The Wildlife

Hey Everyone!

I've had many people ask my what the wildlife is life like here, so I thought I'd show you.

The wildlife is not what people typically think of as "African Wildlife." Uganda does not have any giraffes, and you have to go on safari in a the national park to see typical African wildlife. But that doesn't mean we are devoid of interesting creatures.

People here are afraid of just about everything, and Uganda is full of many "scary" creatures; they come in sizes big and bigger. The first on my list of feared creatures is the Praying Mantis. It was about 3in long hiding out between the screen and the window. When I showed the girls in my class the picture they screamed and backed away.

On my daily walk between Faith's house and Katie & Chris's house I pass by another fierce beast...the Hybrid He Goat. This goat is know far and wide as an "evil" beast. The goat and I got into it a few weeks ago, he was in the middle of the path and refused to move so I pushed it a little. He didn't like it, so he decided to ram me. It actually made me mad, and I almost kicked the goat. But, I thought better of it and just stood my ground. The goat finally stopped, and I kept going. The owner was yelling from the other side of the field, "So sorry! So sorry! That goat is a demon; I swear." Now when ever I walk by the goat, he glares at me with his yellow eyes. I think I won. Hahaha!

The next exotic beast is the Baboon. This beast is found not in the wild bush, but rather along the highway to Fort Portal and commonly accepts food from passersby. But beware, if you are not careful, it'll try to hitch a ride.

Next in our list of Ugandan wildlife are the trash eating Town Cow and Stork. These two usually spent their days near the dumpster. Not much to fear here except all the germs and disease that seem to surround them.

Perhaps the most feared beast of them all is...Buff, the orphaned puppy adopted by the Sassers. The sound of his bark causes people to tremble; one flash of his sharp puppy teeth causes people to run in fear. Hahaha! People do run, but I told you Ugandans are afraid of everything. They marvel at the fact that he has a bed and is allowed in the house; Americans treat their dogs much different than Ugandans.

Well, I hope you enjoyed the exotic Ugandan wildlife. I tried to capture more of the gigantic insects that are here, but most of them have stingers; I try to avoid them...not get close enough to take a picture. The big spiders that I share a room with, we avoid each other, and the roaches die as soon as I can kill them. So there are no pictures of them...Sorry. (Not really.)

Talk to you again soon.

Love,

Joyce

La Gringa