This month I took pictures for you guys like you wouldn't believe.
Unfortunately, my camera has now entered the hospice of technology and won't give me access to those pics :( But here's a few that survived....enjoy!
My friends Lena and Adri's big bro got married...
This is the traditional dress of their people
Posing for pics...
Beautiful Lena and Adri
Only the direct family attends the actual wedding ceremony, but the receptions are open to just about anyone. They always include a lot of hand shaking. You come in, drop some money in a basket, and stand in line to shake the families' hands. Usually after that you grab something to eat and split (not rude, totally cultural) but this wedding was fancy schmancy with a sit down meal. Still, the place cleared out pretty quick after the food was gone :)
Hand Shaking Madness. The nurse in me always hopes they wash their hands afterwards. I'm often tempted to stand at the end of the line and hand out free squirts of hand sanitizer just in case. Prevention is key :)
Jatoro - He may be an 8th year senior but hes got the Rubix cube mastered. Impressive.
I moved to a kost, which is kind of like a dorm room but smaller. This is my building. I live on the 2nd floor which means....
Climbing these crazy steep stairs everyday. I get a kick out of watching little kids try to go up and down them. Their little legs can barely reach high enough to climb up and the have to jump down step by step. It's really cute!
My room pre-move. It's much more homey looking now. And I bought a fan.
My bathroom, complete with a squatty potty and bucket for bathing
Sweet univeristy girls
I ran away to the village a couple times this month and one of my friends told me about his hand. He said he was burned a few years back and instead of covering the wound and keeping it clean he kept working in the garden and his finger got infected from all he dirt. Now it's causing a lot of pain and the doctor said he'd like to just cut his hand off and call it good. I'm gonna take him some antibiotics and try to clean out his finger next time I visit, but pray this guy can have a healthy, pain-free hand soon.
This month marked Eid Al Adha, a Muslim holiday that is celebrated by the slaughtering of goats and cows. People chip in money to buy animals, slaughter them in the morning, and divy up the meat between them. The thought is that the meat is supposed to be shared with the poor so that they have a chance to eat meat at least once a year. The families I hang out with are pretty poor and this was the portion of cow allotted to them. I wonder who gets the steaks?
Some Eid Al Adha goodness...mostly rice, fish, and a few unknowns but all in all pretty tasty.
And the best part...mangos!
Learning how to use my friend's super awesome stove. It's kind of an art to keep the fire going at the right temp, but she's got it down. Way to be Ibu!
Their 16 year old daughter just gave birth to her first baby girl. Interesting fact: they save the placenta. They consider it like a twin spirit and are buried with after they die. I'd heard this before, but this family also mentioned that they are storing this baby's placenta in a jar with books and pencils so the she will grow up to be smart. If only it were that easy :)
Mom and baby in the background with all her admirers :)
The Gang. The boy on the left is my little buddy. He doesn't talk much, but his mom says he's always asking her when I can come over again and play. So precious!
