The true meaning of poverty

Life is so much fun here. I´ve met so many great people and love the general attitude and lifestyle of the people. It´s unlike anything I´ve ever experienced and everyday look for new opportunities to explore more and learn more about the people and culture here.

Yesterday afternoon the school took us for a "fieldtrip" to a place that processes coffee beans. A huge industry here many of the families including the family I am staying with cultivate and harvest coffee beans on step terrain high up into the mountains. My roommate and myself asked if we could go up there and help, but I guess most of the harvesting for the season is done. They bring in hundreds of thousands of pounds of coffee in sacks which is processed in machines to take the outter shell off and is then layed out in the sun to dry. How crazy is it to think that some of this coffee might wind up at a little coffee shop in Los Angeles. After we saw the general process of how they prepare the coffee we were taken to the back of the property where they compost the pulp leftover from the coffee beans to make fertilizer. A new venture the organization is taking on is growing plants which provide a natural dye from the leaves for clothes. We saw a variety of plants that produce reds, greens, browns, and a few other colors.

I talked with the owner a bit, though only really comprehended about a third of what he was saying about his operation. I did however get that they push to be as sustainable as possible from using worn tires to fill with rocks and make paths to the stalks of the coffee plants to string together and create shades.

One big draw to the cooperativa where I study spanish is that they give back to the community with part of my tuition. My teacher, Christina, and I got in a Tuk Tuk, and road across town to visit a family that is struggling meet their basic needs. After hiking up a trail and fighting off some dogs we arrived at a tiny structure where I was introduced to the family Christina has been visiting for the past nine months or so. They don´t speak any spanish so Christina had to translate for me in order to communicate. Christina´s mother grew up speaking the local language and her father speaks spanish so she was able to pass my questions, in spanish, to the mother and back to me. The family consisted of a 26 year old mother and her four children from 1.5 to 9 years old. Her husband had passed and was left with very little to take care of her family. The coopertiva gave us eggs, sugar, oil, and beans to bring to the family. I wanted to get something for the kids and thought about picking up a soccer ball from the market, but ended up just bringing a hackysack I brought along on the trip. After visiting with them I was glad I didn´t bring the soccer ball, what good is a brand new soccer ball to a family that barely has enough food. I asked if there was anything else I could bring and she said that her children were starting school soon and could use some school supplies. So with the money I was going to spend on a soccer ball i´ll be able to buy them backpacks, paper, pens and whatever else comes to mind. It really got me thinking about what it means to be poor. We talk alot at CELP about the distribution of resources and it´s hard to imagine not having the things I so often under appreciate. The mother was so happy to hear that I wanted to bring them supplies and she walked to the back of the house and picked about a dozen of some delicious oranges to give to me. I know it´s impossible to help everyone in the world but it´s nice to able to know that I can help one family. It´s hard to imagine how much a dollar a day would improve the quality of life of this family.

On a lighter note the weekend is upon us and I have two days to let the past week or so of spanish lesson settle into my head and relax a bit. Sunday afternoon they have a big bbq at one of the restuarants with a pool out from, I guess it´s kind of a tradition around here. So looking forward to having "the best burger in town" Not that I have tired of the piles of fresh tortillas Rosa makes for every meal, but it´s nice to have to fend for myself for one day a week and give Rosa a day off. Speaking of which, got to head back for dinner and get ready to go out for the night. They are showing The Men Who Stare at Goats at a restuarant\bar in town.