Watermelon on the Kunai

Before I left for Kapawa, I was praying for a friend- someone who I could talk to and spend time with while I was out in the village. Let me introduce my friend Lalu. Lalu is 19 and the second child in a family of four. She has an older brother named Max (the guy holding the bee hive), a little sister named Kiu and a younger brother who they call Denge. Lalu is very sincere and has a natural gift of patience. She is a patient language teacher and a very patient trail guide. I look forward to spending time with Lalu again when I am back out in the village in May.

One Sunday she met me at the bottom of my stairs and asked if I wanted to visit the Kunai which is a grassy hill where the cows tend to hang-out and graze. It’s only a short walk but of course, down a steep ravine and then back up again. However, it was worth the walk. The view from the top of the hill was spectacular (this picture does not do it justice) and it was great to send some time with the girls. Lalu and her cousin Lizeni are showing me the watermelon that Lalu had bought at the market the day. As we ate slices of watermelon, I told them stories about seed spitting contests and watermelon eating contests in the US. They thought it was pretty funny that we don’t save the seeds to plant again and that we would give a prize to someone just because they could eat fast. Then we watched the clouds roll in and cover the hill. This picture is me standing close to the same spot but a half an hour later (wearing yet another pair of super stylish culottes;-).