We Have the New Goat!

Will we ever stop getting new animals?

Just yesterday, some friends of ours dropped off their goat named Brownie for us to keep. They have a sort of rescue thing going where they...well...rescue animals that are in danger. Note that I didn't say endangered; I said in danger. They'll adopt anything! From monkeys to antelopes they've got it. I think I've talked about them before know that I think about it...but anyway, they gave us their goat, and Brownie's real bold. I mean, REAL BOLD. Our other goats, Right-Ear and Other Goat, don't let us within five feet of them; if you say, "Brownie!" to Brownie, she'll run right to you and look at you. She even tried eating my fingers! She acts much more like a dog than a goat; she even has a collar round her neck: the purpose? For pulling her back from eating your pants! The other two goats are pretty huffy to her and try to chase her away from the food and water, but then I chase them back. Shep has tried biting at her a few times, I just hope he's playing!

Signing off,
The Traveler

*bleep* business is serious business

There are a lot of vulgar words out there; some are misused, or are used in inappropriate situations.

Well in 9ja, there is one curse word that is used VERY inappropriately. It's the one that is another way of saying feces; starts with s, ends with t. Four letter word. And it is used so normally, you'd think it might be a word like sun or clouds! Here's an example, one time we were watching the tv, and there was an ad on about deluxe porta-potties (which is pretty gross), and I don't remember the company's name, but at the end, they said their motto: @#%& business, is serious business. Whoa. That woke us up. It was used correctly, definition-wise, but come on! This was national tv here! Not a very child-friendly ad, I think. And people will use it just like that. One time my friend's dad was trying to do a joke, so he said, "ooh, I need to #%$*, I really need to )@*%." So he pretended to take the remote to something to wipe his butt. See, in Nigeria, I don't think that curse words have the same potency as in America. People just say %^&# when they wanna go. I've also noticed that Nigerians who are trying to be all cool curse on purpose. I guess they got this notion that to be cool you gotta curse from American movies. Like there was this one guy that my friends here were introducing me too, and just out of the blue, using it like a mild interjection like mm-hmm, or huh, he said %&*#.  That gave me another shock. Also, there's this other guy that works for us with the chicken farm and everything, and one time he said, "my phone is ^%#$@#$ me up." My Dad told him off then, because he said it in front of me and my sisters. He looked pretty embarassed after that. I think that curse words have different meanings here, and that's why I saw that very strange motto on tv.

Signing off,
The Traveler

Chick Hotel

We've adopted three chicks: Snowy, Rosy, and Caramel. My sisters named them, and we're keeping them until they get strong enough to live out in the yard. Why are we doing this? Because their mother was killed! This dog that would come in the night would eat all of chickens. I think it's trying to eat every last one or something. But anyway, it ate the hen and three of her babies. There were six in all before; now, there are only three. We found them under a sandal, cheeping for their mother, so we quickly put them in a quiet room we weren't using, put some food and water in this large green bowl, and let them do their thing. And they are extremely healthy; almost all of their wing feathers have come in, and they're chirping like crazy. We put a heater (actually a very hot 240 to 120 volt step-down), and they huddle around it at night to sleep. Dino likes to eat the same feed as them. Actually, Dino has been flying lately! He flew from the window to the door today, so we're thinking we're going to let him go soon. Things are really looking up for him.

Signing off,
The Traveler

We Have the New Dino!

A few days ago I was walking Shep around the yard when he started sniffing (more like trying to bite) at something. I turned around to see what had caught his attention, and it was a brown bird. It looked nothing like a chick, and it was flaring up it's large wings in defense. I quickly yanked Shep away, and scrutinized the bird. It was brown, and pretty large for a chick, and some of it's adult feathers were still growing in. I called my Dad, and he said that it wasn't a hen's baby. It was something else, so he scooped it up, and we put it inside a large green bowl, with some water, and bread. It wouldn't eat or anything; it would just stay in a little ball, and every once in a while defensively raise it's wings. My little sister thought it was a dinosaur, which is ridiculous, I know, but it sort of looked like one. It had really big eyes, and it's beak looked a little prehistoric. So, we've been caring for it ever since, and it's much more comfortable around us now, and it's eating. It makes this strange whistle noise that is very high pitched and has a head that looks suspiciously like a Hammerkop (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamerkop). We've named him Dino, and he can balance really well. Maybe that's why he's a bird; we actually don't know if it's a he or she. I think we'll have to wait till it gets it older. We have no idea where it came from either; we couldn't find it's nest or anything. One thing is for sure; Dino really likes to balance on fingers. Maybe we can teach him to stand on a shoulder and squawk!

