Jesse and I are having a good time, every morning we wake up and eat breakfast with our host family. They proceed to teach us the names for everything around and on the table, as we try to repeat with mouthfuls of food. Then after or before breakfast we wash out of a bowl of hot water, and brush our teeth. Then we meet with a local minority man that is helping us with the language. Then we spend the day biking or walking around town trying to understand the area. We are very grateful for that Da Ma, and Da Bai (big mama and big uncle) for giving us a place to stay. We have already eaten some weird things to us like pig heart and chicken feet, chicken feet not so bad but the pig heart was not the greatest thing in the world.
A likeminded friend took us up to a village the other day to pr walk and talk to some of the locals. Our friend is learning the heart language of the people so he was practicing with them. As we were talking to DAD one of the men came up out of his field, and asked if we wanted to sit with him by his fish pond. This man told us about his two kids in college, and then he told us that his wife had just died. We got to talk to him through our friend. He had nothing to say about what we told him, but some brothers and sisters of ours will be in that village soon. Will you talk to DAD about this man and our brothers and sisters that will be there?
Some of the weird things you might see on the streets here are little colored chickens. These are little baby chicks that have been died neon colors. The other day after dinner Jesse and I had just walked out of a restaurant, and was carelessly looking in stores when we saw a dog being prepared to be eaten. Jesse said he would not mind to try it. Apparently the dogs that they eat are raised on farms much like cows or chickens. Many of the people have pet dogs, most of which are small. Since they are raised in home the dogs are off limits as food. A food that many of the locals like is this grey goop made of mashed chick peas. It is pretty good to be honest.
The first week we were here I bought a bike and someone loaned Jesse one. This was when everything started to fall apart. First simple seat adjustments to both bikes pretty normal Jesse and I are larger than most people here. Then it happened- my chain locked up, then my seat fell off and then the pedal in the matter of a hundred yards. I stopped at three bike shops one after the other, but that is not the end. Jesse back tire lost alignment, his camera can’t be charged, the zipper on his pants fell off, and his Chacos lost their soles (Chacos are a type of shoes).
Keep talking to DAD for us
Love your Brother Justin
