The Neighbours

My little pink house is up on a hill, and there are two families that we share the little rise with. Standing on the roof, looking out at the road, both live to the left. I have no idea how many people actually comprise these two families (Nepali homes typically include 3 or 4 generations). Between the 2 families there are people ranging in age from a few months to very elderly, and everything in between. I think there are around 12-15 people bewteen the two houses, but I'm really not sure.
We quickly struck up a relationship with the family immediatly next to us. From the beginning we gave them the contents of our compost bin, which they fed to their goats. Usually we did this every 2-3 days, as they didn't like it when the compost started to compost. In return they knocked on our door every so often with plates of food - various Nepali snacks. I have no idea if they enjoyed the food we put on the plate when returning it each time (pancakes, onion rings...) but the exchange continued until we moved out.
The two families have a few young boys (or at least one whose friends come over a lot), who often come peer through our windows, usually the kitchen ones. If the windows are open they will often talk through them. Once I was in there making momos and ended up being quizzed on Class 3 social studies, the exam having been that morning. I have no idea if I got any right, but judging from their reactions I didn't!
It's not just the kids that peer through the windows; the adults do it too. Even after 3 months it sometimes feels like living in a zoo. When the Besi house visited for Holi, they were a little shocked to have people peering in at 11pm. I'd never known it to happen at night before, but I guess the zoo never closes! There were times during the day when everyone would unabashedly look through, even knowing one of us was in the room.
As important as the neighbour people are the neighbour animals. Mostly goats, there are also a few buffalo and some chickens. We never bothered to name the chickens or adult animals, but the babies all got names. In January there was Lucy, a little grey goat, and Harry, a buffalo. Harry disappeared all of a sudden though, and we don't like to think about why.
We thought Lucy was small and cute, and she was. I mentioned the lack of entertainment before - once I watched the rooster chase Lucy around the yard for a good 5 mins - I think it was the highlight of the day. She certainly was sweet, and very inquisitive. That might be what got her in trouble with the rooster! But Lucy grew.
But then spring began, and with it came a slew of baby goats. First there was Holi, so named because of the day of her birth, and then Molly while I was in Bandipur. They're adorable, especially when the play together, which they do often. We're not actually sure as to the gender of these goats, but just made gave them whatever names they looked like.
During the final days in the house, construction on the house to the right reached the point where the house was habitable. The owner and his wife and son moved in, so for those few days we had people on both sides.
As the only AV's to live in a house with nobody else on another floor, it was nice to have neighbours. They offered a window into everyday Nepali life, which was fascinating to watch.