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Published: August 25th 2009
Hi everyone,
First I have to say, I have the best field assistant on Earth. I am just so happy to have such a trustworthy, hard working guy looking after things out here!
I am back in the field and have a little portable modem with me this time, so I can access the internet (if briefly), which is very exciting and luxurious! I’ve spent the morning meeting with field assistants who are supervised by the superstar mentioned above, each of whom collects data on elephant raids in their own village.. it seems people are having even more problems this year, with both elephants and rainfall, which came very late and was EXTREMELY low.. when it should rain nearly everyday for weeks/months, it only rained a total of 5 days over the entire rainy season. For people who depend entirely upon their crop yield for food and income, this is a huge shida (problem)- evidently the government intervened and brought food to the villages…
Meeting with the field assistants today, I gave them each a small bonus for their work- the equivalent of about $17, which is a fair amount of money here and has gone over pretty well. The most fun thing about it is seeing how excited superstar (that’s what I’ll call him I guess😊 ) is to see each of them receive it. It’s so cute- he is a very congenial, quiet, strong guy, but I can tell that underneath his relative reserve, he can hardly wait for me to break out the surprise bonus, just for the reaction we get 😊. “It makes them to be very happy,” he says with a smile. I can’t wait to see his face when he gets HIS bonus 😊.
As I drive from village to village, I like to give lifts to people who need it and the bed of my truck quickly fills people- in addition to being something of a circus animal here, I also represent the local transportation association. For those who get in first and find a seat in the cab, a lesson on how to open and close the door is usually required, as many may have never been in a car before…
Today I ended up taking several people to the site of a secondary school nearby, where there was a terrible tragedy over the weekend- a fire broke out, the source of which sounds .. suspicious… in the girls dormitory at night, and 12 girls were killed. At least 2 of my field assistants had daughters who escaped the fire, but not without horrible stories and memories of it. I debated about whether to include that piece of news in my blog, but in the end have decided to because.. it is part of the reality, and my experience here… on our way there the girls I gave a lift to sang … I’m not sure what they were singing, but I liked that they were doing it…
I hate to leave it on that very somber note, but my computer battery is about to run out of juice, and I have elephant poop to sort through..
Next post, I promise, will include some fun adventure stories…
I hope you all are staying well!
PS- the vervet monkeys are playing in the trees around my tent..
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Patty
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Bonuses, Trucks & Orals
Hello there You! What great fun to give bonuses and have them received so joyfully :-) I'm glad you have such a trustworthy assistant, and it is fun to hear about you giving rides. I can totally picture you yelling out the window, "Hey, where you going? Hop in the back and I'll take you there!" You are such a giving person, and I'm sure you fit in wonderfully. On a personal note, I passed my Oral Exams today, and the ladies and Adam took me out to dinner. I enjoyed Ethiopian food for the first time, and it was quite the experience! We miss you and can't wait to see your beautiful face and all your wonderful pictures! Much love (what is love in Swahili?), Patty