So we have hit what everyone considers the “true dry season” and you want to talk about dry. I have only been outside walking for at the most an hour and yet I am covered in this reddish dust that just does not come off…I am turning into an African!Or at least the color of one…if this keeps up they won’t be able to honestly call me a whiteman anymore! The dust is so bad it literally gets everywhere…hair, nose, mouth (imagine sand crunching between your teeth), eyes, shoes….the list goes on and on.
Even the dog and cat are suffering from the dust. In fact, the dustier it gets…the more they seem to act up. Although, I must say that I think the cat is picking up some bad habits from the dog. If you didn’t know, I am still working on the “no bite” lesson with Maddy (the dog), much to his chagrin because a lot of whacking with a book or magazine is entailed. Well, last night Meinu (the cat) decided that because he did not agree with the amount of time it was taking to cook his eggs, he would just take a bite out of my ankle. (Yes, he gets eggs because cat food is very hard to find here). Needless to say, there were eggs on the ceiling and floor and I was not at all amused. Just the daily antics of what is quickly becoming “Alli’s Farmhouse”. We have now gained a dog, a cat, one goat (which is soon destined for someones table), 4 pigs, and a boatload of chickens will be arriving shortly. Yes, most definitely “Alli’s Farmhouse”.
I am also under the impression that the dustier it gets here, the more the children act up as well. In fact, I had a wonderful encounter with 3 pickins yesterday. I went to the little shop that I go to everyday to buy any number of things but this morning instead of any adult, there were 3 children running the store. I ordered my usual bread and they began laughing and joking on me in the dialect (thinking that I am so stupid as to not understand). Well, after receiving my food and change as well as calming the suppressed anger I have towards all children in my village, I calmly let them know that it was not nice to laugh at people no matter how different from them they are. Well, as children always do, they acted like they didn’t understand. So, I again let them know that it was rude….well, let’s just say that if they had come close enough to the counter I would have popped all three before they knew what happened. (Yes, it is legal and expected to get smacked if you are deranging…and I would be quite happy to oblige). But luckily for them, I got another handle on my temper and let it slide….which is becoming a little bit easier to do day by day….although I would still love to smack all the children who sing the “whiteman song” to me daily.
