Somewhere on a Desert Highway, She Rides a Harley Davidson

Yes, yes she does. She had only been on one motorcycle ride in her life, through her neighborhood, going about 15 mph, for about 5 minutes, on her father’s bike, and the whole thing landed her with a rather large burn on her leg. But when it became quite clear that she was going to be riding one in the mountains for about 30 minutes to get to her volunteer visit, and that there was no alternative, she decided not to freak out, and instead channel her inner biker chick.

And that’s just what she did. And now, she’s the leader of the pack.

“She” would of course be referring to me. And it’s all true. Well, I didn’t quite ride a Harley Davidson, and I didn’t quite ride on a highway as much as it was a dirt road, but if anything what I did makes me cooler because the various bikes I rode probably wouldn’t be allowed on American roads. Seriously. They were all banged up, with seats varying from uncomfortable to downright painful. And my favorite part was when the volunteer I visited and I rode one at night. It didn’t quite have a light that worked, and there were moments when we really couldn’t see 3 feet in front of us. Oh and the best part was when we drove through a river. I decided that I wasn’t going to die because I had my Peace Corps issued helmet, and that I probably wouldn’t even crash because the volunteer I was visiting had only crashed twice in 8 months, and one of them was just a few days before I got there. So honestly, what were the chances that she’d crash again?

The best part of the motorcycle ride was what was going on all around the motorcycle. What I’m referring to now would be the mountains, the fields of rice in front of the mountains, and the thing that makes it all Caribbean, the palm trees. The mountains are green and rolling, and are framed by those incredible trees. The foreground has little colorful homes, most of which are brightly colored and look as though a rain storm would knock them over, while also looking like they’ve been through many a rainstorm before. And I’d be neglecting your imaginations if I didn’t make mention to the animals; huge cows and horses everywhere. And chickens, goats, pigs, and dogs too. All incredibly undernourished, but when the human population is undernourished, you can’t expect the animals to be living like American pets.

You’re all smart people and probably understand that the pictures I’ve put on my website don’t do the scenery justice. But, I have to emphasize again, it was so much prettier than what you can see. So, you should all come and see for yourselves.

So, when are you coming and what are you going to bring me and my community? On this, I’ll be putting up a list of things that might be helpful donations when I get to my community and see what they need. Then, perhaps we can coordinate people bringing those things down here in their suitcases when they come to visit. Shipping is just too expensive and too risky. But I’ll keep you updated on that list when I form it. Also, for cheap calling cards, I've been told to check out viapin.com. I should have a cell phone come November so look for more info on that soon.