Gobble Gobble

SO...Turkeys

For a single blissful week, there was something in the village more fascinating than me...turkeys.

Most people, especially children in my village grow up and live their entire lives without leaving Mubanga (pronounced Moo-wan-ga). This means most of them don’t go on to secondary school, which is about high school age and many don’t even finish primary school  (like elementary and middle school).

The house I rent is a converted grocery. Right next door is another converted grocery. Both are rented out by my (evil) landlord. The front grocery next door is run by the nephew of my landlord (he is a shy, sweet boy) and behind that they rented the rest of the house to anyone who wants it. SO right next door, literally the building is arms length away, I can stand in my side yard and almost touch both buildings, some new people moved in. They are living their temporarily while they are building their house somewhere else in the village. They probably find me anti social since I fenced in my entire yard, but for me, it is enough to just hear everything that my neighbors are doing. I like my space. Here your home is like your sanctuary.

So now I get to listen to Odie! (What people call when they come to your house to get your attention), screaming, crying children, turkeys gobbling, a large dog barking and for a while, pigs squealing. They must hate me because I told my landlord they could not build a pig pen right outside of my yard and kitchen window. He agreed because I made a few valid points A. In rainy season it would be fetid and stink to high hell B. It is WAY to close to the houses. C. They make a lot of noise. SO no pigs outside Colleen’s kitchen window, yahoo!

Anyway, back to turkeys.

My neighbor’s turkeys are the first turkeys I have seen in Chitipa and maybe only the second or third in country. They are not a very popular animal to own even though it could be great business. These people came from a city and worked for the government so they were more enlightened. However, the people in my village don’t get out much. Therefore, since I had already been in the village several months, I was no longer new but I was and still am fascinating because I’m just different from everyday life. That’s why I have my fence, being stared at and debated is very taxing on your patience and nerves.

One day I heard the turkeys gobbling loudly across the street. It was awesome to open the gate that day, step out and have not a single person turn their heads to stare at me...they were all staring intently directly across the street at the gobbling, strutting, MASSIVE turkeys lol. I laughed at the slack jawed children and equally slack jawed but more wary adults.