Small Grasping Fingers and Pig Noises

Yesterday, we had our final in Kiswahili. I was merrily translating sentences into future tense and deciding the correct usage of Amba- (roughly translates as who, whom, that or which), when i heard it - the unmistakable screech on small primates. We have monkeys all over campus. They dig in the rubbish bins, try to steal your lunch and laundry and screech at all hours of the waking dawn. During our exam, they little critters were having monkey Olympics in the tree just outside of the window. The windows here aren't solid panes. They are slats that can be opened to let in more air. Well, some of them are missing small panes like the on e by my desk. More than once I looked in the window sill after hearing a thud to see small black fingers and a little monkey face looking at me. It was slightly unnerving. If he had jumped through the window, he would have been in my lap. The window in the back of the room is missing even more panes. A monkey jumped in and sat at a desk in the back of the room. For the longest time, it sounded like there were pigs oinking outside. I wouldn't be surprised. There is lots of wildlife running around...then I saw the source of the noise. To put is as eloquently as Wendy, my classmate did, "They were doing like they do on the Discovery Channel." It was disgusting.

The campus in on "The Hill." It is a place where nature and urbanization meet. There are plenty of trees around and ample space for a monkey colony among other thins. It amuses me that locals take no notice of the baboon on campus. It's almost like being in the jungle without...I would say long drop toilets, but we have "squatty potties" and those are worse...the jungle without the big predators. Humans are the most dangerous thing besides the cats who try to bit your fingers at dinner if you put your hands under the table. (We have a large ferrel cat population on campus.) There are palm trees and other tropical fauna right next to the Internet cafe. It is completely unexpected. When you go out to eat, you get the choice of sitting outside as long as the monkeys aren't running the show. Otherwise, some of our cafes are as nice as any outdoor eatery in the states.

OK, this has gone on long enough. Stay safe and avoid the Discovery Channel.Trust me on this one.