Dear Humans,
Hope this finds you well. I am writing you this short note with a rope tied to my front leg. Not a pleasant sensation. Fortunately, the new humans I live with and with whom I share a huge house now will remove it soon. They promised. And they will keep their promise because they are a royal family. My new house is huge. From where I lay now, in a nice cool pool of mud at a safe distance from the kitchen area (my parents thought me to stay away from kitchens because that’s were many of us tend to disappear), I overheard the human conversations. The house belongs to a real queen. The king -her husband- passed away in 2008. He rests in a huge, decorated tomb in front of the house. Her son, the prince, will be the next king. He is married to a female human from Australia; a real princess. 3000 people attended their wedding! Currently, they are building a new house made of bamboo. A huge project!
From my pool of mud I can see that there are many humans in this house. It has the feel of a huge communal living space. They seem happy. There is lots of food. Therefore, I think I am happy. I will live a royal life here; I am confident I have a few more years, before they… well, never mind.
Yesterday, all was very different. Two humans took some of us to town and tied pieces of rope to our front legs. They put us in a small, open shed. As the hot sun rose, more and more humans came. They looked at us. Gave us the eye. It was not very pleasant. Sometimes, when a crowd gathered in front of us, the humans who took us here paraded us around, beating us with a stick (not painful, just not really pleasant). Then, around noon, everything changed for the better.
Two new humans appeared. They were not from here. The humans around here call them boellies. They seemed a bit clumsy and out of place at first, though one could see they had a lot of fun. They talked to our keepers. I think they negotiated. The humans of the shed got all excited; the type of excitement when money comes into play. When the visitors pointed at me I danced, even before my keeper approached me with the stick. Around the same time one of us peed on the flip-flops of one of our keepers. All humans laughed. Then, these two strangers seemed to have reached an agreement. My keepers walked me out. The strangers paid them some money, and then they left. After that, my keepers got all excited. I received extra food.
The next day, early in the morning, my keepers tied my legs together and took me with them on their motorbike. Though I am generally fine with bike rides. But they tend to be a bit uncomfortable when humans hold you up by the legs and upside down. Fortunately the ride was short. My arrival was great. The two strangers had brought me as a gift to the royal family! What a change in my life! I can’t believe what just happened. Before they went to greet the queen, the two strangers smiled at me. The first one said; “Babi Basti, you are royal now”. The second, said “yes, Basti, enjoy, because you are the one and only International Field Pig”. I will never forget them.
Therefore I write you this note. Thank you for visiting us in Sumba. Please come to see us again. There is really more than human stuff to enjoy around here. Next time I show you the best mud of Sumba. Enjoy your travels on the island, but do me one favour, stick to seafood!
All the best,
Babi Basti
Your International Field Pig
