By the Sweat of my brow

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food-Genesis 3:19(a)
I know a few of you are looking above like, “Billy, what’s going on down there with you?” Trust me; there is a perfectly reasonable method for this one! Yesterday I went, as I do most Fridays and hung out with a group of kids at the Escuela in Pueblo Nuevo, which is about 15km away, but still part of my community. Usually we will pontificate on the finer things of American culture (lol, I wonder what pontificate would be in Spanish) and play games. This week was a little different; they taught me a couple of things I did not know in the school garden.
That, my friends, is Yucca root. I was able to use a machete for the first time also, even though I don’t own my own as of yet. The teacher Jimmy had me cut the branches near the root of the tree for the sake of planting them in the ground for more Yuccas. Oh yeah, shouts out to Curtis Canady in Peru right now, I know how much he “LOVES” Yucca (LOL)!!! The school cook fried the roots after cleaning them and I got a chance to taste them for lunch. I’ve had Yucca before, but just not any that I pulled out of the ground with my own hands.
Rev. Velma Grant had a question about the food and the people, climate and things of that nature, so I will try my best to answer that. Food, it’s good to me, though I have lost about 20 lbs, I still have my panzone (little belly). I’ve eaten beans and rice or some form of it almost everyday since I have been here. Some of the things that I have been able to impart on others, especially in training have been putting jelly on pancakes, and the health benefits of drinking coffee with natural sugar instead of processed sugar. The only thing I am not a fan of, and this was before I came here, is processed meat, they have it here too, and though my family knows that I do not eat pork (ask Tony Castillo Jr. about that one, lol) I am still wary of meat that does not look like it just came off the bone. The best thing here is the juice or refrescos!!! It’s like most days they just squeeze the fruit right into the cup, it is AMAZING!!! My favorite refrescos so far are Guyabina (think my spelling is off on that one) and Cass, which I will try to link pictures for you to see them, but they are so GOOD!!! Even on days when there is not fresh juice, there is either red or orange drink (yes drink, haven’t had the grape drink yet, will have to inquire later).
The people here for the most part are really cool and super nice. I think you will not find a nation that does not have its problems, but for the most part this is a progressive nation. I won’t sully up this post with the negative, but it will probably come in a later post. There are only two seasons here, rainy and not so rainy as far as I am concerned. Most days are still really hot even after the rain, so it’s quite similar to Georgia in the summer in that regard. I stay in a forest reserve so it is quite humid, but there are fair shares of trees here also.
There are not any paved roads for as far as the eye can see and I am about 15 miles from Rio San Juan, which is a natural boundary for Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Most of the people here are farmers and work on properties called FINCA’s. There are a lot of cows, bulls, chickens, and dogs around here; and on the way into the community there are huge plantations of banana and pineapple that are usually sent to the US by Dole, Chiquita, and Del Monte. I hope that helped in answering your question and thanks for asking!
Currently I am listening to “I Know it’s You” by Donny Hathaway, which is quite possibly one of my most favorite songs! If you are wondering it’s on the Extension of a Man Album. It’s been raining on and off this week, and though it did start off kind of rough, the finish was good (reminds me of a bottle of wine). I find a couple of things to be really important to me while I sometimes have a lot of time on my hands. First, is reading, it helps to pass the time and it keeps my mind sharp. Second is to share things that are dear to others. I try to keep a routine on Saturdays, from 4 (CR time)to as long as I can keep my computer running on battery, to listen to the Hurst selection “From London to Atlanta” on www.wclk.com. Yeah, it’s a plug, but it’s such a good show that I have to share, especially to all of those who Love some good Jazz music. Also, I know that 8 times out of 10 a certain someone is listening at the same time back at home.
Well, the power in the town went out again, so I am going to stop here and we’ll pick up some other time! Until then, “Be at peace, but never be comfortable”-Eric Garvanne…
Ps, the camera that I have is a loaner from the office, so I will try to take as many pics as I can before I have to get it back.
Pics will be coming soon, and i wrote this with pics in it, so please bear with me!!!