My Visit With Selvin Heraldo: Day 1

~día uno~

The bus doors swung open, and fresh air spilled in. I was overwhelmed by the many smells that accompanied the air: The smells of fresh hay, soil, cows, and chicken poop.

When the bus pulled to a stop, Selvin and his family rushed to the door and greeted us with hugs and a jumble of spanish words."¡Hola!" "¡bienvenidos!" "¿Como Estas?"

We walked up to the rickety old house. I could see that it was made of nothing but a few scraps of tin and plywood. When we entered, we saw there was only one room, with a table, a wood-burning stove, and one bed. 

"I plan to build myself a better house when my loan helps me make more money," Said Selvin in Spanish.

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He then took us on a tour of his farm.

Sr. Heraldo's farm

We walked from field to field, looking at Selvin's crops. I lost track of time as Selvin showed me how he planted his crops and cared for his animals. 

I heard a soft mooooooo. I looked over to see a few milk cows roaming an open pasture.

"We have to milk the cows for tonight's dinner," Selvin said. I looked at  my watch, and realized that it was already 5:00! 

I followed Selvin down to his cows. He grabbed two buckets, and sat on one while he used the other to catch the milk. When he was finished, I helped him carry the bucket full of milk back to the house. 

When we got home, we were very thirsty, so we took two cups and drank some milk. It was very fresh, much better than the stuff you buy at the supermarket.

We went out back, where Selvin had a chicken coop. We reached inside and grabbed a few eggs. when we got inside, Selvin's girlfriend scrambled the eggs along with some onions and tomatoes from their garden. Then she pulled some bread out of the wood-burning stove. She put the food onto the small table, and all of us crowded around. 

The dinner was great. It all tasted so good and fresh. When we were finished eating, we cleared the table and went outside to wash the dishes. We scrubbed our dishes with a sponge, and then we rinsed them in a bucket of water that Selvin had filled up before dinner.

I would not be able to sleep inside the house because there was no room, so I set up my tent in a nearby cornfield. I crawled into my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep.