November 10, 2009
I have been in Morogoro, Tanzania for more than a month now participating in pre-service training. Four days a week, my small group of trainees meet with our Tanzanian teacher for language and cross-cultural instruction. We meet in an unfinished classroom building at a local school. The building consists of two classrooms connected by an office area. There is nothing in the building except for some construction debris and a few chairs and tables for our lessons. 
Recently, for a couple of days, we kept hearing weird noises but thought it was the teacher clearing her throat or maybe something outside. I also smelled an odd smell but attributed it to poor plumbing in the house next door. Then one day during class, I heard a definite grunt. I said, "I know that sound. It is a pig!" We all got up and looked in the only enclosed area in the building, a closet in the office area. There was definitely a pig living there (not a full grown one but not a tiny baby either). We eventually found out that the church next to the school had had a raffle and the pig was the prize. The person who won it did not have a way to get it home, so he left it in the closet. The people next door were feeding it. I have had pets in the classroom before, but imagine having a pig in your closet. It was a sad day when its owner came to claim him. He tied a rope around one of the pig's legs and tried to walk it home. Pig did not want to go. I think he liked listening to Kiswahili lessons every day. Probably was a smart pig like Wilbur.
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