Day 28 - Un paseo (muy rapido) con Padre Ramon.

Today we went with Father Ramon to the country. It was about a 4 hour ride through the Cordero Mountains to visit two of the 12 schools he is responsible for. Fr. Ramon´s niece came to evaluate a student, and Don Pato, a friend of Fr. Ramon came along for the trip.

The roads were VERY windy, and Father Ramon drove incredibly FAST. I closed my eyes for about 30 minutes to pretend I was sleeping, so I wouldn't have to look. Some turns you couldn’t see what was around the bend, and others, you could see, and it was just a cliff! At some point, I decided I better look, because I was missing some beautiful views. I took over 150 pictures (half of which were a miracle of modern technology, because father was driving at light speed). The other half were when Father Ramon stopped and insisted that I get out, and if he didn’t like the picture I took, would take my camera and take one for himself.

















We stopped off at the first school to drop off some things. Then headed for the next school in Copahue about 2 hours away (borders Argentina). We never passed a car, only people walking or riding on their horses.

When we got to the school the students were outside playing. These students were Mapuche and live at the school during the week. The classes taught here are both in Spanish and the Mapuche language. Their clothes are a mix of both cultures.

We unloaded 6 new computers from the school and started loading up the old ones into the car. Unfortunately, the school doesn´t offer internet access, but these were probably faster than the computers they had.
















Then after lunch we visited the children in the classrooms. Sr. Justine showed the students where the Philippines are on the globe and then a guitar magically appeared and she sang a song in Tagalog. After one of the teachers sang a song and then Father Ramon took the music outside and began singing. It was great! Here’s some of the fun…check out Don Pato dancing with Sr. Justine)



Finally, we headed back to Los Angeles… here is a video and photos of some of the ride…I am not sure if this really captures how crazy it really was. I kept telling Sister Justine that I only had a few days here left...and I wanted to get home alive!!! Father Ramon explained that he knows the roads well, he makes this (LONG) trip about 2 times a month, and there isn't much car traffic, so he doesn't have to worry about other vehicles (though there are people walking, animals running loose, and riding horses on this road). I think by the time we headed home, I was used to it.




This was really a trip of a lifetime. You could never get this much of the culture on a normal vacation tour. I enjoyed every moment and can thank Father Ramon (and Sr. Justine) for some incredible memories!