Anyeri Season

The power just came back after being out for 3 days. Last night I slept with a wet towel and am currently sitting a foot from the fan, not oscillating. Power really is the best.

Not much new to report here. Without electricity, I've done a lot of reading, a lot of cleaning and a lot of cooking.

I had some new friends visit from Kitgum today. We made a nice lunch and I took them to see the pigs. Unfortunately, the farmer next to the piggery was burning his fields, so we were forced to sprint down the piggery driveway to avoid catching on fire and/or dying of smoke inhalation. I felt a little like Katniss from 'The Hunger Games.'

This has not been my first 'brush' with fire this dry season. Coming back from Kampala on a bus a few weeks ago, the bus came to an unexpected halt. After I heard many people 'tsking' around me, I looked ahead to see what the problem could be. The fields on either side of the dirt road were on fire. The bus backed up, got a running start and drove fast through the 8 foot flame zone. Even though we went quickly through, it sure was hot. Fire is hot, duh. Also, I woke up in the middle of the night last week or so because I thought my house was on fire. My room was so smokey that it made me cough. I went out front and didn't see any flames, so the smoke must have been coming from another direction. In the morning, my porch was covered in ash stings.

The only good part about the dry season's 'slash and burn' mentality, is that it drives the elusive anyeri from it's home, allowing it to be hunted. It actually is pretty tasty meat.



More on anyeri:
http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NA19130826.2.6