Life as we know it...

I went into the kitchen to find the sink full of something very unpleasant that looked very much like vomit.

Kate: “Annie, people don’t throw up in the kitchen sink.” (It doesn't drain properly)

Annie: “Where do they throw up?”

Adonai: “In the toilet.”

Kate: "Yes, or outside." (Thinking of the toilet which doesn't drain either.)

Thankfully banana leaves were available to wipe it up and clean it out.

Nine-year-old Annie is missing her mom, running wild in the house and getting into mischief. “She is not coping well” her dad says. So I offered to have her come to my house in the afternoons, when I finished with work. She comes over pretty often, mostly to play with the neighbor kids, color or get into mischief.

Annie and 7-year-old Mervedy discussing Santa Claus (also known as Father Christmas)...

Mervedy (full of emotion) : "Kate!! Annie says Father Christmas doesn't come to your village!"

Annie (matter-of-factly) : "He doesn't come here either."

Mervedy: "Father Christmas DOES come here. I used to wake up every morning waiting for him."

Annie: "This is a village."

Mervedy: "He has a box with presents in it."

Annie: "And he wears red and white with black boots."

Mervedy: "And he has horses. He comes here."

Annie: "Have you ever seen him come here? Of course not, it's a village."