And the Hmong word for Cucumber is....

The day after I last posted, I was sleepily pulling baby broccoli plants for transplating with Who-a, Chi-taow, and Adria when Who-a looked at me and said, "Francais?" My eyes flew open and through a big grin I said, "Je parle un peu de francais, tu parles aussi?!" He nodded. Success! I soon found out he studied in Czechloslavakia, has a masters in Economics, and he and Chi-toaw have six children in Laos. I told him I wanted to learn some of their language and they both just giggled. But on Friday, during the cuke pick, Chi-toaw wanted to learned the English word for the veggie we were gathering and then shared the Hmong word - "Dee" with an inflection on the "ee". It seems to be a very tone-based language and its structure and words are so foreign to me, but it's a great challenge to pick up a word or two. It's still very difficult to communicate, neither of us speak particularly good French and we both speak it with our respective accents. And most of the time we're also trying to work when we talk so it's still hard. But we make do. It's so fun when everyone, with their various langauges, are working together and we try to communicate. There is always a lot of flamboyant miming and much laughter, but fortunatly we all have a sense of humor and much patience.
In other news, not too long ago the first of the picked-out corn fields was plowed under, two cuke patches have now been mowed, and one melon field is finished. Watching the plants being put back into the ground is a real sobering experience. It's a real marker - the season is truly well underway. We're having to take two huge trucks to town for deliveries. Last week, we shipped 8 TONS (yes, 2000 lb. tons!) of watermelons. I have eaten so much of the juicy fruit that my belly feels like a melon. Being able to meander out into the field to pick a ripe tomato and some fresh kale for dinner is not-so-slowly irreperably altering my tastes and food expectations... I feel like I may as well eat as much as I can here, because I probably won't be able to eat for a few months after leaving. But I do have to say that it's a good thing that the hardest work falls during the time I am the most well fed.
I hope you are all having a restful weekend. There's just a hint of the golden autumn to come in the air today - it's delicious.

Meagan