Participants Blog

Beans and Corn love each other

Beans and Corn love each other

My host mother and I have a very special and strong relationship that has deeply impacted me. She inspires me every day with how hard she works and the manner in which she carries out her work with a big beautiful smile and a belly that is always ready for a laugh. I will always remember and treasure the times I helped her; The times we took the cows back and forth from their pasture, collected grass for the cui (guinea pig), planted and harvested beans and potatoes and corn…

The very first time I assisted her with these tasks stands out in my mind and remains as a beautiful dreamy memory. We climbed up the green mountain in the late afternoon guiding the cows and collecting berries with three of the grandchildren running and playing about us. I distinctly remember how the sun made the trees and plants gleam with gold fringes and how the warm gentle breeze blew through the berry bushes and reached by my face carrying a fresh aroma. My mama took great care to tell me about the plants along the way explaining which ones were edible and which weren’t, and which ones were used for medicines to cure ailments of all sorts. The children would jump off the path into thick bushes and triumphantly bring out wild Mora berries that we nibbled on during our trek. Travelling first upward, then down through a valley and then up again we reached the pasture that my mama has to trek to twice a day, every day. The cows got tied up in the shade to indulge in the long green grasses that grew there. I went with mama and one of the kids to collect beans and corn from a field at the top of this great hill and recall how my mother explained how the beans and corn are in love and that is why they grow together wrapped in each others embrace. I recall having this amazing conversation with her about our lives. We talked about so much that day: our relationships, our dreams, our past. We talked about God.
 
Our conversations always filled me with joy and admiration. They left me full of gratitude and thankfulness and a deep appreciation for my life and the fact that my path has crossed with hers. She is just an amazing woman that I feel so special to be able to love as my mother here.