|
|
Less than 50 miles from Santiago as the crow flies, it takes over two hours to reach the campo of Las Calabasas via steep, winding, and on our soggy weekend, treacherous mountain roads. Eight students -- Lindsey, Mary, Pat, Seth, Sarah Jones, Tara, Jessie, and Kelly -- and Jon and I went there to witness life this remote community. Each of us was "adopted" by a different campo family, and lived with them the entire weekend. The homes of Las Calabasas lack the modern conveniences we so take for granted, such as electricity and running water. But the people are not lacking in love and hospitality.
The campo of Las Calabasas is divided in half by a river. The residents are very adept in leaping from boulder to boulder to cross. People also wash their clothes and bathe in the river.
Saturday morning, some men herded their cattle through the campo. The locals did not know who they were.
Even on a drizzly day, the mountains of Las Calabasas are beautiful. Here you can see two homes of campo residents.
The view from the school.
Pat's campo family owns this house. After dinner on Saturday night, my family paid a visit to Pat's family. While there, the father hooked up an tiny b&w TV to a car battery so we could watch the baseball game.
The local school. The children are taught the basics, plus some English and even French. I hope to learn more about the school when we return for a whole week in March.