Day 22.9999

So, now that it’s well into the 23^rd day of our African adventure, I can put down some thoughts about yesterday. I would have written last night, which is yesterday morning for you, but TIA…..This Is Africa….as the mzungu says here. Mzungu, you ask….later I say…. There is a lot, and I mean a lot of corruption here, and the people grow up often with a strange set of values. So, among other things, you don’t leave things of value just laying around…kinda like America only on steroids. Anyway, here, you buy time on the internet ahead, and they give you a USB plugin stick with the amount of kb’s that you bought. Now I had quite afew kbs and probably let that be known, and I’m guessing that some local said to himself, “Local, you need some of mzungus kbs. You should borrow them” . You might think that a 7^th century citizen wouldn’t know how to us kbs or how to get them when they don’t have the stick, but I’m telling you that if local didn’t take them, then I would have to take responsibility for using all of them up…..and that’s not going to happen.
I woke up yesterday and began the ritual of getting ready to meet my many admirers (the little cretans that inhabit this place). Looking into the mirror, once again I was surprised to see such and old guy and I had to decide whether to trim the hairs coming out of my nose and ears, or just wet them down and comb them over. Opting for the latter, I headed out to see what damage Africa could do to me today.
There are 3 dogs that inhabit the place and keep the bad guys at bay during the night….I stay inside, as they have taken to seeing me as riffraff. One of the dogs, I’ll call Biteme, needed some shots for who knows what….probably as protection against the resident mzungu. Biteme may look dumb and lazy, but she seems to have a good memory for being stabbed by needles, and has the distinct advantage of 4 legs and Teeth. When the Vet (needlesticker) snuck onto the compound he thought he could just saunter up to Biteme and stick her full of holes. As good as this sounded to Biteme, she decided to toy with needlesticker and play tag. Not having any of that, Jeff donned his Kevlar suit and joined the fray. This started about 8:30 am. Lucky for needlesticker, biteme only needed a couple of shots, so “it shouldn’t take long” he says. After lunch and a short recuperative nap, Jeff and needlesticker finally coaxed biteme in by tackling her as she diverted her attention to some riffraff. I actually didn’t see the inoculations, as I cowered behind Toyota. After the incident, Jeff told me that he liked nothing better than wasting most of a day chasing dogs so I said that he should continue not using food to bait the dogs in. Biteme was alittle grumpy and slinked away…planning some kind of revenge. The other 2 dogs….they got a big kick out of the whole ordeal.
The afternoon passed as most do, since we came….Sandy lovin on kids, me lookin fer a new hiding place, and everyone staying near the lifeboats, as it is the dry season and it only rains now and then. Jeff sweet talked Toyota into taking us to the secondary school that Peter and Grace attend. It’s just around the corner as they say here….probably 3+ miles. This is the one place that I’d like to hear the parents…..”When I was a kid we had to walk to school in our bare feet….in the rain both ways” ……..“Yeah, dad,,you mean like I did today?” says little muddyfeet.
Oh, mzungu? White person.