A Balancing Act

Wednesday 20 December

We pushed our bikes up the mile long hill with the natural made speed bumps to the main road which was only a little better. At least it was flat.

We straddled our bikes- two in their sarongs, their knees showing and me in my hippie dress, a petticoat, and capri pants, my knees not showing. Off we went for the 5 km ride back to my village.

One carried my backpack full of eggs, peanuts, oranges, grapefruit, cassava, guava and potatoes. The other had two on one handlebar and one on the other. I had one on each, hanging upside down tied by their feet, a total of five chickens. Our skirts safely flowed in the wind and we arrived dusty to my house.

Today I spent 3 hours eating freshly plucked fruit, walking in a neighboring village where at least 10 of my students commute from to attend school.

The generosity of the village was tremendous, even helping me carry all of my gifts home, circumventing what would have been a true balancing act.