A Taste of Culture

Culture.....about the time you begin to understand it and function in it.....it morphs into something new and unexpected.

In our travels, the last few years, we often arrived in a small town, walked around it, and said "hello" to people....but always remained on the outside looking in. This weekend we were invited to the "inside." Our friends invited us to their hometown for a meal and a visit with their family. We were honored at the invitation, accepted and got a peek into what life is like for the family in the countryside.

Here is the home of our friend. Our friend has lived here since birth, and now he and his wife have brought their new daughter home, to this same house. His mom, grandmother and grandfather still live here too. Here is the new family. On a cultural note....our friend's wife is wearing pajamas. After the birth of a new baby, the new mom must stay inside the house for 30 days, not crossing the threshold out into the outside world. Every meal the new mom must eat boiled chicken and chicken broth (3meals a day...nothing else). They are not allowed to shower or wash their hair for the 30 days either because they are too weak from the birth and the water from the shower might hurt them during their weakened state. But you can see, my friend has a sweet smile on her face and has had one on her face since I saw her in the hospital.

Hannah and the new baby. I was actually shocked they let Hudson hold the baby.I got to hold the baby too!!Our friend preparing the table. I thought you might enjoy seeing the living room of the house. Note the fridge, electircal wires, TV, phone and desk. They have it all right in that one room! After our "hellos" we went to the market to get some things from lunch. Hudson got the fish....check out the fish inside the bag Hudson is carrying. It was alive when he got it....dead by the time we got back to the house.

This is our friend's mom.....gutting our lunch. I told her I had never cleaned a chicken before, and she said it was probably time I learned. Next time...I said. Then.....we had to wait on lunch to be prepared. Hannah and I chatted with another girl who was there for lunch. I kept asking if I could help, but they wouldn't hear of it. The boys killed time outside. Nothing like a pile of bricks to keep Hudson's attention!

Finally.....the meal was served. Fish, Fish head soup, duck, chicken, apples, green vegetable, and rice. It was all very good. I had to call my dad this week though.....since I was a child, he has always made a joke about eating "fish heads and rice". When you would ask him what he wanted to eat or what we were going to eat he always responded...."fish heads and rice". On this day...the joke wasn't so funny....it was real. It was a great day of food and friends. We were told to come again, and next time....spend the night. Ahh...culture....always expanding.