Site Description II
(Please compare this info with what I initially received and posted Sept 13)
Quebrada Cacao is a Ngabe community set in about 30mins off the road. The community lies in a basin with houses scattered about the outer rim. In the center of the basin is a rather large hill. Atop it, there is a public house, a 'kitchen', and a two room school. My house is right next to the school. To get anywhere, one must climb over the rim first. The community is mostly family, from what I can tell, there is one main set of parents, and probably 3/4 of the town are siblings and extended family. There is no electricity or running water.
My counterpart is great, I like him a lot. I'm living with his parents and their umpteen children, but my house is sitting empty, waiting for me, my ideas, and my projects. Freetime may be limited however as the community is super excited to start construction on the aquaduct. I'm worried the funds won't be enough, especially if it gets built right. My family has a bucket shower and a latrine and a good sized room for me with a curtain for a door. The diet this past week was boiled green bananas, plus a few meals of rice, one or two included chicken. I hiked up to the spring which will serve or aquaduct, we felled a tree for lumber and split it, I visisted nearly every house to introduce myself, went pifa collecting, dropped into the school, and had two meetings with the water committe. But I also had plenty of time to read 3 Newsweeks and a National Geographic, and to return the blank stairs of my host siblings. Nico, my closest volunteer to me, came over for a visit and we made plans to build a composting latrine in exchange for a agriculture lesson.
It felt amazing to take a shower and lick my wounds after only 5 days in the campo. The feeling of being clean cannot be faked - either you are or aren't, and I probably won't be often. There is this eerie feeling that the mountains radiate, especially since they know this will be your home for the next two years. The mountains are whispering about you, just like everyone else in town.
I don't have my camera cable on me right now to download pics, and I might not for the next two weeks if I accidently left it at my site. But pictures will eventually come. Tomorrow I make the rest of the trip home.
Quebrada Cacao is a Ngabe community set in about 30mins off the road. The community lies in a basin with houses scattered about the outer rim. In the center of the basin is a rather large hill. Atop it, there is a public house, a 'kitchen', and a two room school. My house is right next to the school. To get anywhere, one must climb over the rim first. The community is mostly family, from what I can tell, there is one main set of parents, and probably 3/4 of the town are siblings and extended family. There is no electricity or running water.
My counterpart is great, I like him a lot. I'm living with his parents and their umpteen children, but my house is sitting empty, waiting for me, my ideas, and my projects. Freetime may be limited however as the community is super excited to start construction on the aquaduct. I'm worried the funds won't be enough, especially if it gets built right. My family has a bucket shower and a latrine and a good sized room for me with a curtain for a door. The diet this past week was boiled green bananas, plus a few meals of rice, one or two included chicken. I hiked up to the spring which will serve or aquaduct, we felled a tree for lumber and split it, I visisted nearly every house to introduce myself, went pifa collecting, dropped into the school, and had two meetings with the water committe. But I also had plenty of time to read 3 Newsweeks and a National Geographic, and to return the blank stairs of my host siblings. Nico, my closest volunteer to me, came over for a visit and we made plans to build a composting latrine in exchange for a agriculture lesson.
It felt amazing to take a shower and lick my wounds after only 5 days in the campo. The feeling of being clean cannot be faked - either you are or aren't, and I probably won't be often. There is this eerie feeling that the mountains radiate, especially since they know this will be your home for the next two years. The mountains are whispering about you, just like everyone else in town.
I don't have my camera cable on me right now to download pics, and I might not for the next two weeks if I accidently left it at my site. But pictures will eventually come. Tomorrow I make the rest of the trip home.
posted by Unima Kwaribo | 3:23 PM
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