(RM) Disclaimers (and some anecdotes)

Disclaimers (and some anecdotes)


Well I've been writing a lot from my bonobocamp in the middle of the jungle, and I guess it's time that I lay out a couple of disclaimers:

1. You don't have to read anything I write.
2. I'll write what I want, when I want.
3. I'm not a bonobologist.
4. I don't represent anybody but myself.

That's it, really.


Now I get to explain in excruciating detail:

1. I like to write. I often write long entries. The same stuff can often be summed up in a couple of lines, but then it's not as eloquent, is it? Like the disclaimer points above, for example, vs. the explanations that follow.

I chose the format of a blog to allow me the luxury of writing as much as I want, whenever I want, without ever feeling that I was imposing on anyone. I don't send mass emails, as some people might do. Instead, whoever feels like, can just check in on the blog site at their leisure and read as little or as much as they please.

Nobody is obliged to read anything. If you find my writing style dull, then skip it. Or skim to the punch line at the end. Or struggle through it and then write to me with (constructive) criticism. My favourite comment so far:

"sounds neat albeit, i don't really care what you or the others choose to mush up in there oatmeal. that had to be the least exciting bit of information ever coming out of the congo. now, do you take notes throughout the day on such matters or is all held in your -ahem- now clear mind."

My response to that is that I just have topics I wanna write about, and that I get into details when I write them. Like what's mashed into the oatmeal. Basically, I just try to get the feel of my experience across to whoever's reading. And part of that is the little details which may or may not seem interesting. But it's at least descriptive, no?


2. I make no promises as to what I'll write about, nor on when I'll write. I enjoy the storytelling, so maybe I'll write about something just because I feel like telling that story. Although other stuff might be going on here that's interesting, but that I don't really feel like writing about at the moment.

I'm open for suggestions as far as topics to write about. I'll probably oblige, but only when and how I want to. In the meantime, I might just write about something else that tickles my fancy at the particular time that I sit down at the computer.

Emails are uploaded from camp on Mondays and Thursdays. Those are normally the only times, therefore, that I'll probably post anything, but I might skip uploads sometimes if there's other stuff going on at camp, or if I just didn't write about anything since the last one. Check back in a week or two, and maybe I will have posted another story or two.


3. Please don't take what I'm saying as scientific fact. Yeah, I'm living here at the bonobo research camp, and I go observe bonobos in their natural habitat, but I am not a bonobo expert. I honestly knew almost nothing about bonobos until I got here, though I've certainly learned a lot since.

The people I work with are generally seasoned primatologists. Their educational and professional backgrounds are in biology with a focus on primates, particularly on the great apes. Some of them get articles published in journals or books, or give presentations at specialised conferences or symposia. If you're looking for specific information on bonobos, you'd be best off referring to those sources rather than to my blog.

If you want anecdotes, however, that are somehow linked to bonobos, then you've come to the right place. I'm all about anecdotes! But please take it as just that - I don't pretend to preach fact, just stories.


4. This blog is my own invention, and is completely attributable to me and only me. In a large part, it serves as a personal creative outlet, while it also allows me to share whatever I'm experiencing with the people I love scattered about the globe (at their leisure, of course). In no way should what I write be associated with the rest of the camp where I live, nor with the organisation that established the camp and keeps it running.


OK, I guess now that covers things. I've got all my excuses covered! Read my writing if you want, or don't. Don't take anything I write too seriously - just enjoy it or not. And give me all the credit!


OK, and now for a couple of little anecdotes from the past few days:

- I killed a mouse the other night. It was sitting on our kwanga (logs of starchy food), eating it, and I was holding an empty tin of Quaker Oats and I smashed the tin on the mouse and it fell to the floor and I stomped it a few times. Damn kwanga-eating mouse!

- Molos brought home a caiman. He's our fisherman and he checks his nets every morning and brings us back fish for lunch, but yesterday he found a 4kg (about 9 pounds) caiman! That's a little alligator-looking creature that's really endangered, in case you didn't know. He had cracked its head open with his machete already, and I didn't buy it from him like I do his fish. The workers ate it for lunch while I ate beans.

- Brigham and Lovis saw elephants. They were following the bonobos and the bonobos started freaking out (or so claims Lovis), and then Lovis started freaking out, yelling at the top of his lungs and shaking the nearest tree!!!! So I guess the elephants were sort of startled, and gave the two of them time to get the hell out of there. Caro saw elephants the next day,and got out of there too. I wish I'd seen elephants, I wanna go to the forest and find them.

- I succeeded in doing the Grande Tour last week. That's the 20km loop that I got lost on the week before that prompted the 'Lost' entry. I found the trail and snipped a lot of branches and vines to make it more apparent, and marked the whole thing into the GPS so it'll be easy to not be lost in the future.

- The driver ants came back to camp this morning, but stayed on the edge because the sun was out. They reached the edge of the shadowed area, killed everything in their path, and soon left again. Thank goodness.

- The other day was Brigham's birthday, so Caro and I spent all morning, while Brigham was out with the bonobos, decorating our table area with arts and crafts stuff. We cut out funny pictures from magazines and taped them all over, we made a 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' banner with cut-out letters, and we hung hard little green fruits above the table as decorations. Since we have no cake, I drew a huge one in the sand between the table and his tent. Not bad, considering the circumstances, eh?

- I've seen a palm civet near camp twice in the last week. I spot it's yellow eyes at night, amongst the trees, reflecting against my flashlight, and I've gotten a few good looks at it. It looks like a cross between a dog, a cat, and a skunk.

- We harvested about four of our pineapples from camp over the past week. They're so tasty!

- I found a piece of amber in the stream the other day. It may not seem like much of a big deal, but there are absolutely no rocks of any sort here, so finding something so solid like that is really out of the ordinary.

OK that's a taste of a basic week at camp. I guess it's enough for now!