Fun Stuff

14 youth ages 11-22 yrs old spent Fri. night thru Sun. morn at Heifer International's Overlook Farm located in the geographical center of MA. Offering a unique opportunity, we learned a bit of what it means to live, eat & sleep in a third world country. The youth arrived excited with a powerful positive attitude! As a result, our Friday evening was bliss with pizza en plein air, our first attempt at a youth pyramid, playing games as led by our weekend guide, and finally off to sleep in two really big wooden floor tents! This was easy fun!

By Saturday morning many had slept little, waking with the sun in time to make our own American (egg & toast) breakfast, then tend to our farm chores; milking (goats & cows), feeding (chickens, bunnies, goats, cows, llamas, alpacas & a camel), and running (goats, 1 donkey & lambs) to pasture. Some youth even caught the birthing of a lamb! We really loved the animals!

For lunch we hiked to a Tibetan yurt (yak/goat hair tent), built a fire to prepare each person two tablespoons of freshly ground barley & yak milk mash floated in salted green tea. Some did not eat all of their lunch? Our learning had now begun. We then toured 8 other Heifer World sites on the farm including Tex-Mex border, Thailand, Peru, Poland & Uganda homes to witness 1 & 2 room huts for extended families. We wrestled with a classroom floor sized world map to ID population contrasted by resource use (USA & EU 'lost'). We 'tried on' various disabilities due to lack of healthcare.

By Sat. afternoon, we were asked to bring a tooth brush, flashlight & sleeping bag for our overnight. Then we were broken into two groups with each 'extended family' role's set; head of household (only literate), 1-2 disabled members, a bi-lingual & a (water balloon) pregnancy. Derek and Kelsey you were such good sports!

As Sat. evening wore on, we were given simple fire pit cooking utensils, a box of matches, bit-o-fire-starting-paper, & a meager amount of money to buy food at the 'world market'. Our families set off to Poland & Tex-Mex for the night. Although our Tex-Mex 'father' (youngest youth of all) did (her) best at the market, we merely afforded 1 can of red beans, a green pepper, an onion & 3 tortillas for a family of 6 (½?). Blessed by bartering with our Polish neighbors, we garnered a wee portion of cabbage to complete our tasty supper! Some ate ingredients for the first time. "I didn’t know I would like green peppers" "We did not have onion in there...did we?" After supper our baby was 'born', given a naming ceremony & endearingly attended by the family (of girls). The newest home was Poland's. Our polish youth had cast iron stove challenges that left their soup "disgustingly uncooked"! Once word got out, China offered their surplus soup. Tex-Mex youth brought the Polish pot to a rapid tasty boil. The baby Pole was born a bit wee, and by morning was the size of a peanut. Blessings to Brooke who hung on to (it's) dear 'life'!

By Sun. morning we had bonded. Our Heifer leader asked us to share what we learned, understood & experienced. As a result, we voted to pool our fundraised money for a "Milk Menagerie" (1 heifer, 2 goats & water buffalo). Finally we had to say go - so we packed our bags, said good bye to our new found furry friends, & slept all the way home. We were blessed.

Fun Stuff

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Heifer International Trip 2009