So a few days into our stay I realized that we were going to be eating rice and meat again for dinner (because we hadn’t been here long enough to acquire any produce yet), so I went and asked Leisande if they had any root crops that I could have one of (for a little variety). She was so apologetic b/c they only had yams. I was like, "That's great. Yams are great." (To me, root crops are root crops...I don’t care if it’s taro, manioc, kumala or yams...it’s starch and I just treat ‘em all like potatoes anyway.) I told Leisande that I felt bad that the family was always sharing things from their gardens with us and we weren't helping them in their gardens. She said, "Okay, you can go with me tomorrow and we'll work and you can bring some things home for your family too." :o) Yippeee...I'd never been to the garden before!
So Saturday morning we all walked down the "big" road (the coral road that runs through the village). Titus, Lexi and Eric walked with us till the kids got tired then turned around and came back to the house. (Eric knew he'd have the kids all morning, I just suggested they walk with us for a while to help the kids stay busy this morning. Oh and Titus rode his bike, not walked. He had a ball. So, about 30 minutes or so from the house we (Leisande, her sons and I) turned off the main road onto a little tiny pathway (if you can call it that). We walked for another 15 minutes or so and we got to their "old" garden - last year’s that still has some banana trees that are good. Leisande cut a few banana stalks down (by cutting the whole tree down - you know banana trees only produce one stalk of bananas in their life? But if you cut it down another grows in its place). Oh, oh, oh and when she was looking at another stalk that she thought was ready, she spotted a snake coiled up on the stalk of bananas. Thankfully it was way up high so it couldn't "get us" - but it was a little intimidating none-the-less! And it was a pacific boa (the only kind that lives here) - so not poisonous. And of course, “the crazy white woman” whips out her camera for a picture of the snake! Ha. Then we walked another 10 minutes to their garden for this year where we dug up some yams, planted some taro in it's place (they are very good about crop rotation), planted some pineapples, dug up some manioc, pulled weeds, and a few more things. It was all very interesting and very hard work. The gardening itself was actually quite enjoyable...it was the long walk there and the long walk back carrying the produce that did me in! Needless to say by the time we got home my shoulders were screaming (I had carried a bag of yams and manioc on a branch over my shoulder all the way back and boy was there a knot in my shoulder) AND I was SOOOOOO hungry! But, I really did enjoy working in the garden alongside Leisande and her boys. And even though I’d be willing to if I needed to, I sure am glad that my family doesn’t rely on me doing that almost daily in order to have food on the table. I am so appreciative and grateful that there are so many back in the States supporting the work here (and allowing me to buy meat and other things when we go into town)...and I’m so thankful for the lovely families here who share of their garden’s produce!!!
So Saturday morning we all walked down the "big" road (the coral road that runs through the village). Titus, Lexi and Eric walked with us till the kids got tired then turned around and came back to the house. (Eric knew he'd have the kids all morning, I just suggested they walk with us for a while to help the kids stay busy this morning. Oh and Titus rode his bike, not walked. He had a ball. So, about 30 minutes or so from the house we (Leisande, her sons and I) turned off the main road onto a little tiny pathway (if you can call it that). We walked for another 15 minutes or so and we got to their "old" garden - last year’s that still has some banana trees that are good. Leisande cut a few banana stalks down (by cutting the whole tree down - you know banana trees only produce one stalk of bananas in their life? But if you cut it down another grows in its place). Oh, oh, oh and when she was looking at another stalk that she thought was ready, she spotted a snake coiled up on the stalk of bananas. Thankfully it was way up high so it couldn't "get us" - but it was a little intimidating none-the-less! And it was a pacific boa (the only kind that lives here) - so not poisonous. And of course, “the crazy white woman” whips out her camera for a picture of the snake! Ha. Then we walked another 10 minutes to their garden for this year where we dug up some yams, planted some taro in it's place (they are very good about crop rotation), planted some pineapples, dug up some manioc, pulled weeds, and a few more things. It was all very interesting and very hard work. The gardening itself was actually quite enjoyable...it was the long walk there and the long walk back carrying the produce that did me in! Needless to say by the time we got home my shoulders were screaming (I had carried a bag of yams and manioc on a branch over my shoulder all the way back and boy was there a knot in my shoulder) AND I was SOOOOOO hungry! But, I really did enjoy working in the garden alongside Leisande and her boys. And even though I’d be willing to if I needed to, I sure am glad that my family doesn’t rely on me doing that almost daily in order to have food on the table. I am so appreciative and grateful that there are so many back in the States supporting the work here (and allowing me to buy meat and other things when we go into town)...and I’m so thankful for the lovely families here who share of their garden’s produce!!!
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| snake in the banana tree |
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