animal update

so, there have been a number of animal goings-on for the past couple of weeks. i figured i’d give them their own post. enjoy!

a couple of weeks ago i was walking to school (and probably running late, as usual) and happened across a female pig running up a grassy hill to the right of me. i was a little taken aback because she was moving pretty fast and because SHE WAS COMING RIGHT AT ME! i started to pick up my pace and the pig just kept coming after me. i slowed down a little to see what would happen and she ended up stopping right in front of me. “that was a little weird since this isn’t even our pig”, i thought to myself. i turned around and continued on my way thinking the pig would go on her own way. alas, she would walk behind me a few feet, quicken her pace and, finally, walk right beside me. she ended up following me all the way to the school’s gate and even tried to follow me into the school’s grounds.

on the topic of pigs, our very own pig has expanded her culinary tastes to include raw chicken. i was walking in the yard a week ago and heard quite a stir going on around the barnyard. turns out the pig caught herself a live chicken, had ripped off the wing and was running away from the chicken coop with the wing in her mouth. luckily, our neighbor was in the yard too and got rid of the remaining wingless chicken carcass. but, while trying to find a place to put it, he happened upon another mutilated chicken (possibly also made so by the pig) on the roof of one of our out buildings. the animals are upset…our very own animal farm uprising, i think.

we sold 3 of our 6 piglets to a few neighbors for about $100. when i heard that 3 piglets only cost about $100 i was appalled! now, i don’t know what the going rate for live piglets is (that will eventually be turned into easter dinner, i’m sure), but surely $100 is not enough, right?! since the neighbors live close by, 1 or 2 of the sold piglets have wandered back to their brother and sisters in our yard.

speaking of money in exchange for farm animals, i got quite the shock last week: 1 of our cows was sold! she wasn’t producing milk anymore so, i guess, it was for the best. she was sold for about $250! surely, they cost more than that! but in an even more crazy cow/money exchange, my host family bought a female cow and her new calf (like a week old brand new) for $500! what?! after the initial congratulations, i went into shock with the realization that our brand new cows COULD have been our brand new washing machine! GAH! but, as my host dad said, “you want cheese bread? then we need milk”. okay, i concede. fine. although, my host mom has said that we will probably be getting that brand new washing machine in the summer! cross your fingers that this summer/fall we will  be rocking it in the 21st century! and that my host mom’s and my backs will get a break from hand rinsing pounds of clothes in the shower!

a note that is completely unrelated to animals: this past march 3rd was mother’s day here in georgia. i bought my host mom a bouquet of flowers (and told her this was the traditional american gift for mother’s day) and some chocolate. i also bought luda a small book that one of our fellow teachers recommended when i saw her at the bookstore. i think she enjoyed her gifts, but i think most of all, she enjoyed the day off from school. that’s right! we got a day off from school for mother’s day!

also, yesterday was international women’s day (also a day off from school). so, happy women’s day to all the world’s ladies that inspire change and hope among all of us!

for my next post i’m going to try doing a vlog (video + blog) and see if it works. my parents FINALLY got skype and it has inspired me to show off videos of my host family, my house and the rest of my community.

cheers :]