(Copied from my personal blog doslenguasdosalmas.wordpress.com)
A lot has happened since my last post and I’m struggling trying to figure out how to include it all. For starters I know all about banana/plantain farming. We worked on a farm with a man named Juan Karlos and his family. When we arrived on the farm we got a tour of the property and got to sample the goods; everything from plantains to hot chili peppers. During the tour we saw ash from the Cotopaxi Volcano on the leaves of the banana trees even though Cotopaxi is a four hour drive away.
On Tuesday we had our expedition on the farm doing all the harvesting and work that goes into bananas. We cut down banana trees, carried banana bunches, cut banana bunches, washed bananas, put stickers on bananas, boxed bananas and shipped them off to Dole. I also helped make lunch by holding a chicken as it was slaughtered. It was really cool to see up close where the food I ate came from.
Every day on the farm we had four hours of Spanish class from 9:00-1:00. After class we ate lunch and I would usually nap under the “Shaky Shack” where most of the guys stayed. I helped build Juan Karlos’ kids a new soccer goal out of bamboo which was a lot of fun. I did laundry by hand just to prove my mother wrong.
One day on the farm we walked to the area of the farm where no one had touched anything so it is as it was hundreds of years ago. While we were there we saw a lot of exotic plants and rare trees.
On Thursday the youth group from Juan Karlos’ church came to hang out on the farm so we played soccer with them and introduced them to Frisbee and American football.
Friday the group and I made hot cocoa from start to finish. We harvested the cacao pods and extracted the seeds. Then we roasted the nibs and stripped them of their shells, ground them into paste and made hot cocoa…Another awesome example of finding out where your food comes from.
Saturday we all packed up and went to the beach at Perdenales, it wasn’t a very pretty day and we didn’t get a chance to surf so we mostly swam, threw football and drank a lot of smoothies. While I was swimming my ankles had an unfortunate run in with a jellyfish which put me out of commission for a while. However I found that Coca Cola really helps to alleviate the pain of the sting so I ended up pouring over 4 liters of Coke on my legs.
With my lack of internet while I was on the farm I felt my first sense of homesickness since I’ve been gone, so I’m glad to be back in a city with internet. We will continue our Spanish classes while in Banos and for one week after when we go to the Amazon. Banos is a really pretty city surrounded by mountains. It’s much smaller than I imagined, only 20,000 permanent residents but its very much a tourist town so there’s a lot to do here. It’s very pretty, and I’m really enjoying it here after only 16 hours in the city.
