Monkonjay, KGB and Rachel

We got a new puppy!

Week before last when I was in Buchanan I walked by a little sandy-colored puppy and before you know it I was a customer ($10 dollah! Only $10 dollah!). Over the next two days I got an OK TO ADOPT from Sis. Hawah (simple) and tried to then track down puppy-owner Diana a second time (impossible). This was particularly tricky because it took me about 48 hours to remember that her name wasn't Diana but Naomi.

I never located Naomi, but just before leaving Buchanan I made a final, valiant attempt at puppy acquisition, and met with success. A random guy from one of the nearby houses joined forces with me. Though we didn't find the brown puppy, we did manage to attract 20 kids, 5 puppies and the full attention of the neighborhood (meaning the kids rushed me like I'm a rockstar, and the adults sat back in their chairs on their porches and laughed at us). And we ended up with a potential new LEAD client, because it turns out the man who helped me owns a restaurant with his wife, and is very interested in LEAD's classes and loans. I referred him on to the Buchanan LEAD staff.

So there I am, surrounded by 5 adorable puppies and 20 even more adorable kids. Fortunately no one seemed to care about who ended up with my $10 bill as long as I left with a puppy in hand. I went with the first puppy handed to me.

Before leaving Buchanan, Matthew's daughter's friend asked if she could name him, to which I said Um... YES! As long as its a Bassa name. (Buchanan is in Grand Bassa County - Bassa is one of the largest ethnic groups and most common dialects in Liberia.) She came back five minutes later, and pronounced the puppy Monkonjay, which she said meant "Because of you." However this translation has received much debate. The consensus after consulting with Alfred Cassel (LEAD's Finance Officer, who is Bassa) and the woman who comes over on Sundays to do Sis. Hawah's nails (also Bassa) is that "For the Business" is more accurate. As in... a sacrifice or investment or decision that you make For the Business.

In any event... Monkonjay travelled the three-hour, African-back-massage (ie. pothole-ridden...) way back to Monrovia with Matthew, Massa and I, cowering in the backseat the whole way, only to be smothered in the welcoming arms of Anais upon arrival. It took him all of 15 minutes to get his frisky back; 24 hours to establish Most-Favored-Animal status in our compound; 2 days to make eternal friends with Jumah (the goat) and Blackie (one of the dogs) and eternal enemies with Spot (our other dog); and 1 week to figure out that when I kick him out of my room by the front door, he can sneak around the back of the house (hi-fiving Jumah on the way and scrounging for tidbits from Gerlah, who is probably cooking in the back/outside kitchen) and make his way back to me via the door between the inside and outside kitchens... and then Kemah's room... and then past the bathroom... and WaLAH! back underfoot in my room.

He's catalyzed a love triangle: Anais can't get enough of him, and he can't get enough of me. I'm too busy for love, between getting him house-trained and keeping him away from my collection of cords and cables. Between my laptop, fan, and cell phone, which are all charging come 7pm when the generator goes on, that's a lot of cord-age for a teething puppy to play with. He's gone through two phone charges at this point, and the Lebanese guy at the Nokia/Motorola store and I are now on a first name basis.

Monkonjay has also catalyzed some interesting cultural fodder, between the various opinions and Weltanschaungs regarding the Raising of Dogs... between Sis. Hawah, Kemah, Gerlah, Anais & myself. The guys seem to, collectively, either have no opinion on the matter, or recognize that - let's face it - our compound is a matriarchy.

Anais thinks he is her baby. She is constantly cuddling him, breaking the rules about where he is and is not allowed, misses him at school, and - we are told - dreams about him every night. Sis. Hawah doesn't get too close but is surprisingly tolerant of Anais' puppy honeymoon. She and I enforce the rules. Between Sis. Hawah, Gerlah and Kemah, there is a lot of foreboding, proverbial "If you a hold a puppy too much, he will... (insert common puppy affliction)." Gerlah and Kemah have been the most resistant to his charms, the most certain that "A dog is a dog and not a person," the most amused by Anais' excessive puppy-mothering. Kemah has recovered from her canine fears to the point where she laughs at his friskiness, and makes sure he gets the best leftovers after everyone else has eaten.

All in all, I'd say Monkonjay is still navigating the fine line between knowing he's a dog and believing he's something more. Personally, I think he won the puppy lottery: a large yard, a goat and a seven-year old for his friends, plus an American who - in spite of my better judgement - let's him sleep inside.

Speaking of Bassa names: Alfred gave me one! Gbokpayon (boy-pah-YOH). Which means helper or helpmate. The entire Monrovia LEAD staff has picked this up, and now calls me Gbokpayon or KGB (as in Karen Gbokpayon Bulthuis). This will strike some of you as completely hilarious, given that Tommy Hollywood and Peter Markovics dubbed me ALMOST KGB a couple years ago. Because I was supposed to be named Karen Grace Bulthuis, after my mum's mum. But it was 1980, so KGB was no good. When Tommy and Pedroe got their hands on that story... I got renamed "Almost KGB" and it stuck. I told Alfred about Almost KGB, and he keeps both names alive and well.

Also, unrelated (and in the vein of "community back home" rather than Liberia): How many of you know my friend Rachel Zylstra? Rachel and I have been friends for a decade, including the last four years in NYC. She is a singer, a song-writer and an artist, and has been an integral supporter of the Karen in Liberia process. Last week she released an ep which has been in the works for much of 2008. You can listen to Rachel here, or download the ep here. It is an amazing album.