Before You Drink that Next Cup of Coffee......

......think of us on our hands and knees hand-picking berries off of the coffee plant....

We have been working on a coffee farm with four other Americans in Costa Rica. Our alarm goes off every morning at 5:15 and we are in the fields around 6:00. We pick for about six hours a day, which isn't as bad as it sounds. There are two people to a row that work together. Robert picks on one side of the tree and I am on the other. Our fellow pickers are in rows near us and we spend hours gathering berries (getting bitten by ants, spiders, etc...) and telling stories. And you know how much I LOVE to tell stories, so the day goes by pretty quickly for me, but it may not be as painless for those listening.

We live in a cabin and make all of our meals together, which consists mostly of rice and beans. The Costarican woman who runs the farm is so sweet and she has taught us how to make corn tortillas and rice pudding. We really feel like we are a part of her family. On Sunday (our day off) we hopped in the family pick-up truck to go fishing and swimming in a nearby town. Robert caught four fish and I didn't catch any! Luckily, the restaurant has a net and catches fish for everyone to eat. We spent the day with Rocio, her husband, and two children. It was so much fun.

The farm is owned by a Canadian couple and they have taken us on a few hikes. We helped cut down a banana tree and milked a cow. Their property is so beautiful and they are trying desperately to preserve the rain forest around them. They have done quite a bit of work to fight the deforestation and keep buying land around them. They are a pretty impressive couple.

The woman who runs the farm (from Costa Rica) has a son, Esteban, who goes to University in the closest big city. He is the first person in the family to get a formal education. Esteban took us to his school today and we marched in a protest against the Central American Free Trade agreement. There must have been at least 500 people. It was such an amazing experience and pretty eye-opening. We have learned so much on this trip regarding our business practices and how they can negatively affect others.

We will be here for one more week before we start to travel again. We decided to head to Panama next and then start our ascent to Mexico City. We will be in Mexico City for the change in presidential administration, which should be interesting. It is hard to believe we only have 7 weeks left. Looking forward to our next adventure.