(no subject)

Wednesday 4:47 pm

Sometimes you just know that the licks you're getting are deserved.

I knew right away when I came back to the Chimp Chateau today that Etaito hadn't forgotten the incident of Monday. Why should he? I mean, he was so upset, and it's only been really a day and a half since it happened.

I walked into the Chateau and he didn't run up to me and jump into my arms like he usually does. Instead he was distant, unfriendly -- he finally came over for a bit when I sat on my little house's steps.

But once I went over to the jungle gym to take photos of Ben with Okeysha I knew that he was pissed. He would take breaks to come over and charge me, angry, pilo-erect, and attack/bite me. He wouldn't bite that hard, but I would hold out my hand for him each time, trying to keep calm and not get mad at him.

One, two, three times he charged me. The last time, he charged me, but there was definitely less oomph in his step. I squatted down, putting my face (dangerously) close to his, and looked at him feeling incredibly guilty and sorry. He looked back at me, his big, glossy, amber eyes and slowly put his arms up, letting me hook him under his armpits and bring him up into my arms.

He put his face close to mine, and sniffed my mouth (I'd been chewing wintergreen gum) and I leaned in closer. "I'm really sorry. I'm just so sorry," I whispered to him.

Etaito looked into my face inquisitively, and, like he understood, he wrapped his arm around my left arm and nuzzled his face into my breast. I squeezed him tight, and squatted down to the ground again, releasing him into the volcanic pebbles underneath.

He ran off to the jungle gym to play more, and didn't charge me for the rest of the day.

And just like that, Etaito and I made up.

Awake

Friday 5:43 am

I awoke with a start in the dark this morning, and, strangely with a dream about jnespuxah and my red sweater.

I used the toilet, crawling back into bed and trying to get warm. My mind has been racing, and try as I might to get back to sleep, I just kept going over various events in my head. Sometimes, I wish my brain would just shut off.

After probably an hour of mulling and musing, I figured that sleep was coming -- heavy eyelids, slowing processes... until...

I heard the bongo drums. The daily bongo drums from the church next door. And then I knew it was after 5:30 am and that it was time to wake up. Also, I just had to laugh.

Yesterday, Ben and I started over with my demented-looking cargo net, and he, somewhat more proficient with knots than I, (and also more anal-retentive) managed to get it looking like a real net with knots that don't slide around. Ammmmaaazzzzinnng!

And yes, it does seem that Ben is back to help for a little while -- I snagged him while I was at DFGFI showing the directors there the poster. Patrick, who's the VP of DFGFI, was there and really loved my posters, especially the angry gorilla one, which is encouraging because he's apparently difficult to please.

Stuart, Ben and Brad liked them too, and I received lots of positive reinforcement, which is one of my favorite drugs. I enjoy the camaraderie with DFGFI that we all have -- in fact today we're all meeting at the Lebanese place to have lunch (again). hehe. For some of us, it's the seventh or eighth meal there in a row.

Carol lent me the first season of 24 which I thought I would casually watch over the 5 days til I got to the office next. Alas, it's far too exciting and I end up just watching it successively with no thoughts of sleep or work or anything else. Just get me to the next hour!!

EDIT I tried to record the bongo drums, and the bird sounds of the morning, but as loud as they sound, my computer's microphone just doesn't pick them at all. Weird.

Give Me $5 -- A Tale of Going to the Toilet in Goma, Congo

Friday 2:44 pm

There's something to be said about walking, a pied, around Goma. And that's "AHHH!!"

I will say that I only almost gone run over 6 times in 20 minutes. And only two of the cars that nearly ran me over were UN cars. With guns!! Yay!!

Also, who'd ever think that a lava field would be like the construction site of Goma -- people stopping to catcall, whistle, and making smoochie noises as you walked by.

Either way, in my desperate attempt for edible food I walked all the way to the Lebanese restaurant today to meet up with Brad, Carol and Ben for lunch. Ben had already ordered me food, gratefully, and the walk itself, aside from the various near-incidents and blazing sun/heat, was pretty nice. That is, it was nice to GET to walk somewhere.

For precaution's sake, I made sure to bring basically nothing with me. Just $10 for lunch, and my phone. Left the purse with passport and more money behind.

Lunch was delicious, and, like always, I got an extra Kafta Poulet to take home with me for dinner. They didn't have any babaganoush today, so instead we had hummus. Mmm!

Brad and Ben left early (they'd gotten there early) and Carol and I stayed behind to chat and enjoy the shade, since we were both due to walk back to our respective "offices."

I thought I might hit the bathroom, since the Kafta was spicy and the hummus salty, so I'd ended up drinking a lot of water. I asked where the toilet was, and it was an enormous to do. Doors were locked, passageways obscured, hallways darkened. You'd think I was looking for a minotaur instead of a toilet.

Finally our waitress (of "Co-EE-Kay" fame) took me through this service door down a long hallway and finally into this very horrible, dingy, toilet-paper-less bathroom. The paper towels in the main room of the bathroom were one of those spinning re-usable towels, and I'm telling you -- I think it had been installed in 1957. No towel is meant to be re-used THIS long...

