For two years in the early 1980s, Monica Connell lived as a paying guest of Kalchu and Chola in the Nepalese village of Talphi. Gradually she was accepted as a member of the family, sharing its joys and sorrows as well as taking part in its various tasks, from mud plastering the house to rice planting in the terraced fields. The village, in the Jumla region of western Nepal, was ten days' walk from the nearest road, and its only contact with the outside world was through trading expeditions: north to Tibet for salt, and south to the Indian border for cotton and metalware. Connell vividly share.;Learning to Understand a Cattle Owner -- The Full-Moon Festival and the Story of the Mastā Gods -- Four Seasons with the Sheep -- When Sigarup Fell Ill -- Phases of the Monsoon -- Sāun Sankranti -- The Karaso -- The Red Bitch -- Two Generations of Hunting -- Sometimes We'll Laugh and Sometimes We'll Cry -- Glossary -- Pronunciation Guide.