There is some strange squalking sound outside tonight. This is besides the bat squeeking that sounds like a porch swing going back and forth. Dr. S explained the details of just how the bats’ sonar waves make the sound but I can't remember. And, there is this braying, ‘whaaaay’ that must be a donkey or goat. Periodically we also hear cats fighting. I think they are domesticated neighborhood cats, maybe our own but not positive. Last night I heard the sound of flapping wings just under my window. . . very rhythmic fvhoo, fvhoo, fvhoo. There is also the occasional ox-cart that drives by the house, sounding like a stagecoach in an old movie. Clickity clack clack clickity clack. It is really strange to hear that sound getting louder and louder as they approach the house and then softer as they pass. I have to say I am relieved everytime I hear the corner turn made and the sound getting softer because it sounds as if they might just come right through the window. I have no idea how they see to drive those things at night.
In the morning the usual sounds that wake me are crowing roosters and school children laughing and talking as they walk by the house. My room is on the corner of the house, and though we are insulated by hedges, I am privy to all kinds of conversations. Only, I don’t understand Shona. Still, just in the tone of voice and time of day I can tell something about what is going on. Drunk men walking home from the bars late at night laughing and slurring their Shona speech. Mrs. Utawashe at lunch time is walking home to check on her son Ndimiso and scolding him before she gets there.
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