharge stand and I saw 2 teenage donkeys run across the highway, one chasing the other. I smiled to myself at the thought of how cute ti was to watch animals play. As I got closer I saw the black one chase the grey donkey through the tall grass. Then, suddenly, they ran across the road again, right in front of me and I understood why she was running. Black had a fully pronounced 5th leg (seriously it almost hit the floor) flopping around as he passed and I literally said out loud "Hell ya girl, I'd be running too if that thing was chasing me." It's times like that, that you come to understand where timeless proverbs come from...

And that brings me to another thought about my stay in a foreign country with a different culture, language, food, everything: I find myself talking to animals and inanimate objects a lot. When you speak English to Ghanaians you "Must slow, your, words. And choose words. That they will rec-og-nize. And you must make. Sure to use no. Contractions. And you must o.ver. Enunciate every. thing." So at home in a desperate need to talk full American speed and slang I'll talk to the bugs in my house and have full conversations "No seriously Fly, get the fuck out of my kitchen." or when a Fly got caught in a spider's web near my stove: "Ya dude, I told you and your friends to stay out of here." Or sometimes I'll rationalize with them before I end it, like a Bond villain. "Sorry Spider. We're cool, but not when you're right next to my bed." *Smash*

I talk to Bubu's livestock as well. (And he has a small petting zoo's worth) Bubu has: a chicken, a rooster, about 5 chicks, 2 ducks, about 9 ducklings, and a sheep. Who NEVER shuts up. Now he's talking about getting more sheep and possibly rabbits. It's funny because he raises them obviously to sell them (as food) but you can tell he cares for them. It's cute.

Bubu's quite the entrepreneur: a teacher, with a cell phone recharge stand, and raises livestock o the side. We get along very well and I really lucked out that he's the only one who stays here full-time.