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amalthyaWednesday 7:09 pm
I was just getting ready to go to bed, since the chimpanzees were already sleeping. We'd had no power for nearly 24 hours, and also no water, and lemme tell you -- it sucked. But. as I nestled in, reading Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller, suddenly, my overhead light came on. Hurrah!!
Also, not even Allure can last 24 hours on battery, so I resigned myself to not getting computer work done today.
On the bright side, it was a nice excuse to play with the chimpanzees ALL day. And oh wow, play I did. And take oodles of photos. I've been feeling incredibly motherly of late, and finally, after a month, Okeysha, the last holdout, is treating me like a mommy. Sure boys come and go and play with her, throwing her around, but, for all the kids now, I'm the person they run to for love, affection, comforting and grooming. And that's the way it should be.
In fact, she decided that she wouldn't share me either, and was very funny as she'd surreptitiously push other chimpanzees off my lap with her feet, pretending to be sweet and innocent as they fell to the ground.
I've comment several times and taken photos of her facial expressions, but as I had her face right next to mine all day, I really couldn't help but think that she had a Yoda mouth. Various pursings, and lip curls were just so Yoda-esque. Oh, plus, she's got little white whiskers on her chin.
Either way, it's very cute.
I also ate my first lunch WITH chimpanzees since usually I eat in my room. But I decided that I'd eat with everyone instead, and it was quite an experience. Kanabiro trying to stick her fingers in my tuna, and all three chimpanzees hovering, watching my every movement, sniffing my mouth after each bite and swallow. I did manage to KEEP all my food -- tee hee -- but it was fun anyway.
Bonane and I had some of the most coherent conversation we've had since I arrived - I don't speak very good French, and well, neither does he -- but we usually manage to communicate through gesticulation. Anyway, we're sitting in lawn chairs, watching Etaito and Okeysha wrestle on their newly constructed cargo net. Okeysha is wonderful at brachiating, and moves very quickly and fluidly, while Etaito sort of just bangs around and hopes for the best.
So Bonane has Kanabiro on his lap, and he's holding up her hand and stroking her palm. Chimpanzees like that. And Bonane just has this glisten of love, and respect, and marvel in his eyes.
This is my rough French translation
The moment was just really, really... special. I don't know. Bonane is this older man -- probably 50 to 60 -- and I'm sure prior to this job he never had any experience with or affinity for chimpanzees, but to see this new dawn of realization in him was just incredible. I've mentioned this before, but the social standard is that chimpanzees must be tasty because it's so rare/exotic/expensive and only a very prosperous man would dine on them. Too bad everyone here can't be a caregiver for a week and see what it's all about ;)
I'm also realizing the inherent annoyance of chimpanzee photography, in that they never stay still. And digital cameras need to focus. It's a bit maddening, and I think out of 100+ photos I took today, I was really only happy with like, 12 of them. 12%? Man, I'm gonna have to start taking a lot more photos!
During the afternoon, the bongo drums at the church next door started up for the afternoon serenade, and Bonane and I sat out in the compound, pretending our respective chimpanzees were little drums, and the chimps thought it was a riot.
Etaito was on my lap and I put his feet in my mouth (it makes him laugh) and Okeysha ran over. So suddenly, they started wrestling, playing, biting, thwacking, right there on my lap. That's 20 kilos (44 lbs) of chimpanzee on my lap. Suddenly, Kanabiro decides that she wants to play too, and suddenly I have THREE chimpanzees, and my outstretched legs, resting on a little pile of volcanic rocks, are starting to feel the weight -- about 70 pounds of chimpanzee!!
I'm definitely getting used to it, though. That and getting things accomplished with a chimpanzee on my back [insert bad monkey-on-your-back joke here]. Etaito pretty much followed me around today, and whenever I went something, or got anything, he'd call for me, I'd pause, and I'd heft him up onto my back. So I'd just do whatever I needed to do, with him there, on my back. It wasn't so bad!
I also learned that, if I wanted to keep my book safe, which I kept on my person for reading while the chimpanzees were up in the tree, I just shoved it down my pants. So yes, I spent a good part of the day with a book in my pants. The two seconds my A Fuller book spent unattended NOT in my pants, it ended up with some very lovely and distinctive little chimpanzee-canine marks on certain pages.
It wasn't Tolkein that Etaito didn't like, clearly, but books in general.
A lot of helicopters are flying overhead today, which I'm not really sure of, but I'll try to get to sleep regardless. Today was just a really wonderful (exhausting) day, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to be able to leave these kids.
I was just getting ready to go to bed, since the chimpanzees were already sleeping. We'd had no power for nearly 24 hours, and also no water, and lemme tell you -- it sucked. But. as I nestled in, reading Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller, suddenly, my overhead light came on. Hurrah!!
