The road that goes through the town.
Our host's house.
The group on the farm after weeding
Me sitting to have my hair braided.
Showering outside!
Jessica (juhyes-e-kuh as they called her) and some of the kids.
January 14:As soon as we got off the bus it was obvious that this was going to be a bit more of a culture shock than the other towns. I remember walking up the hill towards the town and seing kids just running around. They were dressed appropriatly and looked healthy but I noticed right away the lack of supervision. I know parents can't watch their kids all the time but their seemed to be few parents around. The kids were adorable and they followed us everywhere they could.
After arriving and changing we were off to the farm which was a few miles down the road to the farm shared by several brothers. We were told that although they have to work hard because they own their own land they have an easier life than those who work on a nearby commerical farm. They are able to provide for themselves. We got a tiny taste of the work they do by trying to help them weed a small area. Their farm is ocated on a hillside which added some difficulty.
Later that night we went to take a shower that had been created by diverting water off a small waterfall with a little half pipe. There's a picture below of me showering. You can also see a little girl who followed along and showered (with all her clothes on) with Jess and I. Then in the truck on the way back Jess braided her hair (there's picture of that too.) At night some people played soccer and it seemed like everyone came out to watch. The actual soccer team is the pride of the town. We were even shown pictures and trophies that the team has one. We also played dominos and danced (to a drum) with all the kids in front of the tiny little store. For awhile the power went out but the music and dancing never stopped. One little girl really liked braiding my hair because it would stay better than other people's so I sat and let her do that numerous times.
Our host's house.
The group on the farm after weeding
Me sitting to have my hair braided.
Showering outside!
Jessica (juhyes-e-kuh as they called her) and some of the kids.
January 15: Woke up to rousters crowing bright and early. Went off on a hike through the rainforest. We saw some moer little waterfalls. I jumped off one! Went swimming. That night they had a bonfire on the soccer field. Apparently their were cashews roasted but I didn't see any. I brought my camera out fulling knowing that the kids get REALLY excited to take pictures. There's one picture that I kept where all the kids are moving. When it's dark my camera has 3 flashes and I couldn't figure out how to explain to them that they had to wait. I did take a lot of pictures though and then they looked at them on the screen. So cute!
Last Edited: February 10, 2005