As a continuation to Karen’s blog post about our earlier excursion today, the afternoon presented a whole new set of adventures that were definitely welcomed but totally unexpected.
After teaching a short piano lesson to another volunteer at the guesthouse, we decided to head out for a walk on the roads that we had not yet discovered. The walk began relatively calmly, passing by homes, and greeting everyone with “Bonswa” and a smile. It was lovely to see the neighbourhood, to understand a bit more about living in this area.
Karen, Janice and Caroline are glad to arrive on the other side of the muddy path!
As we continued on the journey, we headed down an uneven slope to an open area, where we enjoyed the lush green grass, coconut and papaya trees, as well as animals like roosters, goats, dogs, cows and donkeys nearby. We came upon a narrow path that appeared quite muddy, but seeing as it was an adventure, we thought we might be able to navigate it by carefully treading upon the grass along the side of the muddy path. However, my doubts started to arise that we would not be able to pass successfully without getting our feet a bit dirty. The grass itself was quite slippery, and there was not much to hold onto for balance as the only thing to grab onto were cactii. Before long, our feet were getting stuck in the mud with our flip flops (obviously a poor choice for a walk, though our running shoes would not be much better in the several inches of mud that we were traversing)! The only solution was to take our flip flops off and walk through the squishy mud. Needless to say, there was a lot of laughter from us as well as locals who were encouraging us on!
All in all, it was a creative initiation process and a wonderful way to experience and enjoy our local surroundings. I have a new found appreciation for the land here!
– Janice
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