I survived

So this weekend I went to Heifer Ranch.  This is a learning center for Heifer International - a non profit organization focused on world hunger.  They don't just donate food though, instead they work on educating communities on sustainable farming as well as donating animals and creating the concept of "sharing the gift."  Basically they will give a family a pregnant animal and when that animal gives birth that family shares the gift by giving the baby animal (once weened) to another family in their community.  That family in turn has to promise to share the gift as well.   The man who started it used to work with relief efforts and at some point he had to decide which child got milk - in sense deciding who would survive and who wouldn't and he realized that more than a cup was needed.  

Anyway - it was an adventure.  Our first day we arrived at around 6pm and met our coordinators.  They were both volunteers right out of college.  They worked through Americorp.  Their housing was paid for and the ranch provides lunch on the days they work plus a small stipend.  At the end of their volunteer time they can get a 5000$ check from Americorp.   Anyways, we proceeded to the cafeteria where we ate dinner.  It was awesome - all of the vegetables and fruit served are grown on the ranch and 60% of the meat served comes from the ranch.   They count numbers served and weigh any waste that's created - they ask people to take only what they can eat to prevent waste.  They also compost most of the waste (all but the meat basically).  We had pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, rolls, salad bar, butterscotch bars and coconut pie.  We then found our sleeping quarters - Heifer Hilton.  It's a barn situated next door to a show barn that was filled with chickens, turkeys, rabbits, baby goats and goats.   Inside were bunk beds.  We got situated, took a very cold shower - the water is heated with solar panels and it was dark - and hit the hay.  It was a cold, cold night.  I had a sleeping bag, blanket, sweat shirt, long sleeve shirt, pants and socks and I was freezing.   The night was filled with dogs barking and coyotes howling along with sheep and goats. 

The next morning we woke up and headed for breakfast.  Again - it was awesome - french toast, sausage (links, patties or turkey sausage), grits (made on their ranch - they had an amazing flavor - so much better then what I get in the store).  After breakfast we went on a hay ride and got a tour of the ranch.  Besides the animals I mentioned above they have pigs, belgium work horses, bulls, water buffalo, cattle, donkeys, llamas and camels.  After the hay ride we did some challenge work - all on the ground, well for the most part.  They were team building exercises - team paper, rock, scissor challenge, puzzle challenge, hula hoop challenge etc.  We then went outside and did a balance beam challenge - there were 3 platforms and 2 pieces of wood - both of which were too short to reach the next platform.  We had to get everyone from the first platform to the last.  It was fun.   Then the last challenge was a wall climb - two people boosted one person up to the top and that person rotated with others to help the rest get over the top.

After challenge we went to lunch.  Again - delicious - spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, salad, cowboy cookies (think rice krispie treats with cornflakes and peanut butter).  Then we went out and packed our stuff and headed to the global village.  We sat for a bit and did some discussion about our communities and looked at the dispersal of food and money throughout countries compared to the population in those countries.  We then took a tour of the global village.  The global village is a recreation of different living conditions from around the world - they have the urban slums, appalachia, zambia, refugees, thailand and guatamala.   The nicest was Guatamala which had a brick building with a door and beds.  The worst was the refugees of course - they had a tent of sorts - it was made of plastic and wood.  The homes resembled exactly what you see in those situations - it was interesting.  After discussing a bit more we gathered and got our assignments.  3 of us were "pregnant" with a water balloon, 3 were disabled in some way - no hand, bum leg and blind.  Then we were divided.  One group got guatamala, one group got zambia and the last of us got the urban slums.   Each group got a basket of supplies and directions.  Zambia had all the firewood and Guatmala had all the cooking water.   Well in the end Zambia and the Urban slums choose to relocate to Thailand - otherwise our houses were on the ground and none of us were comfortable b/c of the increase in snakes and the wild animal activity - aka coyotes.  I have to say, this was the never ending night.  I was freezing and there was a lot of coyote activity around us.  I swear they ran past the house at one point, at some point there was a gunshot from the distance and we had a raccoon visit us - I was awake and screamed b/c all I saw was something jump down from the roof.   Yes I'm a dork. Dinner that night was also a challenge - the 3 groups combined food - about 2 cups rice, corn flour, 3 carrots, 2 onions, 2 potatoes and 4 eggs for the 12 of us.  We made some kind of combination dish - it was enough.

The next morning we had to restart the fire and cook breakfast - oatmeal with some brown sugar and raisins.  Then we talked about our experiences and talked about what we could do to help make a change/difference.  We then went to lunch - cafeteria YAY! - taco salad or burrito with salad bar and fruit salad.   After lunch we did our high ropes challenge.  It was basically an oversized rope ladder - about 6 ft wide and as tall as the pine trees.  It was made for 3 people to climb at the same time as a team.   - it was my nightmare - heights on insecure moving objects.  i can do heights on stable objects - but this was not secure.  Anyways, there were about 8 "steps"  I managed to get to step 3 and wanted to quit - I was in tears - but my team supported me and got me to my goal of step 4 and then I got to come down feeling like an idiot for bawling - but everyone seemed impressed - I don't know. 

Anyways, it was an exhausting, exhilirating and educational experience.  I recommend it.  You will get a ton of walking up hills, walking down hills, walking on straight paths and well, lots of exercise.  And lots of squealing in - the baby animals were adorable.  My favorite though were the turkeys - a male and female, always with each other and anytime someone came close the male would poof up and gobble and then the female would gobble with him.  We also kissed a camel - it was rough. 

Hopefully tomorrow I will be back to normal and posting.