Toto, I don't think we're in Upstate NY anymore

Sorry to be feeding you all this old news, rather than the fresh-off-the-press, up-to-the-minute info you were used to, but as nothing particularly noteworthy happened this week, I figure it’s a good time to catch up on the excitement of the past. When I left off, the 4 intrepid travelers (Chat, Brian, Kati and I) were preparing for our dawntastic journey to the home of Isabela in the aldea of Tiactac. Our REM-inducing behavior paid off and we were indeed able to drag ourselves out of bed at 6 in the morning to amp ourselves up with a little coffee before heading out. The sun was already up and warming us as we began the 3 hour walk with Isabela and her cousin. On our way out of town Isabela spotted two other students who joined us for the trek. Before this I hadn’t realized that Felipe and Diego were brothers or that they lived in Tiactac. But as soon as I saw them coming toward us with their identical radiant smiles I wondered how I could have missed it before.

The hike was absolutely blissful and soul-affirming. I felt happier and happier with every step of my Timberland-clad feet as we passed through sparkling open fields and cool, shady woods and broad dusty roads. Kati and I brought our cameras and let the kids borrow them to take pictures as we walked- it was so cool to see them having fun taking pictures of cows and scenery and each other. Of course all this joy and ebulliance, doesn’t mean that we weren’t exhausted by the time we arrived in Tiactac. We took plenty of ribbing and giggles from the kids about how we must be tired because we’re not used to walk. When we got to Isabela’s house, we were introduced to family, enjoyed some bread, coffee and delicious cauliflower and then sat about laconically until we got up enough energy to wander over to a grassy hill…..where we laid down on the grass and slept for about an hour. This little respite allowed us to muster the strength for another little paseo with Isabela during which she reaffirmed the fact that we indeed don’t know how to walk. That is until she saw Brian flying down the steeply sloped path in his flipflops, which forced her to admit that at least HE knows how to walk. (Si, el sabe caminar.)

We passed the rest of the day communing with the beautiful specimens of chickens living at Isabela’s house and watching Chat attempt to capture their pulchritude with his camera- especially the one we named “Legs” due to its supermodel-like gams. Isabela then showed us to the other house where we would be staying- she suggested that the “senoras” take the actual bed, while the profes share the mattress on the floor- I like how you think Isabela. After we all partook in a much-needed Chuj and closed the Sabbath with Brian, we settled in for a chilly night. It gets even colder in Tiactac than in SMI! I think I would have gotten a lot more rest if not for the fact that after laying in bed for 5 minutes I realized that I really had to pee. There is no latrine up at this house and Isabela had warned us not to walk around at night becuase there are lots of mean dogs. After some valiant attempts, it became clear that this was not a situation I could ignore….at least without some unpleasant consequences for my bunkmate Kati. It was completely pitch black in the cabin, but I remembered Chat had left a little penlight in his shoe across the room. To pump myself up for this little excursion, I told myself it would make me tougher- a real growing experience. With this motivation I sllooooowwwly crawled out of bed in the direction of Chat’s shoes. I slowly shuffled closer and closer with no real idea of where I was going….until I found myself completely disoriented, frozen in indecision in the middle of the darkness. I stayed like this for what seemed like 3 hours. It was probably about 2 minutes.  When I finally mustered the courage to reach out and hope I wouldn’t poke Chat or Brian in the face I miraculously laid grasp to Chat’s shoe and encountered the light.  What a moment of victory.  I feel I am most certainly a stronger person for this experience.  Afterwards I came back and spent most

The next day we ate breakfast and returned to the the  awe-inspiring prehistoric playground that Isabela’s hike had led us to the day before.  It was in a huge bowl surrounded by hills.  The whole area had burned out several years before and there were fallen logs aplenty to satiate our appetite for the “Floor is Lava” game.   As I careened down the slope into the valley, I saw Brian locking eyes with a tiny white fleecy sheep.  With a huge grin I continued racing down the hill to meet our new friend.  The little lamp immediately raced towards the safety of this obviously more gentle and less fearsome creature.  The little guy hung out and bleated pitifully for a while and then left us to enjoy lazing about in this magical place for the afternoon.  When we returned to Isabela’s house we consumed HUGE plates of food and then departed on our death-defying journey back to SMI standing in the back of a pick-up truck with about 10 other people.  It was exhilarating and frightening and incredibly fun.

Monday came and went as usual and then the we awoke Tuesday morning, awash in a sea of love and pica pica (confetti) for the school-wide field trip in honor of Valentines Day.  We all hiked up to a huge field about an hour and a half into the mountains, serenaded by the romantic sounds of the John Cena theme song played on repeat blasting from boomboxes carried by the kids.  Brian and I made the mistake of following a roving band of segundo students who announced at one point that they had no idea where we were and then took off, leaving us wandering and bewildered.  Luckily we were able to listen carefully for the sounds of whoops and hollers that guided us to our destination.  It was a jubilant and glorious day, filled with Frisbee, TONS of confetti being smashed on my head, soccer, limbo, jumping game and the sweet and tender gift exchange.  Every student and teacher drew the name of another person to buy a gift for and then there was a grand ceremony to present them all.  The giver and recepient stood up in front of everyone, gave their gift and then were supposed to show their deep affection through a hug.  In most cases this involved nano-second-long embraces followed by one student shoving the other out of the way.  Or in the case of firecrackers like Maria de Jesus, punching the other person in the shoulder.  There were many sentimental and thoughtful gifts, but I’m not sure if anything tops the ceramic rooster that Fernando received from Juan Santiago.  Unless of course, it’s the whole lot of peanuts and Kenyan macadamias I received from Brian, cause really, nuts are great.