Last Chance for Posting Here

Hey everyone, sorry about the long time no posting, but as you can imagine, internet access has been limited while we're here. This is the first chance and the first computer I've made it to in awhile. I'm at a public PC, so I'm taking extra precautions, so please read between the lines where appropriate.

We've had a busy week. We spent lots of time traveling between the various towns, some by train, some by jeep. Mom probably wouldn't have approved of the luggage rack ride on top of one of the jeeps on what is considered a two-lane road here. The roads are really more like one lane with shoulders to dive off on when you meet a vehicle larger than you, like the many trucks on the road. Oh well, it was fun, and suprisingly the best cure for motion sickness. One of our days was spent entirely driving up the mountain. We've had a few cases of what would be considered "tourista" if we were in Mexico, so the Immodium and Pepto have been passed around liberally. However, everyone has been pretty healthy, so we praise the big guy for that.

Today we're back in a mountain town. It's sort of a transition day between towns where we get to a litle shopping and a little debriefing. Earlier this week we got to spend some time at one of the other schools and played games with the kids. They were much less disciplined than the first school, but just as enthusiastic and bright. It was a wonderful time. My co-"instructor" and I, felt like we didn't do very well at first, but we warmed up the second day. All in all it was a great time, and we got to see many interesting things, including a place where they make wool handicrafts. It might be a litle itchy, but don't be suprised if you get handmade wool gloves, hats, or socks. We spent little, but helped the local economy and the local outreach here much, by the few things that we bought. It was well worth it.

The hardest part about the trip to a local village was the walk. You feel like you need to be part mountain goat to live here. There was what must have been a 40-45% grade that went up one of he the hills to an area we visited. It was so steep, and these people commonly walk it with large HEAVY objects strapped to their backs or their heads. It's amazing! I actually laughed when I saw a sign for a local gym. Who needs it here? There is no stairmaster required, beleive me!

We did spend Sunday afternoon taking an "easy" hike up to one of the mountain lakes here. It was a beautiful trip and we had wonderful views of the mountains, but since we were at 8,000-9,000 feet, this "prairie girl" had a little trouble adjusting to the altitude. I wouldn't have missed it for the world though. Beautiful flowering trees throughout the forest, and stunning views of snow-capped mountain peaks.

We'll spend the next few days traveling back down to the city for our flight out. The roads up at higher elevations can be as time consuming to traverse as the city roads. The mountain roads have hairpin turns. If you see a green sign similar to a U-turn sign, (but not really), they aren't kidding, you better be going slow and honking your horn around the turn because you're about to head back the other direction. In the city, the traffic is just clogged and as I've mentioned in a previous post, lanes are really just a suggestion in this "conversational driving" style. I'm really going to have to work to keep my hand off the horn when I get back home!

It's been a fun trip, and there are too many stories to post here. I'll be sure and tell you all about them when I get home, or I'll post more. I've taken tons of photos, so beware those of you who ask me to see them.(It might take awhile!) This has been the trip of a lifetime and I've been truly blessed to be able to come. Thank you to all of you who made that possible. You have my sincere appreciation.

See you back on the other side of the world in a few days! Keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.

-smc