The Sock-Hop

Cherfulis, originally uploaded by grace_snell.

A rapidly dwindling readership means it's time to get back to writing.

I've been on the data collection trail for the past week or so. And in case anyone is wondering, I did in fact acquire a Polaroid camera. Thus far, the mothers love the pictures. I love them too. The whole 'instant' business really is remarkable. At the last home, a swarm of people came around to see the magic as the image was revealed on that little square. They were also, as I understood it, rather surprised to see me up the mountain.

Arriving at these interview sites requires quite a bit of walking and hiking and wading through rivers, etc. Cherfulis (in the picture) leads me throughout the area. He walks quickly and with purpose, but he slows down to cross the rivers. Typically men crossing on foot remove only one shoe (and one sock if they are wearing socks), then hop across on one foot. (As far as I can tell, women either aren't wearing shoes, or they just slide both shoes off before crossing). I have not seen any of these guys lose their balance. Yet. Maybe if that happens, my presence will (momentarily) not provide the sole form entertainment for everyone washing in the rivers.

Tom brought some new food along with him this time. And there is a lot of it. This has been a pleasant surprise for my palate and my stomach. He got a whole variety of ready-to-heat-and-eat Indian meals (from Trader Joe's I do believe). And then, tons of mashed potatoes in the 'just add water' category. Both items are fabulous on their own, and together they are heavenly. Since we don't have the facilities for preparing rice (or we didn't think of the instant kind), the potatoes act as a bed for the delicious topping. This turns out to cost far less than those freeze-dried meals. It's all just fabulous, I tell you.