It truly has been 24 hours of madness every day so far and I don’t suppose it’ll be any different for the rest of the trip.
I was woken up at 7 am this morning for breakfast and was pleased to see that it was chucking it down with rain (this is not sarcastic as it provided relief from the intense heat of the day and also it made me happy to see the turtle waddling around in its element). Bless them, they made me oats with instant soy milk to make me feel at home. Unfortunately though, this did not disqualify me from participating in the eating of the breakfast that was already set out. I was left panting heavily after the meal having eaten egg, a sweet bread and a red Chinese cake that reminded me of sweet bao. Maybe it was just bao but with added superstition. By that I mean that my Great Uncle (Norman) told me that the wives steam this bun and if they did not open like a flower then the wife is disagreeable. I’d imagine that if I made buns they might invert.
After this I pottered around with my camera and I do think I got a few gems! I am laughed at often for petting the dog. She is such a pretty little thing and so friendly! I was told that she was on the leash so that she didn’t get stolen. My original hypothesis that she might get stolen to be sold was quickly overturned by Aunty Janey who stated “no no to eat”. After a chuckle I asked if this family would eat her and was reassured that it would only be in the winter that she will be eaten, as dog meat provides warmth. When I asked if they would eat the turtle I received an almost horrified “no that is a pet”. Go figure.
I then went out back to photograph the chickens but unfortunately they were all huddled away in the corner away from the rain and away from the kitchen, where a bowl of their friend’s guts lay ?marinating? in water. I looked to take a photograph of the view out onto the paddy field instead and found two ducks making their way over the threshold. Do they live here? Are they wild? Will they be in my bowl this evening? As always, it remains unclear.
Next, I was thrown right into an ancestral ceremony which included many, many steps and many, many bows. I have recorded the whole process for research but suspect that it might be irrelevant to my project. I have some photographs which will follow soon enough i’m sure. The main thing to note is that it was a Buddhist ceremony to honour the ancestors. Among many things, the ceremony also provides these ancestors with money to spend in heaven and also in hell(?!) and also seems to serve as an excuse for a feast, especially in the old days when you needed an excuse to slaughter an expensive chicken. I can safely say that hunger is a thing of the past, at least in this household, as I have never been exposed to such excess food and will probably return home extremely round.
I have seen that you have sent me the first part of your story, the existence of which made me disregard my earlier termination of our correspondence. Upon first glance it looks wonderful, but I must wait until night for the time to look over it properly. Perhaps you can even take some inspiration from the human-animal interactions I have come across. For now I must see what the rest of my day has to offer! Although I must admit that I am already pretty tuckered out from the aforementioned chaos even though its only 11:30 am (please excuse any mistakes I may have made in this email for the same reason).
Yours, Tirt
A little bit of a Hou 