I head into the bathroom and shut and lock the stall door behind me. I'm not a toilet snob by any means, but between the smell, the lack of toilet paper, the thought of having to shake off and then having to walk home in the heat -- well, I figured I'd just as soon wait and hold it.

But while I'm in the bathroom, I hear this knock on the stall door. I emerge, and there's the waitress. Her English isn't very good, and she doesn't speak very loudly, but she's definitely saying "Give me $5."

Confused, I look so, and go "huh?" So she reiterates. There's no time that's more awkward than standing in a small, dingy bathroom, buttoning up your pants, having a stranger ask you for money.

I start walking away back towards the restaurant, and she asks again. I still just ignore her and go back to the table. She doesn't come back to the table at all, and I tell Carol, awkward.

We sit for another 30 minutes, and then I head home. I wonder as I head home, passing various armed pedestrians, whether my überdork shirt, "Han Shot First" is the best shirt to be wearing here in Goma.

Upon arrival home, Etaito runs over and jumps in my arms. And, as badly as I have to pee, I just can't bring myself to leave him. So, we go and play on the new cargo net. I take the hammer and saw away from him. We go into the other house and I give him some rice to eat. We play and he laughs. He chews my thumbs and I become conscious of my promise to lauren_lief. He doesn't bite hard, though.

Eventually, he wears himself out and lies down, starting to head to sleep. I tiptoe back to my house and finally, go to the bathroom.

Mommy Dearest

Saturday 6:18 pm

It's so funny to spend extra time with the chimps on the weekends and see all their little quirks come out. I guess I've noticed this particular thing before, but it just made me laugh today.

Anyway, so chimpanzees can walk around carrying things without using any hands. When you walk on all fours, it makes sense to develop some way of doing this, especially when you have infants, right? Anyway, they'll stick something in the crook of their little bellies and their back legs. For a human comparison, imagine walking around with something between your thighs.

Now, I don't know WHY it is, but Okeysha just loves carrying things there. And, because she doesn't have to travel with food, and she clearly doesn't have an infant because she IS one, it usually ends up being random little bits of trash that is lying around the compound.

This morning, I came out and she was carrying around -- I think it was a piece of a hose. But it was very precious to her, and she nestled there in her crook, carrying it around for nearly an hour.

This afternoon, it was a piece of foam that they'd ripped from the couch. This crappy little molting piece of gray foam was delicately nestled in her little leg crook, and when I last saw Okeysha at 6 pm, she was still carrying it around.

Sometimes, it's this red plastic cup. Either way, it's just funny to see the distinct personalities.

So Much To Do

Saturday 6:32 pm

I suddenly feel like there's so much to do -- it's the middle of February, which means I've got about 2 weeks to get everything else accomplished.

This is terrifying! Clearly, I've gotten a LOT done, which makes me happy and proud, but I've still got to paint the other house, take those windows out, and do general scheduling, spreadsheet-y type stuff that I just don't quite have a grasp on yet.

I'm confident that it can all get done, but the mental list in my head of things that need to happen is getting bigger and bigger! I need to check out Seuna sanctuary -- I SMSed the guy who runs it and tried to see if he was available for tomorrow to meet up at Kivu Sun. Chris from MGVP hasn't come to check Shegue yet, and I want to make sure she's integrated.

Still need to put razor wire on the wall, get a quote for raising the back of the wall... *thinks* ... I'd like to build more stuff with Ben but who knows if that'll happen!

I think tomorrow I'll go to Kivu Sun regardless and just relax -- Carol moved out of Hotel Karibu to a new hotel which apparently has wireless internet in the restaurant. If that's really true, it's hella exciting. I wouldn't even have to go INTO the office... EVER! w00t! Plus, wireless. I'll check it out Monday.

Propriety

Sunday 8:08 am

Etaito opened the door to my room while we were out on the front steps playing, and ran in. Okeysha thought it would be a great time to be groomed, so when I went to stand up to grab Etaito, she flung herself across my lap, presenting.

So I couldn't get up, I'm just thinking about my laptop, sitting there on the bed, unprotected.

Faustin comes over and I exclaim "Etaito! Dans mon chambre!" and he slips off his shoes to enter the house, runs to the door of my room, and stands there, going

"Etaito, uh uh!" [scolding cough]

I manage to pick up Okeysha and look into my room, but I don't see Etaito.

"Il e dans la latrine" says Faustin. Bwwah? Well, there's dangerous stuff in there, like all the windows we removed from the house. Faustin is just standing there though, continuing his "Etaito, uh uh!" over and over.

... And I realize. He doesn't want to go into my room. Because it's improper.

"Entree! Entree! Karibu!" I call out, and he quickly leaps into my room, grabs Etaito, and the whole thing is over in 10 seconds.

I went into the bathroom to see what the damage was. Now, what in the world was Etaito doing with my... toothbrush?

Eeuuuhcccch.

