Always an Adventure Living in Africa

Always an Adventure Living in Africa

 

As I was typing emails on our dining room table, the sound of children playing outside was suddenly very loud.  Esther, our housekeeper, was ironing and said, "They have a snake."  She understood the vernacular.  I went outside to see what the commotion was about.

 

Everyone was gathered round a tree near our house.  At first I couldn't see the very green snake.  Where we live, if you see a snake, you make every effort to kill it since most are extremely poisonous. 

 

Apparently the boys were using their slingshots to try and hit a bird.  As they did that, the snake, also in the tree, started to move.  The first thing the kids did was throw rocks and dirt clods into the tree to knock it down.  It wasn't until a couple of the men who work here came that they were able to knock the snake out of the tree.  Then Mr. Luka, who is very good at this, hit it very hard on the ground and killed it.  It was probably a boomslanger.  If you want to know how poisonous it is, you will have to look it up.

 

Earlier in the morning I had gone to Nyrienda Village to visit a friend of mine.  As I was walking back to our Village I saw 6 little boys.  They were playing with a mouse that was tied on a string.  The mouse was still alive.  I didn't go near to get a closer look!  

 

Birds, mice, rats – I guess all are fair game for playing with or eating.