So in general I'm feeling better- I'm over my mid-service crisis and quite at home in my little dusty savannah town. Inno is outgrowing her baby fat and is becoming strong enough to PULL me when I put her on a leash. She still tries to make friends with everything. Last night she tried to say Hi to a very large, very pregnant goat, who then head butted her. Inno flew back a few inches, landed on her bum, and then smiled and panted at the goat, happy that a new friend had been made. Wilfred happened to be watching on the other side of the fence and was rolling over laughing, saying "Inno thinks she is a goat!"
Last week something scary happened. It was 8:30 at night (it gets dark here now at 6pm), and Inno was barking her little head off. Very strange. I went outside so make sure she was ok and saw a man crouching down behind my bafa. Yikes! My house has a main part and then a set out outbuildings, including my latrine and where I take my bucket baths. The man was scurrying around out there in the darkness, just beyond the scope of my headlamp.
I headed back inside, locked the door behind me, and tried to call Wilfred from my living room. Of course he was asleep and his phone was off. Oh well, I figured. The man knows I saw him, he probably ran away. On my way back into my bedroom, I picked up an arrow that I got with a souvenier arrow set in a curio market a while ago. I guess I thought it would make me feel safer. I had on my tiny (batteries dying) headlamp in my room when I spotted the man crouching at the foot of my bed.
I had left my window open. This was not good.
I was really angry- not really afraid, just angry. I held up my arrow and yelled a bunch of questions at him in English. It didn't really occur to me to speak Chichewa. The man was actually quite timid and seemed very afraid of my arrow. I ordered him out, but the back door was locked so I had to fumble around for my keys before I could shove him out the door. Then I got REALLY angry. I grabbed his collar and the thought passed through my mind that I was going to march him right over to Wilfred's and make him explain when he had done. But this time he finally pushed back and ran away, out through my broken fence. Inno let loose one last bellow of growls.
Then I realized what had happened and I started shaking. I knocked on Wilfred's window, and called the Peace Corps. The bars in the window were fixed the next day, and I am getting the mother of all replacement fences put in.
I have a lot of alone time back at site to analyze my response. Fortunately I have a lot of experience in stressful situations thanks to my previous career as a night nurse in a public hopspital. It bothers me that I was so quick to pick up an arrow, as I am quite the avowed pacifist. Most people here say they would have really hurt him and are surprised that I didn't. I know it sounds corny and idealistic, but I actually felt a pang of guilt that I coudn't solve my differences with this guy though dialougue. But then again, he was in my bedroom at night.....I don't know.
What I do know is that he has tried to enter four more homes since then. I also spotted him back in my yard three nights ago. I yelled at him and he ran away. My village doesn't have police but the "village good guys" are working on the problem.
On a much lighter note, I finally made a spinning wheel here in Balang'ombe! I managed to buy an old bicycle wheel and with some rought hewn timber, a borrowed (extremely dull) saw and lots of duct tape, I have a great wheel :-) Its wonderful to have an alternative to my drop spindles, especially now that I am getting some fiber in care packages.
Special shout out to Sugar and Spice Alpacas- they sent me a lovely bump of brown alpaca roving- thanks!
It was quickly turned into a ribbed cap to wear at night. It gets cold here in the Southern Hemisphere Winter.
All right- 10.5 months to go :-)
Grace and Peace
Elizabeth
