Happy New Years Everyone!

Año Nuevo has come and gone. It was a fun time overall. We set off some fireworks and burned a life sized stuffed doll that resembled Isaac quite well. Enough so that people shouted out to the doll where it stood on the fence corner. They thought that Isaac was biding time. Two of the kids that spend a lot of time at our house (Lorena and Oriel) helped me stuff it full of dry leaves fire crackers and then light it up at midnight. Apparently this is the tradition of burning off past negative energy to make room for the good to come in the new year (None of the negative energy directly related to Isaac-just so happened that we had some of his torn up work clothes laying around to use).

By 6:30pm on the first, most of the men hanging out in town were still very intoxicated from the night before and still putting 'em down (rum and Seco-a clear grain alcohol that could burn a hole in your stomach). The holiday seemed to be mostly a mens' day. The men partied, the women hid out in thier houses from drunkerds and the Evangelicals went to church all night.

We spent New Years eve at our first host famlilies house helping to make tamales (that were ready at about 6 in the morning-we went to bed at 1:30) or avoiding too much alcohol and dodging the dance floor where I could have had severe damage done to my feet from my dance partners.

This past Sunday, just about half of the town left to plant onions at a farm down near the Interamericana. They pack up with all there family, young children included, to work the fields for 2 months, until school starts in March. Everyone works.

We did a pre-Christmas excursion to the Mountains, where another Peace Corps couple works Brooks and Jenny, and a lot of people in our community have unmaintained coffee fincas. We did the 6 hour hike with our community guide to visit his farm and harvest coffee. The hike is very amazing as you do the transition from the almost completely deforested desert like climate on our side of the cordillera to the rainforest on the other side. What we have been able to figure out is that our side of the mountains use to be forested but was a drier forest. Perhaps through logging or maybe just slash and burn agriculture the hills have been striped commpletely of all their topsoil and the ability to rejuvinate forest. What is left is grass and an extremely dry hot climate for the tropics. A huge contrast to the lush forest on the other side

We were able to bring back about 8 lbs or so of fresh beans to do some experimenting on toasting coffee. During this trip to the mtns. our community guide decided that he really loves the mtns (or thinks he can make a lot of money with his finca) and we are not sure if he will return to La Chumicosa. The funny thing is that he was about to sell his land, before we convinced him to go up and do a harvest (he hadn't been up there in a few years). It will be interesting to see what happens.

As for our work, I feel like things are a little slow right now. We are building a clay bread oven, which a lot of people are excited about. So far it is beautiful with a stone base (Sorry no pictures). We have been working on getting a good irrigation system set up at the community farm (La Granja) and have been selling green peppers at the local store. It is a start to some agribusiness.

Isaac's parents arrive tonight. We are going to spend some time in the city, go to the mtns and then to our site.

I should have a functioning camara soon to actually show you what is going on.