A Walk in the Clouds

So it’s come under my understanding that a lot of people have no idea what I’ve been up to lately, so I’m going to try to answer that question as difficult as it is. It’s complicated since I myself am trying to figure that out as well…

So basically for the first three months in site, we are supposed to be doing a “Community Diagnostic,” which is basically a way for us to get to know our communities and for our communities to get to know us. At this point, I’m just the strange “gringa” in town and most people have no idea why I’m here. The diagnostic is also a chance for me to find out what the needs of my community are and what they want help with. So it’s really a win-win.

To help me integrate and get to know my community, I’ve been saying “yes” to any opportunity that presents itself. Not sure if this was a smart or stupid idea, but it has led to some interesting days for sure…

Just the other day, my day started out accompanying one of my aunts to the soup kitchen in town and ending up agreeing to accompany my other aunt to a “caserio” later in the day. I’ve been trying to make it to all the “caserios”, basically small towns nearby, since there are about 15, so I was excited to go.

After lunch I met up with her and she asked me if I was sure I wanted to walk with her since she said we were going to be walking up-hill, which I replied “I love to walk.” She just laughed at my response, which should have been an indicator to me of what lied ahead. But soon enough, I discovered that indeed we walked up-hill….walked up a mountain more like it.

My community is at the base of a huge mountain, and our destination was actually up and over the other side of the mountain. I don’t know if it was the fact that I am out of shape or we were at a high altitude, but I was huffing and puffing for sure. To make matters worse, my aunt was charging up the hill while knitting! Way to make me look bad….ha.

After about 2 hours, we reached the crest of the mountain and continued to the other side, when we eventually reached our destination….the field where my aunt had planted potatoes and her cows. My cousin Roxanna and I rested our legs while my aunt pulled up some potatoes, and then we headed back down the mountain.

Throughout this whole hike, we were in the clouds, which was probably a good thing since I’m a bit scared of heights. So on the way down, I didn’t have to think about what would happen if I took a wrong step…There were a couple close calls as I kept on slipping on the muddy stones while my aunt kept shouting at me “Bonito bajo! Bonito bajo.” I finally made it back to my house in one piece, but almost a week later my body still aches. And to think, my aunt hikes that path everyday to milk her cows. Geeeez!

So little by little, I’m figuring out what I’m going to be doing in my community, as my first couple months are a lot like walking in a cloud. I’m only focusing on what’s directly ahead of me, as I can’t see very much ahead. I have to keep reminding myself that things take a while in the sierra and that I’m here for 2 years, so to just take things slow. I’m hoping after a few months, I will start to see my role in my community take form, but until then, I will keep on taking one step at a time and hope I don’t fall...