It's where I live

Since spending a day rustling up interest in the Village Bicycle project, life in Bormase has slowed down in some senses. To be honest though, I can't get all that slow.

I've been reading, studying and working out in my nice home gym. We've gotten a few rains which gives me this great joy of weeding the Moringa farm again. There was a while there where I couldn't remember what was missing from my daily life. I knew that I really missed something but I couldn't put a finger on it. Just more than a week ago, I went to visit my farm and saw that not much weeding was needed. The ground was mostly clear and the trees were not much more than skinny brown sticks poking through the dry soil. After a few good rains however, I've gotten to see those skinny brown sticks erupt into the beautiful green trees I once knew and loved.

My time on the farm has reminded me of one of my initial goals when joining the Peace Corps. I wanted to get away from my addiction to instant gratification. 18 months ago, I'd end my day at work, walk a block to the gym, walk a few feet for a nice snack, walk a few hundred yards to the MUNI. I'd ride the N Judah for maybe thirty minutes before walking the two blocks to my house, whipping up some food and getting online while sitting in front of the TV and texting/calling my friends. This overflow of technology and stimuli took me straight through until bedtime and into another day of the same. The mindless TV and internet time was a great way to wind down after a hectic day at work but I could easily picture my life zipping away in front of my eyes. I didn't want to just fill up my time with mindless blah.

Less than one year ago, some friends and I went to an overgrown patch of land and started clearing. Sweat poured, hands bled and seedlings sprouted. Since then, I've spent countless hours chopping weeds and laying them between rows with the hope that I'll be able to fertilize the Moringa with my own farm scraps. This week, after having taken my time and gone through the motions with a far away end goal in mind, I had at least 8 inches of lush top soil conveniently located amongst my trees. Rather than leaving 30 centimeters between every row, I'd planted three rows at 30cm and left 60cm after each set of three rows. This space would be for the weeds and would allow a space to walk through for harvesting. Sure, that sounds like a good plan. It WAS a good plan and I must say that the delayed gratification was well worth the hard work.

Away from the farm, Patrick and I gathered bamboo for what will be a garden fence. When going into the bush to collect the downed poles, Patrick grabbed my arm to point out a green snake in the bush. It was only 5 or 6 feet away and no matter how he pointed or explained, I couldn't see the thing. We chatted away while working but really paid no mind to the close encounter. A few days later, I noticed that the plank of wood that conveniently balances my water barrel beneath the gutter was rotting. I spotted a similar but sturdier plank a few feet away and I went to get it. I lifted the little plank (less than 3' x 2') and was greeted by a cute little adolescent viper. The snake was no more than ten inches long and was clearly a bit logy after an evidently large meal. I hollered to Stephen who quickly came over and rapped the little guy with a stick until it was dead. I'll be honest, I felt really bad for this deadly little guy. There's no way I was going to let a poisonous viper go off into the bush (I found it about 20 feet from my front door) and grow even more dangerous but I still felt sorry for it.

Patrick came by the house a while later and I was still chattering about how "snakes really FREAK me out." Patrick and Stephen laughed. Patrick said that he also dislikes snakes while Stephen voiced contempt for scorpions. I couldn't help but wonder why I never hear about snake bites when so many people spend endless hours in the overgrown bush every day. I've only been in Bormase for a bit over a year and I've seen my fair share. I'm no herpetologist but I know that I don't want bright snakes with diamond shaped heads hanging out in my front yard.

I asked Patrick and Stephen in snake bites are common and just like the last several times I asked, I was told that it was not common. We stayed on the subject for a while and Patrick eventually told me that he had only been bitten once. He told me that he was bitten on the ankle by a belt snake (I'm not sure of the real name but this snake has brown and white stripes running lengthwise down its body and locals think that it would look good as a belt). Had he not seen the beautiful belt slithering away, he wouldn't have stopped working. Instead, he cut a vine, tied it around his calf and walked to the roadside. Patrick described how the pain had gone from he foot to his head by the time he got to the roadside. He was lucky to find a car passing and hitched a ride to the clinic. He laughed while describing how the venom was affecting his heart and breathing by the time he received treatment. While he wasn't in terrible pain at the time, Patrick couldn't walk for three days due to the swelling in his leg.

Stephen said the he had once been bitten on the finger by a baby but had no need for treatment. His real story was about the scorpion that stung his palm. Stephen got a sting and needed several shots before feeling better. He was in terrible pain for several days and had minimal use of his hand. I can see why Patrick and Stephen don't like snakes and scorpions respectively. I just think they're creepy.

For some reason I can't upload pictures at the moment but I'll try again soon.

That's all for now.

Love to all
Ira