Signing off,
The Traveler

Taking the SAT

Yep. I am taking the SAT at twelve!

Sounds weird? Well, it isn't; you see, I've been home-schooled my whole life, and I am capable of doing college level work. Actually, on my last Iowa test for the 7th grade, I was scored in the 99th percentile. Of the whole nation. And it's also recommended to take the SAT at least once for practice before you take it for real to get enrolled in a college. I myself plan on taking it more than once before I turn 17. So anyway, I'm taking the SAT tomorrow (we have to leave at 7:30!) , and I'm taking it at the University of Lagos (also called informally UniLag). I'm in Lagos right now, and we're not staying in the Oriental Hotel. We're actually staying in the place next door called FourPoints, a hotel owned by Sheraton. And like my Dad said, it doesn't hold a candle to the Oriental Hotel. This hotel's wear and tear is a little worse than the Oriental's, but it's less than four months old! And it's less organized. And there's a party going on downstairs, and it's pretty loud. Some jazz group from America I think. My parents say they aren't so good; like just now my mom asked 'What are they playing? That sounds bad.' And then my Dad said, 'I hope they didn't come all the way from the US for this.' Then my mom laughed and said, 'They were probably paid,' and then my dad was all like, 'but their music isn't that good,' then my mom said, 'well whoever paid them thought they sounded good,' and my dad said, 'I don't.' Like a said, my parents don't like them.

Signing off,
The SAT-taking Traveler

Pup Training

Shep just got his vaccinations today, which I bet was extremely painful. Apparently, I was asleep while he got them, so I had no idea what had happened until my sister came in with a new harness and leash that the vet had given us. Talk about a rude awakening! So anyway, I put it on him so he'd get used to it, and he was surprisingly calm. I think it was the magic of the shots, cause that's just out of character for Shep to be calm. He still ate with the same gusto though (Weetabix and milk. Yummy), and licked the plate clean. The hens were fighting with him though, tentatively taking pecks from his tiny blue food plate. I made sure to chase them well whenever I saw them attempting to do this, but they just wouldn't back off. I even caught one and they still wouldn't leave the Weetabix alone! Well, he likes his new leash, and I've taken him on a few practice walks and stuff. He's doing well. Also, one of the people who works for us thought that Shep could understand English! It's not that surprising if you're in his shoes. You see, here in 9ja, people do not train their dogs. They don't even see them as pets. Dogs and cats are on the same level of recognition as goats and hens, and just like those other species do, the dogs run wild wherever they want. One time, this female mutt just strolled right into our yard, sniffed around, and trotted right back out! So when this guy saw that I could just tell the dog, "Shep Sit," and the Alsatian would put his butt on the ground, he was more than amazed. It was a little shocking for him to be surprised that Shep couldn't understand English, and I had to explain to him the training process, which most Nigerians and pet-less Americans have no experience in. Now, all I have to do is train my parents to do what I want!

Signing off,
The Traveler

We Have The New Pup!

His name's Shep, and he's really adorable. He's a pure-bred German Shepherd, and he's mostly black, with a light tan underside. He loves to chew, and is more hyper-active than a bolt of lightning. He really likes his tennis ball, and chews on the spokes of my bike (which is just a tad bit annoying.) He's really smart; I've almost finished training him to Sit and he's been learning Come by accident. We've been saying, "Come 'ere, Shep!" and clap four times, and he's taken that to mean, come to us. He also likes watermelon, and has been bonding with the goats. The goats are extremely curious as to what he is, and sniff around him a lot. My Dad says that they probably think he's a baby goat! He hates the chickens though, but I don't blame him. They get on my nerves too with their chickening out at every little thing. He tries to catch them and eat them, but it never really works. He's a little too slow since he's just a baby, and just succeeds in scaring the roosters out of their minds. Here are some pics of him:

Shep's posing here. I got him to Sit.

Him posing again on our porch.

My sister playing with Shep.

Chewing on his watermelon skin. He used to have the sweetness of the red fruit inside the skin that we gave him, but that was gone in about five minutes.

Walking off of the porch.

He really, REALLY, loves that skin.

A close up picture of our puppy.

 Examining his toy.

Signing off,
The Dog Owning Traveler