Hiking, Classes, and Coffee Roasting

Hello everyone!  I have now completed two weeks of living in Santa Marta and I am beginning to have a routine here.  Every weekday evening I teach an hour of English to a group of men and boys who are running an organic garden and several greenhouses.  I look forward to this one hour because I get to speak English (!!) and because this group is hilarious.  They joke around and we all laugh at our mistakes (mine are many because I have no idea what I’m doing).  Afterwards, Peter and Chilo give me a Spanish lesson, which is incredibly helpful because I can ask questions and actually understand the answers. These guys annunciate their words and speak clearly.

Friday, Juana and Simon (Juana’s husband) took me up the mountain behind us to where their cattle graze.  It was a wonderful hike with views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.  It was also devoid of dogs and trash, which was refreshing.  There is an abundance of mangy perros here, and there is no trash collection, so everything is either thrown into the street or burned.  Makes me want to avoid plastic forever!

Saturday I went with Juana to Sensunte for a meeting with female leaders of different communities.  It is amazing to be at the grassroots level of community development and women’s empowerment.  Among the topics were economic, educational, and sexual and reproductive rights.  It was a privilege just to observe this.

 The outdoor market in Sensunte

To end the day, I just happened to roast coffee beans on a giant skillet over a fire!  It’s ok, coffee lovers.  You can be jealous.... 

 A pic from my latest hike

P.S. If you don’t like corn, or are deathly allergic to it, you should probably skip El Salvador and head on down to Argentina, Peru, or some other South American country.  Maiz is the staple food here, and I have it at every single meal.