I went equipped with only the name of a woman and her twin daughters. I had no idea where in the village (which Dave later told me is quite spread out) her house would be. As the Lord would have it, Noura's house was the first we came to! The whole family was home and quite happy to stare unabashedly at the two white women with their boys who had come to visit (Dave had gone off to find some men to visit with.)
As is customary, we were quickly brought a bowl of water. You might be able to see from the picture below why this village was a candidate for a new well.
Next each of the three women brought out thermoses of sweet tea, and of course we HAD to try a cup of each! Thankfully they forgot to ask which was the tastiest! I've been on a caffeine high all day, and just now am feeling it wearing off.
It was a great visit, with lots of good conversation and laughter. As a team we are trying to gather some cultural information this month, specifically focusing on practices surrounding life events: weddings, births, circumcisions and funerals. So the ladies happily told us about the gifts you give at each one and the appropriate words to say.
Later we discovered this cool looking object:
Any guesses as to what it is? It's clay pot covered in cowhide, and used to hold homemade ink. The ink is made from a certain tree, water, and the blood of a calf. Its used by kids to write Koranic verses on a board. This same ink is given to sick people as a type of medicine.
Returning home I took the opportunity to visit my neighbor H. After lunch and tea at her house (2 more cups!) she came over to work on a cover for a platter while I did some language study.
The colorful round thing is a platter cover like she was making.
I finished the day with a visit to Baba's. This is Baba (left) and her daughter Ang.
More pictures of the rest of the family coming soon!
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