Here comes summer...there goes fall

So I´ve been trying to keep updated on what´s happening back home and I see that you are all expecting a huge winter storm! I hope you are all keeping warm and can enjoy your hot mug of hot chocolate! It is the complete opposite here. Summer has begun and the sun is getting hotter by the hour! I can barely handle a cup of coffee at 7 a.m., too hot to drink but I´m getting by! I love all the fresh fruit drinks that are made here!

Peanut harvest began last week in my community, so I´ve been helping with the collection and sorting of peanuts. This is one of the main money making activities in my community, and harvest lasts until about the middle of February. The set up of harvest is very interesting here. Of course it´s not at all like the states. There are huge loads of peanuts that are dropped off at the ¨peanut house¨ here and many community members head there every morning to take up their spot in the peanut line. There are people sifting peanuts, separating peanuts, using a very dangerous machinery to take the shells off the peanuts and more! There are no OSHA regulations here about safety that´s for sure! However, no one seems to get injured or so far anyway! Because I am surround by peanuts and I´ve been collecting a lot, I will be starting to teach my community how to more effectively use that resource for other purposes other than just eating the peanut alone. I know it´s hard to believe, but no one in my community has ever had peanut butter!!!! I´m going to teach them how to make it this week! Hopefully they will like it and add it into their diets! Protein is a lacking nutrient in a lot of their diets, this will be a easy way to add it in!