August 26, 2023  For the thought of the unknown host home in village to be coming up in reality and also for the serious lightning and thunder storm blew through half of the night, I had not slept well at all....  Maggie had to knock on my door to tell me it was 6:30am....7am breakfast, 8am to depart..... Didn’t I set my alarm at 5am???.....

When we walked into the church, everyone stood up to sing and dance to welcome us....  

How moving this had stricken to every one of us.... Many of us were with tears.....

The announcement made at the end of the formalities, on which family was to have which one of us PCV-Ts to go home with them..... The greatest excitment so far.....

This is my host mom, Rosi, ten years younger from me..... She speaks enough English to make me at home from the very moment she had first embraced me at the front of all PCV-Ts, LCFs and locals.......

This is my family for the coming 12 weeks.  Host mom, Rosi, with one grandson age 10 and granddaughter age 2 from her son, and her youngest daughter Precious with her own daughter age 5.

This is my room...... felt like in the Disney land....

I have a wall of closets...... in between bed and closet is where I have tub bath at first few nights.  After, I had their agreement to use their cement floor bath area to bath....   For how I had splashed the whole floor wet, at the cemented area it will be drying out easily....

There is a dining room in between kitchen and living room, so far did not seem been used.

The living room, they insisted to dance and sing the formal welcome for me.

Started so strongly in voice and foot stamps.......

Speedy turnings....

Kicking one leg so high up in the air.....

Everyone was so much into it all.....  the audiences too.....

Again and again.....

Until the kids drop down on the floor.....

From there and on I noticed that the TV was on even there were no one in the room.....

Walking to know the whole compound..... it got to be over half of an acre of land inside the fence.

My room is at the left side from the center area that living room is, the other side from the center is the room for host pa and mom.  The house is built deep, the back layer were more rooms for daughter or some other ones, and for the grandson and the older daughter and son, who are working out of town.

These fruit trees were behind outhouse....

Connecting with net covered up kitchen garden.....

nice greens growing well....

This is one of the two connected latrines.

This one is taller, for adults?  Now you understand what I have been overcome this tremendous challenge on “the call of the nature”..... in the great urgent need at the time.....

 

Until later in afternoon, the host pa came home with the Fork pickup truck....

The next morning, host pa and mom took me to the only one mall in lesser than an hour driving distance for our first shopping for the coming two weeks.

Host pa seemed happy for I was taking pictures , even slow down to post for me.

Yes, he was happy of been photoed....

Host mom too.... I asked them if I can post their pictures and family pictures to tell all my loved ones that I am having a new loving family to care for me now..... They both agreed and very happily so, that I will tell of them to my dear ones worldwide....

I had not seen too many trees nearby..... where were these harvesting coming from???.....

The mall here is not any different from any malls at any other where.....

I have bought one dress to use for the evening time with the host family.... a little bit here and there I wanted it be alternated, the host mom took over and finished all details for me..... She even promised to make a dress for me once again when we go shopping at where the materials be possible.  She is a self-learned tailer.  

I am so thankful that they have washing machine and helped me on water to have my laundry done.  For the water and drainage was not piped into building anywhere..... 

When I saw host pa again, I asked to have one family picture of all of them, the answer was wait till September 11^th, it will be the granddaughter’s birthday and the son and daughter in law will be back for it.

Yet, he was nicely holding host mom’s hand and waited for the photo right then.....

I am amazed on how this couple’s connected-ness, if there is such of this word, “connected-ness” but it was what I have felt of them..... and even envy at them......

Remember the host mom told me calmly that the host pa has another wife with seven children at another compound?

May the heaven bless them with their “connected-ness” and their love they have for each other, for ever and ever.

I think, I have better to stop here for today.  Until next time......

Note:  All my blog posted were for my own story telling, not presenting Peace Corps, nor any volunteers.

Cheng   9/4/2023