Hello Earthlings(jk), Agne and LaNiah here! Today was the Reality Challenge, which is also known as Working Like a Local, and our day started early. We did our regular breakfast routine at Cafe del Tren. It was a bit of a late start but we were served sunny-side up eggs with a ball of plantain(mandura) and cheese(queso). It was great. We left Cafe Del Tren and took a bus to a farm that is part of the Carlos Garbay School. The Carlos Garbay School is one of the largest schools that teaches special education students how to support themselves. At the farm, we worked with the students to either help build a hut for the guinea pigs(cuy), help clean out of the cuy cages, or pick the tomatoes. Some of us got stung by the “medicinal” weeds ,according to the locals , but we all know that the weeds didn’t do a great job at increasing circulation.

STORY TIME:

Agne: I was part of Group 3(Henry, Alva, Sebastian, Leah, Frankie, Carrie, and I), which was in charge of cleaning the cuy cages. We started off by struggling to catch the guinea pigs out of the 7 cages and chucked them into the crates. We then used shovels to clean out the sawdust full of surprises from the cuy. We then cut an unecessary large amount of weed and spread it in the cages. The cuy were then tossed[or placed :)] back into their cages.

With the Cuyes

With the Cuyes

With the Cuyes

With the Cuyes

LaNiah : I was apart of Group 1 that built the hut for the cuy, and it was interesting. There was a spider about the size of my fist crawling through the grass-sunbathing. It was one of the most terrifying instances in which I had to choose between my life or to pick up the stone that the spider was crawling around. Seriously, I chose life. Okay, on a real serious note, I had a great time. We dug holes to place the wooden stilts in , and then we we hammered the fresh pieces of wood, until smooth, to build the wall of the hut.

Building a new cuy home

Building a new cuy home

After the farm we took a bus to Carlos Garbay School, where we participated in an Earthquake drill, while eating chocolate covered bananas. Delightful 🙂 We then took a tour around the school and got a chance to sit in the classes with the special education students. This was one of the best days that we have had so far because we were welcomed into the school, and treated like family. The campus was beautiful. It was filled with wood-shopping classes, weaving, culinary, and other classes that helped challenge the students. And they were so bright and talented.

We then barely caught a bus to Roma Santa because the busses were jam packed with bodies. Isabella(owner of Roma Santa) welcomed us with open arms and served us a delicious lunch. We fueled up and headed back to the hostel. Because we had English Class #3 today, some of us had to prep while most of us had free time. Off we went to Colegio Nazareno where we taught our groups. Two hours of teaching flew, and the next thing you know, we headed back to Roma Santa. There, we were served shrimp with rice and fried plantains. Now we are at the hostel, bonding under the stars, well some of us aren’t because we are typing the blog. No hard feelings. It is all good 🙂

S/O

LaNiah- Hey mom and dad and Lance and the family/friends from back home. I miss and love you all.

With students from Carlos Garbay School

With students from Carlos Garbay School

Learning about Carlos Garbay School

Learning about Carlos Garbay School