Saturday, July 9, 2011

asi es Yanacoto (that's Yanacoto)

Life in Yanacoto is deffinately different than anything I've experienced before; however, it really hit me tonight (while I was eating a piece of a chicken, a piece I never knew was ediable.. the throat).

So things that really stood out for me tonight were:

1. The walk up the hill from the highway, dodging moto-taxis. These things can go 5 mph (tops) going up the the hill with 4 people. It's almost comical how much the motor strains to pull the weight, as the driver zig-zag their way around the pedestrians walking up the hill; however, on the way down the drivers play a crazy game of giant solom, with people walking up being the gates.

The racers lined up waiting for 3 people to fill the cab, before they start the ascent up the hill behind me.


One zooms by as I walk up the hill.

2. Passing under the sign that has the local Catholic parish's rules for the community (you don't see this too often walking into the Lower Rattlesnake).

Parish of Saint Nicolas:
1. Inhabitants of Yanacoto do not abandon the Catholic Church.
2. Do not be fooled/tricked by Evangelist.
3. Love Jesus with all of your heart.
4. Love Mary... (I can't read the rest).
5. Attend Sunday Mass.
6. Read and live the Catholic Bible.
7. Love your neighbor and be supportive.




3. Watching my host mom get up multiple times during our nightly telanovela (soap opra) to lean out the window and listen to the guy yelling into the paralante (loudspeaker).




You may be wondering why there is a paralante in my community, but the reason is too long to cover in this post. See my soon to come, highly detailed, post discussing the loudspeaker, and the water issues. However, for now, you just need to know that there is ALWAYS someone yelling into these speakers (morning, noon, and night) regardless of the day. In fact, I'm starting to recognize some of the voices, as if they are famous radio personalities (i.e. Al from "the Craig and Al show" has been replaced with the lady my host mother referres to as "la loca"/"the crazy one").