21 October 2016: The Ha Makoae Homes Tour

                For the past few days, I’ve just been chilling at the orphanage, playing with the slackline (and by playing, I mean like 5 minutes of me on it, then the nuggets notice and want to do it, and then it’s another hour of me holding tiny hands as they wobble their way across), eating papatas (little bread loaves) that they make in the kitchen here, and playing with the directors’ one-brown-eye-one-blue-eye dogs.

                I went to say hi to the students at school in the morning on my way to photograph some houses in the village, which I present below as the Ha Makoae Homes Tour.

Your basic rondaval

Round rocks 

Rocks between sticks

The start of an outer layer outside of the rocks and sticks 

All mud exterior

Smoothly smeared, nice touch with the half and half door 

This house may be made of stones, but they've also got a huge satellite dish

Six-sided thatched house

Pink rocks between sticks 

And of course, along the way I acquired a large nugget following 

My nkhono's (grandmother's) house, smooth pink rocks with turquoise accents

A newly-built cinder block house

All the sticks

Sometimes there are designs cut into the thatch

Showing off her house

Designs around the door can be carved in...

Or painted on

I spy some heart-shaped rocks 

A bigger cinder block house that's been smeared with concrete 

Sticks on sticks

You never escape people wanting you to take their photo while carrying around a camera. This woman is standing in front of the mill that she runs, her face covered in yellow cream to protect from the sun. 

We can't have a complete tour without including a latrine. A Very Important Poop may be happening in this Ventilation-Improved Pit.