PCV: Paid Caribbean Vacation

Im starting to notice there are many things here that are not what I expected. I guess all the times someone told me "the only expectations one should have in Peace Corps is to have no expectations." I tried, I really did. But there are a few things that I just cant seem to get over.

One of them is something Im convinced someone made up a long time ago and the rest of the world jumped in to make a good joke to us ignorant Americans on the home front. As long as we dont know the secret, then we can continue to make movies that arent factual and we can be the laughing stalk of the world.

I can remember when I was a small tot that while I didnt watch as many as most kids, I did watch a lot of cartoons. From cartoons to movies about the Old West, there is one thing that they all have in common that is total crap.

Roosters crow when the sun comes up.

It seems pretty simple, there are hens running around everywhere all the time, but every once in awhile the rooster gets his time to shine. Right at sun up each morning, he takes a deep breath and then lets out a big cockle-doddle-doo and then everyone wakes up. Then Jesse and Sara plain & tall know when to get up and start milking the cows. I always imagined that just how farms work. The rooster does his thing, then everyone else does theirs. Kind of like a General in the military, they bark the orders and because of that one action, everyone else falls into place and does the required work for the day.

Not in the slightest. While the rooster does crow in the morning, it is not as loud as I would have imagined. Not only this, but everyone has a rooster. They do not get along. While its not possible to get them all together, I think it could be possible for all the roosters of Yo Creek to get together, have a little meeting and come to some agreements. Some of them should be:

1. At what point of sun rise do we crow?
2. How many times will we crow in one day?
3. What are the penalties if someone crows out of turn?
4. Is our machismo ruining our image in the village?

Now, lets get back to the point. The first question needs to be answered so they have some consistency. There seems to be no organization and its annoying. It reminds me of a symphony orchestra all playing to their own tune whenever the hell they want to. It doesnt work. Its a broken record and I think they are better than that.

As for Question #2: I always thought (and the cartoon/movie industry had me duped) that they only crowed in the morning. This is a big fat lie! They never stop. All day, they just run around the village with their chests out crowing at each other. There should be a quota per day. Make it similar to how people aren't allowed to use their horns in NYC, roosters shouldnt be allowed to crow except for sun up and maybe once more through out the day just for fun.

Question #3: Like any law out there, its pointless unless there are consequences for the action that has taken place. I suggest taking their voice boxes out but this is too much of "an eye for an eye" kind of thing and this is the "Peace" Corps after all. Not sure how well that would go over back in Washington. So that wont work, not to mention before long, all of them would be mute and how would Buckwheat the farmer ever know when Sally the Cow needs to be milked? This question may need more thinking.

Question #4: The roosters may not care about this one, but I have noticed something recently. The hens seem to be afraid of them. I am no farmer, nor will I ever be, so I dont know the slightest about these creatures. For all I know (and will assume), hens lay their eggs just fine without the help of a rooster. They sure do lay enough of them. We then take them and eat them before they hatch but its all in the name of controlling the pet population. Roosters seem to think they can prance around in the streets, crowing whenever they want, and sticking their chests in the air as far as they can. It reminds me of a big fight on the playground where one kid screams about how his dad can beat up your dad. No one ever actually does anything but there sure is a lot of screaming going on.

I'll be the first to usually bring up machismo and how men believe they have a special place in the world that is higher than women, but I think we may have learned these behaviors from chickens. Let me explain here... My friend Patrick is convinced that chickens are decedents of dinosaurs (Do you think dinosaur meet tastes like chicken? I do). Watch them if you ever get the chance. Most of them have very short arms, long legs and a wide body. They walk around and stick their head out with every step. They can be very aggressive. Chickens are the exact same way! If chickens are in fact dinosaurs, then they were here long before humans. I know from all my studies that much of our behavior is learned and not just coincidence. Therefore, those first humans had to learn from someone. Why not the dinosaurs? Or the chickens? Dinosaurs were at one time the top of the food chain, now we are. Why not look to them for advice on how to act. So lets say that chickens are dinosaurs and time has gone by. We dont even know it but we look to chickens like we used to look at T-rex, with lots of respect. We then see a rooster, he is in charge, makes a lot of noise, and doesnt ever really accomplish much.

Now think of men. We are in charge, make a lot of noise, dont accomplish much and waste most of our time pumping ourselves up to look better than the others around us. Are you seeing the methods to my mayhem now? Probably not, but next time you see a movie where the roosters wake every one up, know that its a bunch of crap and the only purpose that they are serving is to be a modeling reminder of how to act and to feed our carnivorous appetites when we feel like killing them for crowing too much. The only problem here is we usually eat the hens... ughh male privilege seems to win again.