In the play, there's a scene where Anne and Jo are learning how to speak Balangao. Tekla teaches them the parts of a loom, and then asks if Jo wants to try it. Anne eggs her on, and Jo weaves successfully for a moment, then makes hash of things.
A homestay a few days ago had a large pillow covered with thread and long spindles. She was making thread lace, a skill she'd learned in Belgium. She laid it on the floor, and demonstrated how to weave the two main threads back and forth across the others. Then she looked at me and said, "Would you like to try?" I looked at Angie, who grinned and nodded. "Ok." I picked up the threads and started weaving. Then it hit me. I was living the play. Line for line, nod for nod, grin for grin. So I looked at Angie and said "Cha'a manafar!" And we both laughed.
Only I didn't make hash of it...
