Christmas in the Field, Part 1

I'm searching for a turkey. Two, to be exact.

I've gone the 8km into the administrative center of the district, because, believe it or not, I've seen two turkeys there. I guide the driver with vague hand gestures. Were they there, or down by the river... The need to scrape my memory disolves as two huge turkeys appear in the road in front of us.

Found em.

Gla gla la la la!

They call a greeting as we show up, searching for their owners. We ask a few policemen who are lounging around. Can we buy these turkeys?

I explain that in the culter where I come from, we eat turkeys for special occasions. Christmas is coming! We want a turkey dinner!

The owner is apparently the district administrator, and he has returned to Lubumbashi for the holidays. We cannot buy these turkeys. We ask if they know of any other turkeys in the area. They point us to the Sisters at Ntita.

Off we go.

5 kilometers later, we pull up to a sprawling campus with huge brick buildings soaring over graceful arcades. The gate us opened by enthusiastic children as we approach, and we walk into a quiet, clean courtyard with the sounds of a student choir echoing out of a nearby building. We walk into the nearest occupied room and state our mission. They point us to the headmistress's office.

We shuffle in, not wanting to interrupt, but everything stops when I enter. Oops. Chairs are brought and we ask after turkeys. She laughs and wracks her memory. No turkeys here, and there haven't been any for a long time. Are there any turkeys for sale in the area? She thinks and calls to her colleagues. We are encouraged to buy a cow instead, but after insisting in turkeys, they recommend a place in town.

5 more kilometers later, just a few hundred meters from our front door, we ask the trucking agent for turkeys. He knows two people with turkeys, and he'll get in contact with them today. We can come back in the evening and check if they are willing to sell.

A lukewarm lead, but better than nothing.

We head to the market and ask if anyone has heard of turkeys for sale. We get pointed to a place around the corner and ask there. Dead end. We head back via a restaurant with a very nice owner and ask her. No luck either.

Content that we have gotten the word out sufficiently, its time to wait.

Our wild turkey chase has turned up nothing so far, but we shall see what Monday brings.