Sea turtles being released into the Pacific
A picture perfect sunset
My host dad spreading fertilizer 
Me with my Christmas tree! (My host mom took the picture, and she kinda missed the tree...)I seem to be getting behind here- I’ve got a lot going on!
Merry (almost) Christmas everyone! Honestly, time is flying, I can’t believe next week is Christmas! Lucky for me, my town definitely has the Christmas spirit!
Yesterday I went with my host dad, his brother and father to learn how to plant potatoes. It amazes me how incredibly physical farming is here- EVERYTHING as far as tilling is done with a hoe: no tractors, no horses. The day before they’d finished “picaring” or preparing the soil, and they were starting to make shallow trenches. In these trenches they threw down some “gallinaza” (organic fertilizer- chicken manure), and then some chemical fertilizer (15-10-10, for those who may be interested). They did this by tying a cut open grain sack around their waists, like an apron, then gathering it up with one hand and filling it with the fertilizer.
They let me plant potatoes, which I carried same as the fertilizer, placing them about a foot apart in the trenches, and then somebody came behind me with a hoe covering up the potatoes. Pretty labor intensive, huh? It was a cool experience though, and I really enjoy hanging out with the men in my family- even though I’m a girl they treat me with respect, answer all my questions, and let me do pretty much anything.
On the way back home, we cut a Christmas tree! My host parents got one for themselves, and then told me I should pick a little one out for my room too. Best Christmas present ever! Now it’s no blue spruce, it’s really more of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but I love it just the same. Although I’ll still be working up until Christmas Eve, there are a lot of Christmas-y things going on around here which should be fun. This Friday I’m teaching one of my women’s groups how to make Christmas sugar cookies, which should be a lot of fun. One of the women in the group offered up her adobe oven for the occasion. Also, the posadas start tomorrow. In order to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, every evening until Christmas Eve, starting tomorrow, people in the community gather at a different house each night. There’s singing, reading of the Christmas story, and most likely some kind of snack. It sounds like a pretty big deal, because some of the families I know who are “receiving a posada” in their house this weekend are already decorating and preparing.
Also on the subject of Christmas, I got together with a group of almost 20 volunteers this weekend to celebrate Navidad a little early. One of our fellow PCVs is lucky enough to have his site in a teeny town RIGHT on the beach, and he was able to find a house for us to rent for the weekend, literally RIGHT on the beach. I called Mom while sitting on the beach and sweating, and she told me it was 13 degrees and snowing at home. Weird, huh? (Don't get too jealous, I got home from the beach on Sunday night and bundled up in long johns and my fleece hat for bed!) But anyways, it was a lot of fun. The Pacific coast is pretty harsh though- apparently a lot of people drown because the current is so strong. So needless to say, it was more wading than swimming. One day we did visit a tide pool, which was calm enough to really swim. That evening we got to watch baby tortoises being released into the ocean. The PCV works with a park that hatches and releases sea turtles (an endangered species, partially b/c the sale of eggs is a pretty hot market). Pretty cool as well- check out the video!
Merry (almost) Christmas everyone! Honestly, time is flying, I can’t believe next week is Christmas! Lucky for me, my town definitely has the Christmas spirit!
Yesterday I went with my host dad, his brother and father to learn how to plant potatoes. It amazes me how incredibly physical farming is here- EVERYTHING as far as tilling is done with a hoe: no tractors, no horses. The day before they’d finished “picaring” or preparing the soil, and they were starting to make shallow trenches. In these trenches they threw down some “gallinaza” (organic fertilizer- chicken manure), and then some chemical fertilizer (15-10-10, for those who may be interested). They did this by tying a cut open grain sack around their waists, like an apron, then gathering it up with one hand and filling it with the fertilizer.
They let me plant potatoes, which I carried same as the fertilizer, placing them about a foot apart in the trenches, and then somebody came behind me with a hoe covering up the potatoes. Pretty labor intensive, huh? It was a cool experience though, and I really enjoy hanging out with the men in my family- even though I’m a girl they treat me with respect, answer all my questions, and let me do pretty much anything.
On the way back home, we cut a Christmas tree! My host parents got one for themselves, and then told me I should pick a little one out for my room too. Best Christmas present ever! Now it’s no blue spruce, it’s really more of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, but I love it just the same. Although I’ll still be working up until Christmas Eve, there are a lot of Christmas-y things going on around here which should be fun. This Friday I’m teaching one of my women’s groups how to make Christmas sugar cookies, which should be a lot of fun. One of the women in the group offered up her adobe oven for the occasion. Also, the posadas start tomorrow. In order to commemorate Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, every evening until Christmas Eve, starting tomorrow, people in the community gather at a different house each night. There’s singing, reading of the Christmas story, and most likely some kind of snack. It sounds like a pretty big deal, because some of the families I know who are “receiving a posada” in their house this weekend are already decorating and preparing.
Also on the subject of Christmas, I got together with a group of almost 20 volunteers this weekend to celebrate Navidad a little early. One of our fellow PCVs is lucky enough to have his site in a teeny town RIGHT on the beach, and he was able to find a house for us to rent for the weekend, literally RIGHT on the beach. I called Mom while sitting on the beach and sweating, and she told me it was 13 degrees and snowing at home. Weird, huh? (Don't get too jealous, I got home from the beach on Sunday night and bundled up in long johns and my fleece hat for bed!) But anyways, it was a lot of fun. The Pacific coast is pretty harsh though- apparently a lot of people drown because the current is so strong. So needless to say, it was more wading than swimming. One day we did visit a tide pool, which was calm enough to really swim. That evening we got to watch baby tortoises being released into the ocean. The PCV works with a park that hatches and releases sea turtles (an endangered species, partially b/c the sale of eggs is a pretty hot market). Pretty cool as well- check out the video!
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