Spending New Year’s Eve in a small village outside Bengkulu. New Village This Week. If you stay to the end of the video, you will see two little boys fishing in a creek–made me think of Tom Sawyer. Staying with a wonderful family. The daughter (Riska) and son (Putra) are my translators. Here to talk to the native healers to see if they will allow me to work with them. The family is pictured below and a few pictures from the village. Riska is ringing the bell at the elementary school like the teachers with a rock–shout out to Tammy and Betsy at least you are not using a rock to ring the school bell, which appears to be a pulley.
the neighbors cutting coconut 
neighbors 
Riska ringing school bell with a rock
The Dad owns a farm. He grows rubber trees and cassava. He has cows and goats. Below are pictures from his rubber trees. He had just cut some of them so you can see the rubber. There is a rubber plant near here. In the picture you can see how he cut the tree so there is a place for the rubber to run into the cup. The sap that runs out is about 30% rubber.
The family has a store in the front of the house. Open 5:00am to 10:00pm and they run it with no help. Not sure when they sleep. I am in bed by 9:00 and up at 6:00am. There are always people stopping by so never a dull moment. You can see the surprise when people see me. Sometimes they nearly run off the road. Pictures of the house below and a video–New Place to Live This Week.
front of the house 
inside the store 
yep a gas station too
My family peeps will know what is happening in this picture. They cut their beans with a knife!! If you looked at the other pages you will know these people party. Three weddings so far. Tonight is a baby shower–or at least that is what we call it. Except the baby comes to the party–the guest of honor. I visited the neighbors today when they were preparing Food for the Party. The whole village comes together to prepare food for the party. There were so many people talking to me I missed Riska saying the older woman in the video is her grandmother. The other picture is an elephant ear mushroom, which the healers use for medicine–externally. I read online that they are poisonous.
