40... leaving in 6 days?!!?

today was an experience!! my family took me to isla de canyis (canyis island). let me tell you how i got there. first of all, there were too many of us, so we had to take the farm truck. this is a suzuki truck thats used to transport cows everywhere. but instead of the cows, us kids sat back there-- my two host siblings, my friend rachel, and me. my host parents brought chairs to the back so that it would be a little more comfortable. they were the kiddie chairs, like a mini mickey mouse chair, and a pink fluffy chair, and they were soo small i barely fit my butt into them! but better the floor none the less. so we sat back tehre, looking so funny, for an hour and a half. in reality, though, i really did enjoy the ride. the endless hills are just so gorgeous and i got to see them all. and on the way back we had a sunset ride, and watched the sun go behind the hills. really pretty. really rare. really awesome.
anyways, back to my journey. when we got to the island, i was told we had to take a small boat to the island. i was not told that we had to walk through knee-deep mud to get to the boat. but we did. so i did it. and i was a mess. but it was an experience. there were crabs running everywhere! that was the worst part! but it seemed like some mystical experience going through all these trees and mud and water. my host mom said it was like one of those magical ride at disney world (the one place she has been to in the US), but she was compeltely right. it was like one of those scary canoe rides. but it wasnt a ride. it was real. the boat was so shabby and im so happy it didnt break down. this one guy has the job of bringing island people back and forth between land and home. (about 2000 people live on the island, and need to get out sometimes i can imagine). so when we reached the island, i was happy i didnt arrive wet from a boat flip, and from there we got on island transportation.
and by island transportation, i mean it was an ooolllllddd run down pick up truck that drives everyone around the island. its a super small place, only about ten minutes from one side to the other, but can still be a long walk for the visitors. so we all stood in the back of the truck (it was again the cow-like pick-up truck, i really dont know the name for what it is), and we had a fun time dodging branches and trees as the driver drove us across the island. i had some close calls, but nothing tragic!
finally we reached the house. my host fam is building a house for the whole family to share as a vacation house, but its not done yet, still under construction. itll be amazng, though. its right next to the beach, and one of the only houses on the island with indoor plumbing. we didnt spend much time there, we jsut ran the beach. it was SO pretty... pretty much deserted, untouched, natural, with a view ill never see again. and we had it to ourselves the whole time. so the kids, rachel and i jumped waves for about 2 hours, and it didnt even rain!! definitely a good time, and worth the crazy trip there.
island life was interesting to see. like i said, about 2000 people live there. everyone just works for themselves. there are small farms all over that grow rice, potatoes, corn, etc. and turkeys, roosters, chickens, and all that are always running wild just trying to escape being dinner. (but thats definitely me saying that, not the islanders!). they also run large nets in the ocean, like i saw today, to collect fish. it definitely seemed a lot easier than fishing! other than food, there is a government run school there. everyone just walks from all corners of the island. on our ride back, an old crippled man got into the ¨taxi¨with us because he was sick. he was literally using a stick as a cane, and i wanted him to go to a real hospital asap. of course he just said he needed some water and other supplies from the one small store. the kids learn how to make their own fun. it was so surprising how few people were swimming in the water... i mean they live on an ocean! but people were busy building, growing, cooking, etc. even 5 year olds were running around with machetes, ready to cut the grass. i dont think i wouldhave survived if i were placed at the school here. but it was a great experience for a day!i would definitely go back. even if i had to walk through the mud again.
when we were ready to go back, the island transportation came, brought us back to the boat, and we got back into the cow truck! and now im here. in bad need of a shower after all that mud walking and branch jumping. i only have about 6 more cold showers to go though... cant believe it. got home and ordered pizza (by order, i mean picked up.. theres no such thing as delivery here). i swear that pizza is more popular here than at home! oh, and i made strawberry short cake as dessert for the fam. it was delicious.