Also, not even Allure can last 24 hours on battery, so I resigned myself to not getting computer work done today.
On the bright side, it was a nice excuse to play with the chimpanzees ALL day. And oh wow, play I did. And take oodles of photos. I've been feeling incredibly motherly of late, and finally, after a month, Okeysha, the last holdout, is treating me like a mommy. Sure boys come and go and play with her, throwing her around, but, for all the kids now, I'm the person they run to for love, affection, comforting and grooming. And that's the way it should be.
In fact, she decided that she wouldn't share me either, and was very funny as she'd surreptitiously push other chimpanzees off my lap with her feet, pretending to be sweet and innocent as they fell to the ground.
I've comment several times and taken photos of her facial expressions, but as I had her face right next to mine all day, I really couldn't help but think that she had a Yoda mouth. Various pursings, and lip curls were just so Yoda-esque. Oh, plus, she's got little white whiskers on her chin.
Either way, it's very cute.
I also ate my first lunch WITH chimpanzees since usually I eat in my room. But I decided that I'd eat with everyone instead, and it was quite an experience. Kanabiro trying to stick her fingers in my tuna, and all three chimpanzees hovering, watching my every movement, sniffing my mouth after each bite and swallow. I did manage to KEEP all my food -- tee hee -- but it was fun anyway.
Bonane and I had some of the most coherent conversation we've had since I arrived - I don't speak very good French, and well, neither does he -- but we usually manage to communicate through gesticulation. Anyway, we're sitting in lawn chairs, watching Etaito and Okeysha wrestle on their newly constructed cargo net. Okeysha is wonderful at brachiating, and moves very quickly and fluidly, while Etaito sort of just bangs around and hopes for the best.
So Bonane has Kanabiro on his lap, and he's holding up her hand and stroking her palm. Chimpanzees like that. And Bonane just has this glisten of love, and respect, and marvel in his eyes.
This is my rough French translation
Bonane: Their hands. Their hands are just like people. It's the same.
Me: It's true. Their ears too.
Bonane: And their teeth. How can people eat them?
Me: I don't know.
Bonane: They think they're animals. But they're not animals. They're not people, but they are NOT animals.
Me: We are lucky, you and I, to know better.
Bonane: We are very special.
The moment was just really, really... special. I don't know. Bonane is this older man -- probably 50 to 60 -- and I'm sure prior to this job he never had any experience with or affinity for chimpanzees, but to see this new dawn of realization in him was just incredible. I've mentioned this before, but the social standard is that chimpanzees must be tasty because it's so rare/exotic/expensive and only a very prosperous man would dine on them. Too bad everyone here can't be a caregiver for a week and see what it's all about ;)
I'm also realizing the inherent annoyance of chimpanzee photography, in that they never stay still. And digital cameras need to focus. It's a bit maddening, and I think out of 100+ photos I took today, I was really only happy with like, 12 of them. 12%? Man, I'm gonna have to start taking a lot more photos!
During the afternoon, the bongo drums at the church next door started up for the afternoon serenade, and Bonane and I sat out in the compound, pretending our respective chimpanzees were little drums, and the chimps thought it was a riot.
Etaito was on my lap and I put his feet in my mouth (it makes him laugh) and Okeysha ran over. So suddenly, they started wrestling, playing, biting, thwacking, right there on my lap. That's 20 kilos (44 lbs) of chimpanzee on my lap. Suddenly, Kanabiro decides that she wants to play too, and suddenly I have THREE chimpanzees, and my outstretched legs, resting on a little pile of volcanic rocks, are starting to feel the weight -- about 70 pounds of chimpanzee!!
I'm definitely getting used to it, though. That and getting things accomplished with a chimpanzee on my back [insert bad monkey-on-your-back joke here]. Etaito pretty much followed me around today, and whenever I went something, or got anything, he'd call for me, I'd pause, and I'd heft him up onto my back. So I'd just do whatever I needed to do, with him there, on my back. It wasn't so bad!
I also learned that, if I wanted to keep my book safe, which I kept on my person for reading while the chimpanzees were up in the tree, I just shoved it down my pants. So yes, I spent a good part of the day with a book in my pants. The two seconds my A Fuller book spent unattended NOT in my pants, it ended up with some very lovely and distinctive little chimpanzee-canine marks on certain pages.
It wasn't Tolkein that Etaito didn't like, clearly, but books in general.
A lot of helicopters are flying overhead today, which I'm not really sure of, but I'll try to get to sleep regardless. Today was just a really wonderful (exhausting) day, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to be able to leave these kids.
