Creature Feature

This blog entry is dedicated to my sister Pat --- the quintessential animal lover, and to our friend, Tye, the veterinarian. 


Other than the giraffes, which really are spectacular here, we have not seen much "typical African wildlife."  No elephants, no lions --- not even a snake!  Well, I did see one yellow snake after he was dead.  No thanks!  Now camels, burros, goats and sheep (which look like goats) can be seen anytime up on the road or in the village, and if you travel to the river in the capital, you can see hippos if you are lucky, but for true daily interaction, we have the following:

Cute Lizards!

Lizard Climbing on Our Window Screen

I love the lizards!  They are cute and FAST and everywhere outside, and sometimes they get caught inside the classroom - entering through the cracks or the old swamp coolers!  They like to scamper all over the outer walls of our house, inside the screened porch.  The ones outside that are into the gardens have changed to beautiful colors to match the foliage.

Beautiful Colors

The "blue" in the lizard above is really a bright purple, just matching some popular ground cover around the area!

Still My Favorite - The Chameleon!

The chameleon is not as prolific as the other lizards, but he is magnificent!  He "saunters," rather than "scampering" like the others, and can get mad if bothered.  In the picture above, he is "on alert," since someone poked him with a stick (not me!).

Walking Stick

These are the brown version of the green ones we see often in the northwest.  (Sorry, Tye, if I am misrepresenting any of these biological specimens!) 


I am pausing to enter a "disclaimer," to let you know that the following information contains pictures of "creepy crawlies" and may be disturbing - as they are to me when we find them in our house!

Cockroaches 

I reduced their size, but still . . . These things are as big as they look and are FAST!  But I am getting faster!!!  It is impossible to keep them out of the house!  

Scorpion

This was one of our first "welcome to Africa" greeters!  He had just come inside --- but not for long!  I have only seen one, however, one of the med students who was here in the fall, was collecting them to take home as specimens. I hope he got them all!!!  Hmm . . . what is the airport security ruling on scorpions . . . ???


And LAST, but unfortunately NOT least, we have the "mijikunama," which translated means "Husband of the Scorpion!" (Good luck!  They deserve each other!)  In English, that would be "World's Largest, Most Freaky Spider" (WLMFS)!  Before I reveal him, here was my first encounter a few weeks ago:


I was sitting in my chair reading when I heard this scratching noise.  When I looked up, there was  WLMFS (see above) strutting with great attitude across my lampshade, like he owned the place.  After trying to put him down with insect repellent (yes, I know he is an arachnid), I was starting to think he did own the place!  I finally trapped him under a cookie jar . . . and put a candle on top for weight.  I was prepared to keep watch all night to make sure he did not escape, when a friend stopped by and set him free!  Question:  Did WLMFS come alone or was he on a "friends and family come free pass?"  Answer:  The latter!  We have seen 4 since then!  They, too, are fast!  What is it with speed and African critters???  Enjoy:

Mijikunama in the Sink!

Mijikunama Captured!

People here say the Mijikunama will not hurt you; he is just "playfully aggressive."  So is an alligator!  Go play with someone else, I say!!!


And the prize for most versatile, most prolific critter here goes to . . . (drum roll. . .) . . . the ever-present, ever-living  EARWIG!!!  I have no pictures, sorry.  African earwigs appear to look the same as northwestern earwigs!  But the amazing thing to me is that they can successfully live flattened, between the pages of books, stacked at the bottom of boxes, with several other book boxes on top of them!!!  When you open the boxes and get to the bottom of the books, and shake the pages, they fall out by the dozens, and crawl away!  How do they do it?  Unfortunately for them, they alone are NOT fast.  I have reduced their population significantly!


So I am thinking that the next time I see some travel brochure that promises "adventures for the retirees," I shall look to see if they are traveling to Niger!   

Sharing the Road - 1

In the classroom here at Galmi Day School, we have embarked on a new adventure - poetry!  We are not just reading poetry; we are writing it!  Oh yes!   Where was "Poetry for Dummies" when I was in elementary school???  Kids today have it so easy!!!  Poetry has "formulas!"  Who knew?  You no longer have to be a rhyme mime to be a poet; just follow the rules of whatever kind of poetry you want to write, and - voila!  You've got poetry!  

I think everyone is familiar with "Acrostic Poetry," the kind where you use each letter in a word, name, etc. to begin each line, such as with the name "GALMI" . . .

          God     

          Abounds     

          Loving        

          Me        

          In spite of my sin!

Our class will continue with "acrostic" poetry, since it is so handy for any topic you choose to study, however, today we moved on to "preposition poems" which are way more fun, but a little more challenging, also!  In a preposition poem, you pick a simple activity to write about, but you must start every line with a preposition.  What?  You don't remember what a preposition is?  Hang in there; it will all come back to you.  So I am attempting to write a preposition poem to introduce my latest collection from sights and sounds of Galmi --- "Modes of Transportation," or what I entitle "Sharing the Road - 1."  Following my poetic efforts will be pictures I have collected revealing ways people move through their lives in this corner of the world.  It is a little "rough," but here goes:

 on my head,

around a cover,

out the door,

down the path,

over the rocks,

among the lizards,

through the dust,

toward the gate,

outside the compound,

under the sun,

away from security,

to answer the question

of every walker,

"Amid so many vehicles,

over what span of time,

(minus God's protection), 

until injury is mine?"

  These are just a few of the ways to be challenged while walking in Galmi:

Many Many Motorcycles

Sharing the Road

Always Room for People!

Bush Taxis

What's a Little Extra Furniture to Haul on Top Such A Big Load!?

Can You Say "L-O-N-G?"

                                             

Hauling --- Could be Anything!

Believe it or not, the above picture shows one of the most dangerous "road travelers!"  The burros are so docile looking, but depend on someone to "drive" them.  I once got run into by one of these wheels when I was FAR off the road!  Luckily, no injury!  On another note, this is the way many things are hauled around town.  The barrels could hold water or manure;  I hope they know which is which!

It really IS "Everywhere You Are!"

We do enjoy an occasional coke!  "Diet" or "sugar-free" coke is almost impossible to find!  You have to go into the capital (8 hours away) and even then, know where to look!"

Bus Station

                                       

Vehicles Get"Run Into The Ground" Here --- LITERALLY!

                                                   

'Nuf Said About Donkey Carts?

Hospital "Parking Lot"
(No yellow lines.  No take-a-number.  No fees!!!)

So MUCH Weight!

The More The Merrier --- or The More The MONEY?

Who needs BEAUTY???  If the wheels roll, you've got transportation!!!  Priorities!  If you can squeeze any more people in it, you've got money!!!  Priorities!

Favorite Vehicle on the Compound!

Favorite Vehicle For OFF the Compound!
(Spendy --- BUT only 2  hours to the capital, instead of 6-8 by car!()

[TOTALLY off the subject:  I have noticed when I have gone back to look at some of my blogs, some pictures are gone and all I see is "white space with a caption."  I don't know what happened to them!  They were there once!  I will try to replace them.]