When we first arrived in the village, the women immediately started working on the jackfruit we had brought with us. They were very happy to get it as they don't have them during this season on the mountain.
They had to keep the chickens out of the jackfruit. They were being pretty pesky. I'm guessing it had been a while since they had had any as well.
After the work was done everyone sat around, talked, and had some fun. Being in the Sun is good at this time of the year. This village gets dark early and stays dark late so it can be quite cool up here. I guess you have to soak in the Sun while you can.
One of my favorite things are the smiles. We had a good view from the porch where we were sitting. I love to watch the people smile and hear their laughter. Even though I don't understand what they're saying, I can tell they're happy and having a good time.
Pawn's mom had made Rusty some small baskets. The one she is tying a strap to is the one that they wear on their back with the strap going around their forehead. The smaller one inside is the chicken basket or lunch basket as we like to call it. It doesn't get any fresher than village chicken!
It was soon time to eat. It seems like we do that a lot when we're in the village. I think Pawn's parents really enjoyed having all of their children together. It had been almost a year since they were all together at the same time. 
After lunch it was time to prepare for the evening worship/Thanksgiving services. This looked like male-bonding time to me. They were out there taking care of the chickens. They seemed to do it very quickly. It reminded me of my chicken lesson before leaving the States. I wanted to know how to prepare a chicken just in case I was ever given a chicken or called on to perform the duty. Thankfully I CAN do it but have never HAD to do it. I tell you after a full morning of preparing fresh chicken, I was feeling a bit woozy.
This is the kitchen, and it can get kind of smokey at times. It's a bit warm for my tastes with the fire, but I did enjoy it in the evening.That night when we were having the Thanksgiving service, it also included food. I had my first experience with "laab dip." This time it was raw pork mixed with chili, mint, and and probably some other veggies. The pastor asked Rusty if we eat raw pork, and Rusty said we didn't. Of course we didn't notice that they had set out the raw pork version for everyone. So the pastor sent the plates back to have them cook the meat first. If we had noticed what had already been set out, we wouldn't have said anything. We just would have eaten around it, but other people prefer theirs cooked as well so it worked out well.
It seemed like it was really late, but I think it's just because it got dark around 6:00. This village is surrounded by mountains so it stays dark for a long time. I was thankful they had some battery-powered lights.
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