It is hard to believe that my fourth week in the community came to a close with a community event that Karmy and I have spent many hours planning over the past few weeks. The event was a community cleanup that concluded with a bbq. The health center also made turkey dinner for lunch, so there was a lot of food offered throughout the day. You could definitely say that I ate too much and took some leftovers back to the loft to be eaten later. The giving of food is something that always surprises me and makes me wish that this was offered back home. Food is very important for the community, and it seems that with every event held, food always accompanies it.
When the morning arrived for the community cleanup, I was glued to my weather network app, watching to see when and if it was going to rain. At first, it seemed like it was never going to rain but eventually and luckily, the rain started after everyone went home. The event started at 10 in the morning and was scheduled to end at 2pm, ending with the bbq. At first, it seemed like not a lot of people were coming out to the event, but remembering what we were told during the first two weeks of training, it is okay if not many people show up and wait and see. Taking this advice, Karmy and I waited and eventually, some people from the community showed up. In total, we had 12 community members come out to help clean the community.
Before it came time to start to prepare the food, some community members wanted to try the viral Tik Tok tortilla challenge. (Search Tik Tok tortilla challenge into google) While there are many different versions of this challenge, the community members put a mouthful of water into their mouths and played rock, paper, scissors. The person who lost the round would get slapped with a tortilla from the winner. The person who spits their water out first from laughing loses. Another version of this challenge is when each player takes turns asking the other player a question. If they get the question wrong, they get slapped with the tortilla and if they get the question right, they then get to ask a question themselves. Some community members were not able to hold the water in their mouths at the beginning of the challenge as they were laughing too much. It was great to watch everyone having fun.
When it came time to make the food, a lot of people who did not help with the community cleanup came out and ate all of the food. Karmy and I were waiting for everyone else to get their food but were told by some of the community members that it is best to push your way to get food and that by doing this, you get to know more people from the community. It is kind of like when you live in a big family and have to fight with your siblings to get a portion of the food offered. I enjoyed listening to this and thought that while this was an interesting idea, I probably would never do it. Once the leftover food had been cleaned up, I returned to the loft feeling exhausted but happy that my first planned community event had gone nicely with no issues. This first event will always be remembered by both Karmy and I as we continue our time with the community.
P.S. In my previous blog, I wrote about how Karmy and I spotted our first bear of the season while on a drive and had mentioned that I was unable to get a photo. It turns out that while I may not have been able to get a photo of the bear, Karmy was able to get a good shot of the bear. I have been given permission from Karmy to share it here.
Comentarios