“Do you see that tree? Which tree? That tree! Huh? Well the house is after that tree.”

Day by day, it gets easier. Adjusting that is, service itself is very hard, in more ways than one. You leave your home to come to a land that nothing on earth can prepare you for. You remind yourself to stay open-minded, yet you find yourself frazzled and confused when something un-expectant takes place. Today however, was better than yesterday. Quite an adventure, but as usual I will start my story from the beginning instead of jumping back and forth in my timeline. 

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So I began my morning with corn flakes con leche, and a lovely side of Papaya. That’s right, fresh Papaya! I’d never had it before and my host brother swore it was quite a “fragrant” fruit (for lack of a better word) but I didn’t smell a thing. Maybe I didn’t want to, but I actually really liked it, it was chilled and mixed in with fresh pineapple and pear! Yum! Are you salivating yet? Cause I sure am…Anyways after desayuno, we headed out to begin our adventure. 

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Today was the lucky day Miss Hediyeh got to learn to take the bus and taxis. So I found myself walking a quarter mile to the beginning of our barrio to catch a taxi. Thank goodness I wasn’t alone because I could understand a word the taxi driver was saying and we were heading to a neighborhood that “doesn’t really have street names.” Cool. So I should tell you guys where Im located on the map. I live in a neighborhood called Vaccamonte, in the town of Arrejon. For home visits we travel to the communities of Chorerra, Chapalla and Capira. This morning, we headed to a non-Bahai home for a home visit en Chapalla. We were dropped off at the last street en Chapalla with any time of name and proceeded to walk through the streets in search for the “Pink House.” This area of Chapalla is lower class. The family we visited was non-Bahai but we have a children’s class with the kids of the house hold. I’ll explain to you how this is possible. We get off the main road and are now walking down a unpaved hill into what looks like a forest, and alas we see the bright pink house. I see clothes hanging from clothes lines and stray dogs roaming around, drunk off the heat and emaciated by hunger. We walk up to the house and Senora is sweeping. She is an old women, withered away by the age and the sun but she welcomes us to sit. We visit her for a while and ask about the children. She is they’re Abuela (grandmother). She mentions that a few children are playing out back, some are still asleep and the babies are in the other house. There are two houses, one across the stream running down the hill. The babies are sleepin inside she says. Where are they're parents we ask? She replies: They left this morning to get the children breakfast but that was at 7am and now it is 10am and the children still haven’t eaten. Im pretty sure they have gone drinking. You see, the children in this children’s class do not go to school. Although they want to, their parents wont sign their forms and don’t wake up in time to take the kids to school. Often times the children do not eat and two of the older boys have fallen behind in school two years in a row. This year it seems the children’s class is all that they participate in.

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As the children slowly trickle into the front yard, I find that there are ten total, ranging in age from 13 to 2, although none look like they’ve matured physically past the age of 10. The last two are carried in by their older siblings. This isn’t saying much because I literally watched a 6 yr old carry his 2 yr old brother across the stream up to the front yard. They’re really happy kids, and when introduced to me, gave me hugs. Although they were shy they recited a Bahai song in English that previous youth on service had taught them. We ended our visit with a prayer in Spanish. The little girl said “O God Guide Me” en Espanol. I wanted to cry. 

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Its really amazing. To me, that’s how you know Faith is real. If you don’t believe me, here’s a quote to remind you:

This is Faith

To walk where there is no path

To breathe where there is no air

To see where there is no light-

This is Faith.

To cry out in the silence,

The silence of the night,

And hearing no echo believe

And believe again and again-

This is Faith.

To hold Pebbles and see jewels

To raise sticks and see forests

To smile with weeping eyes-

This is Faith.

To say: “God, I believe” when others deny,

“I hear” when there is no answer,

“I See” though naught is seen-

This is Faith.

And the fierce love in the heard,

The savage love that cries

Hidden Thou art yet there!

Viel Thy face and mute Thy tongue

Yet I see and hear Thee, Love,

Beat me down to the bare earth,

Yet I rise and love Thee, Love!

This is Faith.

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The rest of our day was spent hopping on one bus to another, from taxi to taxi. Its unbelievable how cheap things are around here. To get a taxi, its 1-2 dollars max! The bus? A quarter! 75cents max and that’s if you’re really hauling it out there. And after our second home visit, one large coconut, and a few tan lines later, we hopped on a bus to La Ferria.

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Can you guess? The FAIR!!! It was quite the cultural experience, with traditional dancing, and some not so traditional dancing, music, food, games, and goodies galore. Para almuerzo, La Saca y Chorizzos y un Pepsi “Light” For all my DC/DP lovers out there this was one hell of a can of refresco! I guess in Latin America they use real sugar? Lets just say you can definitely taste it.

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For my Latin Lovers out there: “El Choke” is MY JAMMMM RIGHT NAW!