Finca Project Week 3 Update

Greetings!

It is pouring like crazy outside. It’s the rainy season right now, so it is wet ALL the time, and sometimes it gets so bad that the rivers flood over the bridges that cars and buses need to cross. [As I was writing this, my homestay brother, Gilbert, told me to come outside and take a look at the river that I have cross every day to get to and from work. There is so much water, and it is rushing by FAST. I’m so glad that they finished building the new bridge last week!]

Aside from that, it’s been an interesting week and a half here in Copabuena.

We opened up the nursery and had a grand party/cookout, though the rain hindered some people from coming. We have a lot of work to do to beautify it and make it a welcoming educational center for the community, but at the least the sign that Kate and I designed and painted is up and it looks great! My project will focus largely on the nursery, so I’m excited to see what we can make of it.

We also celebrated the Fourth of July with some traditional Latin American fireworks (more like firecrackers), but also had some good ol’ hamburgers and mac and cheese!

Another exciting event of the past week was going to Cotón, a natural reserve about an hour away, which neighbors the largest contingent rainforest in Central America. It rained a lot while we were there, but we were able to have a rain-less trek into the rainforest by leaving at 6:30 in the morning. It was so peaceful, and we were able to collect a few seeds even though it’s not the proper season to do so. Unfortunately, we didn’t see many animals, but we were attacked by some monkeys while we were leaving. Apparently, when these monkeys get mad, they start throwing things, and it sounded like they were some pretty big things. Some of the trees are really amazing though, and some of the vines try to “strangle” these trees, creating some really cool twists and turns. We got the chance to sit alone by ourselves in the forest for a bit, which was such a humbling experience. The forest is so alive!

Also, the grandkids of my home stay parents came over to stay, and it was great getting to hang out with little kids again. It made me think of Charlotte and home, especially as they are celebrating birthdays and anniversaries without me. But, the time is passing by much faster, and I have to remember to enjoy the time that I have here. It’s hard to condense everything I’m experiencing in this short post, but I hope it gives you an idea of what’s going on.

Hasta proxima semana,

Candice