10.24.13 Month 2 Day 3: Crabs, spider monkeys, and neon lizards! The wildlife of Africa is a bit different than what we had expected… While I was eating breakfast, Bertha came into the dining room and announced, “Mark, there is an animal outside you should see but I don’t know the English name for it!” Having my mother’s fear of snakes instilled within me at a very young age, my mind immediately went to terror. “Coming,” I replied while crossing my fingers, slipping on my shoes and preparing for whatever was outside the front door. To my great relief it was nothing horrifying at all, but rather, something quite humorous! A crab had ventured out of the stream which was presumably his home and came to visit us. Some of you may have seen the video that I uploaded, which you should certainly reference for a more accurate depiction of the event. In the morning while progressing through my teaching regimen, I noticed what looked like a toy lizard on the ground which was ornately adorned with brilliant neon colors. It looked as though the lizard had been deliberately splattered with exotically selected paints. I tried to capture a picture of it, but every time I seemed to take interest in the creature, it would disappear behind a plant into the shade. I am sure that I will see something similar again, and next time I will be more prepared! After handling the unexpected excitement of the morning fauna, I returned back to the house to greet Bertha who was already preparing lunch. Spaghetti with her always-improving meat sauce was on the menu today, which is a dish that she is continuously tweaking and with each serving, I am expected to share my honest impressions of the adjustments. Together, we will find a sauce that changes Afro-American cuisine forever. I was rather thirsty and a little sleepy after the meal, so I asked Bertha to go next door to purchase me a Coca-Cola (yes they have Coke here!) for a little pick-me-up. On her way back, she shouted, “Mark come outside! Quick!” So I dropped what I was doing and proceeded to come outside to see what the commotion was all about. Just around the corner was the long tail of a spider monkey who had come down from the mountainside to visit. Monkeys are my favorite type of animal, without a doubt. I was even nicknamed ‘monk’ by my family for a few years in my younger years, along with ‘kukaliwala’ which I am still searching for a meaning in Chichewa, as I am convinced it must mean something. Anyhow, spotting a monkey so close to my house was a very exciting experience indeed! I did not get much of a chance to see the spider in action, as it disappeared nearly as quickly as it had appeared. I asked Bertha how often these monkeys come to visit and she said that they are actually quite common and she was surprised that this was the first sighting since my arrival. I cannot wait until the first true sighting with photo-ops abound. So much excitement for such a short period of time! I learned how to say monkey, “pusi,” I taught Bertha how to say ‘crab’ and explained what ‘crabby’ meant, after she taught me the Chichewa which is “nkhano,” and lizard, “Malawiasaurus.” Okay so that last one isn’t actually Chichewa, but it is a real thing! Look it up on Wikipedia.org if you don’t believe me. All I can say is that I am living the dream every day of my life and I say that with as much humility as a man can muster under such exciting and riveting circumstances. All the best to everyone back home who is taking time out of their busy lives to enjoy a bit of storytelling from the other side of the planet! Mulungu Akudalitse!
Posted on: Sun, 27 Oct 2013 08:04:26 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015