Brrrrrrr

Monday 6:11 am

First and foremost is a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to reene!!
I'm sorry I'm not there to eat celebrate it with you, bun.

Secondly, I'm freezing. Who'd have ever thought that I'd come to Africa and freeze? But all night, all this morning, just a big capital-B Brrrr. Thank goodness I brought my purple fuzzy hoodie with me from the chimp chateau yesterday when I left --

And yes, usually I leave the Chimp Chateau on Mondays around 2 pm, but yesterday, I just felt like I was going stir-crazy. I love the chimps, and being with them, but yesterday would have been my fifth full day there and I was just DYING for outside contact with the real world.

I managed to get around Etaito's codependency by not having my ride drive into the compound -- instead I walked outside the gate. And it worked. I also spent an hour before I left just sitting with Etaito while he found bubblegum bubbles the MOST EXCITING THING EVER. He literally sat on my lap, millimeters from my face, totally engaged in the bubbles I was making with my gum. It was very cute.

Carol and I went back to the Kivu Sun yesterday, despite it being cloudy, somehow hoping for it to clear up and be a nice day. Swimming was not-so-inexplicably cheaper, considering the weather, and we got there around 10:30 am. No one was there, and the pool water was actually warm. I got in immediately and swam lots -- the sun even came out for a while.

When my tea came, it was time to get out, but as I sat drinking my tea, the weather got progressively bad, with wild winds warranting umbrella closure.

We went into the hotel to continue reading, and it started to pour. So much so that we had to go iNSIDE instead of sitting outside under the balcony because the rain was just driving in in sheets.

The food, of course, was delicious. Carol had calamari and all I could think was how far that calamari had had to come to be available at a hotel in Rwanda.

But even after we ate, the weather was still cold and inhospitable, so, we just decided to drive back to Carol's new hotel - the Stella. Maybe it was the rain, or the chlorine, but I'm still freezing!

It's into the office today, because the Stella apparently has inconsistent power so wireless in the restaurant won't do me too well if there's no power to run it.

BON APPETIT!!

Monday 8:08 am

I know that Carol likes her room at the Hotel Stella much better than her room at the Karibu, and I know she moved closer to town to feel safer, but I sure as hell don't feel safer at the Stella.

When we arrived yesterday, the parking lot was filled with gun-toting soldiers. That can't ever be a good sign and, as a first impression, it was certainly unnerving.

Then, this morning, when we went down to the restaurant for breakfast, more soldiers. Around every corner, soldiers. Guns, big guns, soldiers. It was a lot to take in.

As we were finishing breakfast, this enormous guy walks in, decked out in full military regalia, and this big red hat, and well, he's clearly some sort of general.

"BONJOUR!" he booms at us. "BON APPETIT!"

He was such an imposing figure that his "bon appetit" felt more like a command than a suggestion.

What seemed worse was the horde of additional soldiers that came down the path after him. One of them was rather jolly, dancing down the path, all Gene Kelly-esque, using his enormous gun like Gene Kelly would use his umbrella.

"Eek," whisper I to Carol. "He's dancing."

"How comforting," replies Carol. "He's probably drunk already."

Feeling uncomfortable and profoundly unsafe, Carol and I get up, and exit the restaurant. Free breakfast or no, get us the hell out of there. It's difficult to enjoy your breakfast when you're sitting 3 feet away from someone who looks like they KILL people for breakfast.

I should google to see who this guy was. The hotel staff guy said that he was "The Congolese General of Aviation"

I'll definitely google that when I get to the office.

Johari

Jumping on the Johari-meme bandwagon:


http://kevan.org/johari?name=amalthya

[want some] Children?

Monday 3:22 pm

Yesterday, while at the Kivu Sun, I saw the two most beautiful little girls with their daddy. They were eating french fries and had little pink sparkly crowns on. This one girl had dark hair and bright blue eyes, and it made me wonder what my daughter would look like.

And whether to drown any babies that didn't have red hair. Maybe if they had blue eyes it wouldn't be necessary. hehe.

Anyway, it made me realize that, despite my cynicism, I really do want children someday. I'm certainly not mature enough to have them now, but I do want them.

Anddd... just like that, today, my wide-eyed glow about the perfection of children was brought into reality as 25 little school children followed me and Carol on our walk from the office to the Lebanese restaurant.

The first thing I will do is teach my children not to follow and harass strange white women on the road. Definitely. I took a great picture of Carol looking like the pied piper. Unfortunately, I have no uploading stuff with me, so it'll just have to wait. Plus the internet seems to be broken. Ah well.

Easy come, easy go.

Also, I gave my passport and $100 to Jungla today to procure me another month-long visa. I'm not sure why I didn't just do that the first time. I don't even have to worry about it -- he's just taking care of it. What will happen, however, is that I'll run out of passport pages very soon. Hopefully Richard Skow at the US Embassy in Kampala can help me get s'more.

Oh, and [provided he doesn't mind] I wanted to share this little bit of prose from gatsbys_regret
I really wish that someone would write something as beautiful, tender and poetic about me someday.