Last week, we had some visitors from the US who came to help us on the compound with some practical work things. But we also needed them to see something of the town and its surroundings, so we went to visit one of our colleagues who lives across the river, slightly out of town.
What fun we had!
David had to check out the construction of this tukel before he went in. It was a very, very nicely built tukel, in my very humble opinion! This is their "guest" tukel - the place where they entertain guests, and where a visitor might sleep, if he decides to spend the night. This little area is made up of this tukel, an old tukel and a mud block2-\room (not 2 bedrooms, but 2 rooms total) house with a tin roof, plus a little shelter for cooking. All in all, Biajo (who is our favourite old man here - has been building and doing maintenance on our compound since it was built in the 1970s!), his two sons and their wives, and a couple of children all live on in this little area.
I have a feeling these kids know what a digital camera is, because they all wanted their photo taken, and then they all LOVED seeing their photo on the screen afterwards. My friend took a picture of me with a swarm of kids around, looking at their picture, but I haven't gotten the photo from him yet ... maybe it will show up in my next newsletter :)
I was also very encouraged by our little visit because it made me realize that though I'm not really spending any time learning more of the local language, I seem to be somehow improving. I was doing some translating for the visitors, and was able to speak nicely to the mamas and to the children. None of it was very complicated, but it's nice to know that I can at least communicate a bit!
What fun we had!
Um, I'm not sure why this picture won't turn the proper way around, but anyway, you can see Biajo inside his little tukel here. I finally got him to smile for a photo!
It was a very nice visit, because we just sat in this nice tukel, drank some soda and some water, and then chatted with the wives and the sons and played a little with the children who were running around, gawking at the foreigners in their midst :)
I was also very encouraged by our little visit because it made me realize that though I'm not really spending any time learning more of the local language, I seem to be somehow improving. I was doing some translating for the visitors, and was able to speak nicely to the mamas and to the children. None of it was very complicated, but it's nice to know that I can at least communicate a bit!
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