Family visit with Silasia - 2-Jan 31

After visiting the school we drove to Silasia's home. Waiting for us there were about 40 community/family members. We were overwhelmed! Everyone wanted to shake our hands and personally welcome us! Luckily we had two WV personnel to translate for us.

We were welcomed to sit in the yard that was set up with a tarp to provide shade. After formal greetings and introductions this large group fell silent. It was hard to know what to say. Once again, Fred pulled out his half dozen pictures of his farm area summer and winter. Then we had a rousing conversation comparing weather and farming. I'm not sure if they believed half of what we said about farming in Canada (size of fields and yields), as our numbers are unheard of by these subsistence farmers!

Just as we thought our visit must surely be over, the women brought out food! Silasia sat very quietly in between Deb and Fred at the 'head table'. He is an 11 year old boy who looks about 8 and can eat like he weighs 250 lbs. We ate white rice, beans, sweet potatoes, chicken, corn and cucumbers. We could not believe how much rice each person ate! Probably 8-10 serving according to the Canada Food Guide! The head table and men were served first, then the women and any left overs to the kids! The dogs and chickens got the droppings. Nothing was wasted.

This entire day, but especially the meeting with Silasia's family produced huge culture shock for us all. We were glad to be 4 foreigners; security in numbers! The day was special and we will remember this visit for a long time. As Fred said "it was a heck of a day!"