Sallu

That’s my nephew. And he is so cute. For the first week I was in my village, he was scared of me – wouldn’t intentionally come near me and when he realized he was near me, he would run away quickly. He slowly started to get used to me after I was back in the village for another several days. But the thing that broke the ice completely was football. I had bought a football (or soccer ball as we Americans call it) in the market before going back to my village but it lost a little air quickly so it wasn’t pumped up fully the day after I got to my village, so I just left it in my room. But I soon learned that Sallu could care less if the ball is pumped up or not – he just loves running around kicking it and picking it up and giving it to me to play with. Now Sallu loves playing with me – playing with the football, clapping hands, running around, dancing, being picked up and thrown in the air or twirled around…anything. And I love playing with him – it’s not only incredibly fun to act like a kid, it’s also been a great way for me to feel more comfortable with my family and get integrated into the family.

Sallu with his beloved soccer ball playing in the rain.

Sallu's amazing smile. :)