August 2, 2010

I still don’t have any classes on Thursday, or anything to do for that matter, so today was a slow day. However a couple things happened which made it interesting, which is why I’m writing about it at all.

The first fun thing that happened was this morning. I was in bed reading a National Geographic – from April and also the newest magazine I have – but was kind of falling asleep. However some voices in back of my house woke me up and I realized they were people I knew, on of them my good friends, right outside my window. I went to my backyard and saw four adults, three kids and a couple dogs standing around a goat which was tied up and looking frightened. It was goat killing time, and for some reason they chose to do it in my backyard. Was it bad that the first thing I thought to do was get my camera?

It was actually the first time I’ve seen a goat being killed and I was startled by the gruesomeness of it. They slit the throat and cracked the neck. There was a LOT of blood gushing out, which they saved in a pan of course to eat in some dish I’m not particularly keen to try. I was also surprised by the kids who were totally nonchalant about the event. The littlest, about four or five, was playing with a condom by blowing it up like a balloon. So that’s why I see so many condom wrappers on the ground…

The second thing that happened is, well, I bought a dog. I don’t know if it will end up being MY dog or just be a stray showing up at my house to be fed every once in a while. I’m hoping to train it, though; tricks like sit, come, maybe how to attack people, and if it gets big enough I could ride on its back to the market.
It was never really my plan to buy a dog. I was talking to my whacky friend Tim Froh this afternoon on the phone. He was telling me about some crazy dude in the U.S. who kidnapped some people from Discovery Channel because he thought the company was promoting procreation and overpopulating the world. (Sometimes I’m glad I’ve been away from the states for so long – all that craziness and you’ll start to think it’s normal. But then again Moz has its fair share of craziness as well.) Anyway while I was talking on the phone I saw these really, really cute puppies that my neighbors have. There were 7 of them and they were all running around and fighting with each other. I could barely say goodbye to Tim because I was so infatuated with these little guys. I’m not even a “cute puppy” person, if that gives you any idea how cute this scene actually was.

So I kept telling Chris I wanted to buy a puppy until I decided to do it right then and there. I went to my neighbor’s house and asked if they were for sale – 50 meticais each which is $1.43 if the exchange rate is still 35 mets to the dollar. They had been born last week from a dog I’m pretty sure gave birth like four months ago. Those puppies might all be dead from starvation – I had seen them scrounging around my house for anything, even a little bit of tuna juice soaked into the dirt. That was one of the reasons I decided I wanted one of the puppies. Even if I fail to take care of it, it was probably going to die anyway. I said I’d take one and sat next to the furry convention before making my decision. My criteria were smartness, playfulness, and feistiness. Cuteness was not a factor under consideration because they were all adorable.

I took the rascal home (if you have a good name make a suggestion in the next couple days) and he cried in my kitchen for the next couple hours. After petting him a lot, trying to play with him, and offering him some rice and couve, which he didn’t eat, he was almost asleep. I put him back with his brothers and sisters and I’ll get him tomorrow morning. I’ll know which one it is because he’s got green permanent marker on his head.

Well this blog post is beginning to look like so many others on the internet which discuss the owner’s pets. I’ll end here.

PS more pics on the way. I would have gone to Chimoio today to upload pics but we are on standfast, which means we can not leave our site because of the rioting in Maputo over increased prices. Don't worry, I'm in no trouble. The black mambas in my bathroom are infinitely more dangerous.