A glimpse of village life

Staying at the home of the audiologist’s wife gave me a real glimpse into village life. It is a simple life, yet people seem happy with what they have and generous in sharing it. Heavy rain during the night prevented us from visiting the next village to see a child with CP—streams had overflowed across the road, making it impassable. Instead, we arranged a video call with the family, but midway the power cut out and did not return until the following day.

That afternoon, with the rain pouring and thunder rolling, we stayed indoors. The family was busy separating freshly harvested cardamom, and since I had nothing else to do, I joined in. I enjoyed the rhythm of the work under the sound of the rain. The workers spoke almost no English, just a few words like “madame” or “America,” while I couldn’t understand their dialect. Still, they tried to chat. One man kept asking, “madame… bored?” and I explained as best I could that I wasn’t bored at all—I found the work fascinating.

By 5 p.m. it was already getting dark inside. After three hours of cardamom work, I went upstairs, but without electricity the rooms quickly grew dim. The project manager suggested finding candles, so we set off to nearby shops. The first two had none, though one offered us Ara, the local grain spirit. We declined at first but later accepted a small sip at another shop, where I was quickly offered apple juice instead. At last we found the last pack of candles in stock, along with some toilet paper.
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By then night had fallen. Using torches, we made our way back through dark lanes where stray dogs barked and blocked our path, forcing us to take a detour. After nearly an hour we reached the house safely. That evening, everyone gathered in the living room by candlelight, talking and enjoying freshly harvested corn—a memorable close to a long day.