The Great Goat Rescue

One very humorous story that I haven't mentioned, but definitely should, is the goat that I rescued a few months back.

When I first came to my site (way back in April for a brief visit) I was sitting in my hut on the very first night and kept hearing a goat making the most awful noises.  I couldn't figure out why.  I would walk outside, look at the goat as it paced back and forth.  I went out a few times to try to chase it away, but as soon as I'd walk back inside the goat would return.  After the 3rd or 4th time I realized the goat kept returning to my pit latrine.

Eventually it dawned on me that maybe the reason for the goat's distress was caused by something inside the pit.  So I walked to the opening of the pit, used a flashlight to illuminate the bottom, and there it was... mother goat's baby (a kid in goat vocabulary), about 10 feet down.

The goat at the bottom of my pit latrine.
The belt is looped around the goat's neck, with the nylon cord
running back up to me so that I could pull the goat up

I wasn't sure what the proper procedure is for removing this goat from my latrine, so I went and asked the headman of my village.  His reaction was one of indifference and fatalism.  He told me that it was the goat's fault that it ended up in the pit latrine, and therefore it "deserved to die."  I was satisfied with that answer, after all I felt like he's the headman so his say should be good enough in this matter.

But it didn't keep that mom from raising all kinds of audio madness and keeping me from my much loved sleep.  As the hours passed and my nerves became more and more frayed I decided I had to do something.  There was going to be no possible way I would be able to sleep.  

I looked around at what I brought (which wasn't very much) and found my leather belt, a nylon cord, and my head lamp.  I made a kind of noose from the cord which was attached to my belt and using the head lamp to light up the hole I lowered my Bear Grylls-styled trap down into the pit.  After about 25 or 30 minutes, and a couple of slight modifications, I finally caught the little guy.  I pulled it up, got it out of the hole, and let it go.  20 minutes later I was fast asleep.

The goat after I pulled it up and out of the pit latrine.  The belt buckle acted as a
kind of slipping mechanism where when I yanked on the cord and belt it tightened around
the goat's neck.  After that I pulled the goat from the bottom.

Luckily the pit latrine had never been used (it was freshly dug) and the goat was clean... without being covered by fecal matter.  Almost 4 full months later the goat is doing well and I sometimes see it grazing near my house.  It's now too big to fit into the hole, but should another fall through in the future I now feel prepared to retrieve it and grant it another day to live.

The End of Community Entry

Community Entry just ended for me yesterday.  This is a bit of a milestone for any Peace Corps Volunteer.  CE is a period where the volunteer, more or less, stays at their site and in their community for three months straight.  It is supposed to be the longest continuous time span that the volunteer stays in their community.  In short, it's a three month period where the volunteer gets used to the village and villagers, and in return they get used to the volunteer.

Sounds a little like a prison sentence (not being able to leave, a set time frame, and so on), but it isn't quite that bad.  It's definitely worth getting to know them and allowing them to get to know me, because so many of the relationships that are cultivated now are going to be with the people that I may work with for the duration of my service.  And, of course, first impressions are everything.  If I stick around and they see me everyday, then they'll start to realize that I'm actually there to work and help them, not just to do some sightseeing.

Anyway, that part is over and done with.  Now I'm out of Community Entry and I can move around the province, and even country, a little hear and there.  It just feels nice knowing that 6 months have gone by and I'm still enjoying Peace Corps and all it has to offer.

A few, short, brief updates....

1.  My mailing address for the rest of my service will be:

Jordan Blekking, PCV
PO Box 130050
Mufumbwe, North-Western Province
Zambia

2.  In case you were wondering how many elephants I've seen here in Zambia (my blog is named Tracking Elephants after all) the total to date is... 0.  There just isn't the wildlife there used to be.

3.  Total number of snakes seen: so many I've lost count... maybe around 20?  Or more?

4.  The website Online Education Database has ranked my blog the 25th best Peace Corps blog in the world.  I have no idea what this website is about, who they are, or what they based it on, but that's nice I thought.

Me working in my demonstration garden.
The garden is to show improved water holding techniques for garden beds.