Wow! What a fantastic day! Tonight is our last night at this place and I must admit that I will miss sharing the room with these other women. It has been so much fun, like a sleepover that none of us have been to for years. This morning, someone's alarm went off and as we all started saying "good morning" to one another, someone asked, "What time is it?" When Tracey looked at her watch, we discovered it was only 3:30. So, we had a good laugh and went back to sleep. I will not miss the cold showers though. (We have decided that the F and C on the knobs stand for frigid and chilly, although I think Mia has an alternative suggestion.)
Our bus ride itself was an adventure. The driving is similar to any European road you may have traveled on: people driving too fast on narrow roads with people, animals, and motorbikes all around. I have complete faith in our driver, it's just a tad scary. That was only the beginning of our driving adventure though. After traveling south for a little over an hour, we turned onto dirt roads. About twenty minutes into this drive, amongst some of the most beautiful countryside I can remember seeing, we climbed into the backs of small pick up trucks, because the road ahead was too treacherous for the bus. I found safety in the fact that we were all crammed in like sardines, but nevertheless, the hills caused lots of sliding. Although my arms were sore at the end of the day from gripping the sides so hard, I had a great time and some fabulous laughs were had in the back of the truck today.
Our first stop was at a house where a woman had received a cow in November. This woman, with a young grand-daughter at her knees, graciously welcomed us into her home, showed us her cow, her plot of land and her husband's. I found it odd how separate they kept things (he took care of his, and she hers), but they were both so proud to tell us about their own land. They showed us how they had terraced the land and were growing corn and fruit trees. I must admit that everyone I saw today made me feel incredibly lazy. They were all so happy, giving, optimistic, and very hard working. At our first stop, hope was all around when the woman told us how the cow provided milk and cheese for the family as she embraced her grand-daughter.
Next we stopped at a school! Can you imagine how disruptive it would be to bring twenty foreigners into your classroom unannounced? The teacher was wonderful though and told us more about the education system and her small 4th-6th grade classroom. The children were very kind and even serenaded us with the national anthem.
Especiala was the name of the next heifer we met. She belonged to a man with a very well kept home who also had a banana plantation and cornfield behind his house. He told us that through the help of Heifer and their partners, he was able to learn about better ways to fertilize and that his corn was doing tremendously better. We enjoyed the cornfields and even sang show tunes that included corn from "Oklahoma" and "South Pacific." (Can you name the song from "South Pacific" that talks about corn?)
After a very fast, slightly terrifying ride, we arrived at our third house for the day. Here, the woman had prepared a wonderful chicken soup, rice and tortillas for our lunch. It amazed me how giving these people who have so little can be. The man proudly showed us his cow, Fortuna, and her nine-day-old calf, Dolly. He also showed us his land where he planted corn. I'm afraid that I would have looked at the rocky hillside and called it quits there. With the training he received though, he has been able to make great use of the land. He terraced the land, using rocks to divide it in nine places, all over eighty meters long. I don't mean a row of rocks, I mean nine rock walls. He said because of good compost and manure, he was planting about half as many corn seeds, but yielding 40% more.
Yes, hope was all around today. It was in the way these people talked proudly of their belongings and their land. It was in the cows, with their young calfs, a promise awaiting to be fulfilled. And as always, it was in the eyes of the children.
A young boy at the last home we visited played peek-a-boo around a tree with me for quite sometime. Language is not a barrier, some things just go without being said.
Once "home-again," showered, and fed, the power went out. So, we sat on the porch by candlelight talking about parent-teacher conferences, Johnny Depp, hand-licking serial killers, cross-dressing Icelanders and everything in between. Needless to say, it had been a while since I laughed so hard that I cried. I think we might have even kept the teenagers, also staying here, awake! :)
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