I was recently in one of the most rural places I have ever been to in my life. It was called Los Valcones and it is a community where I am helping to build a primary school. I had agreed to join a group of inter-city youth who were there to aid in the effort. The ride up there should have been my first alert. The road was so bad, keep in mind I have seen some bad roads here, that I was not sure we would make it in our 1982 Landcruiser. At a couple of points the Vice Mayor who was accompaning me pointed out where other trucks have fallen off the road, comforting I thought. Once there I was shown where I was to be sleeping for the next three nights, which during the day seemed much more cool and rustic then it ended up being. The building I stayed in was the same place that the coffee pickers stay, but they stay there for months. It was a room with two levels of wood slabs, dirt floor and lots of ambiance. By ambiance I am refering to cob webs, mouse holes, bat feces and a sweet smell of sweat. The first night I did not do enough work during the day to pass out so it was the worst night. I am a side sleeper and this does not work too well on solid wood. I would wake up periodically with my shoulder smashed against my ear and then have to slowly stretch it out, slightly painful. When awake I could hear bats flying around the room as well as all the other unidentified sounds of the night, I had only the the thin layer of my sleeping pouch to guard me. On a more serious note the family I stayed with was very nice. They had 5 childred all under the age of 11, one of which was a newborn of 33 days. The parents both had only upto a 2nd grade education and the building of this school was a godsend to them since the nearest school for their children was about a 3 mile walk each way. This was a very poor family. All seven of them sleep in the same room and they have a kitchen. In their kitchen they used a wood burning stove and their house was constantly filled with smoke. They all had developed a wicked cough which they told me was only a cold, but clearly this is not the case. They did not have water nor electricity. For water they go to a river and for light they use a small flame burning diesel, which they are also inhaling. For food they eat different variations of rice and beans. The family was so close, all they have in this world is family and god. It was a very hard reminder of why I am here. Just thinking of this family makes me a bit teary eyed. They live literally in the middle of nowhere and there is no opporunity for them other then picking coffee at $2 a day. I asked the father if he was happy and he said yes, but he wished he had a better education and better opportunities. On Monday I left that family, I went to my own house, cooked pasta, slept on my nice soft mattress and watched a movie on my lap top. Them, well they are still there, that is their life and they can not just leave it, but they would give anything to do so. I am lucky, I have never known that life other then as a tourist. I have gorwn accustom to my normal life here, compared to that it is luxury. This should not make anyone feel guilty, we all play the cards that are dealt to us, some have better hands then others, but that is just life. When I think I am having a hard time and things are down, I will remind myself that I will live, things could be worse.
-O
