A quick note about animals

Good morning everyone!

As I prepare for my second week at Omni Med---we'll be in the field again today--- I wanted to send a quick note about some of the creatures I've seen here so far.

Since most families farm, they also keep chickens, goats, a cow or two, and sometimes a pig. The chickens and goats seem to have free reign to go wherever they like and graze. They wander into the road and into other people's property and I can't figure out how they make it back to where they belong.

There are dogs and cats as well, but they are not typically pets as we understand them in the U.S. They are just around and subsist on whatever they can find. Garbage is burned on the street or in yards, so I imagine they find a bit of food this way. At Omni Med, there are anywhere from 1-6 dogs hanging around each day. They are not for petting and the staff will yell and throw water at them regularly. When I read outside, they come around and sit by my. At night, they bark and fight a lot.

Yesterday morning I almost stepped on a gigantic snail! It was about 6 inches long and moving across the yard pretty quickly. I watched it for awhile but when I came out of the house later, it was gone.

There are a lot of insects here, but none that bother me too much. Cockroaches are common and much bigger than in the U.S. The guy in the picture below was flirting with me pretty hard for two nights. When he tried to get into my room, I had to end it. I thought I had smooshed him pretty good, but the next morning, the body (NOW dead) was further down the hall than where I had left it. Tenacious.