The Village People

While walking through Sin Chai, we found these SUPER cute little H'mong kids using crooked sticks as stilts. They were so fun to photograph (except when they asked for money).

This little girl was away from the group looking for sticks around someone's house. She was SO happy when she found two that worked!

This kid cracks me up. I love his dirty little shorts, his JOE sweater, the way he slouched, and the defeated little look on his face. Adorable. Taken in Cat Cat.

This funny little kid from Cat Cat was gnawing on a big piece of sugar cane. I can't imagine that's good for his teeth...

While walking in Sin Chai, this old lady came up to us and invited us in to her home for some tea. We though she was being friendly (which I guess she was) but of course, she was also being industrious... She brought us there to sell us some of their handmade goods. But who cares! They were so nice and the hot water was great for such a cold day.

These girls were busy making purses and thought it was hilarious that I had knew some Vietnamese and could count to three in their tribal language (though that's all I knew). I would just say, "Oi zoi oi!" Which means, "Oh my God!" in Vietnamese, and they would just collapse in giggles. We ended up buying two purses from them.

It was really dark and smoky n the house. This was taken without the flash. I still like it though. I like the way they are kind of hidden in the shadows.

It was pretty rural out there. There was some electricity in some homes (we knew which ones they were because there was usually a crowd of 20 kids or more and a blaring TV with cartoons) but most were only illuminated with natural light from open doors or small fires in the middle of the home. We walked away smelling like charcoal but were happy to smell. It was really cool to visit a real H'mong home and commune with the whole family.

If you want to read more about H'mong, I HIGHLY recommend the following book: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. It's a medical/anthropological documentary about a H'mong family from Laos who escaped during the Vietnamese war and resettled in rural California. It's about all the struggles a group of physicians face when their daughter develops severe epilepsy and can't communicate with the parents due to language, culture, religion, and the ins and outs of the American health care system. A FANTASTIC read. Really.