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Today Quesla went on a walk with the class. We walked across the runway and through the village of Taisha. There were quite a few little tiendas, or stores. The stores sold basic food and supplies. Everything is Taisha must be flown in by plane, either single or twin-engine, so there is not a lot of selection here. It takes two days, hiking ten hours each day, to get to the nearest road. Upon reaching the road, you can then travel several hours by bus to the nearest town. People in Taisha might do this as often as once a week if they have things to sell at the market.

On the far side of the town is the school. The school has grades 1 through 6. There is also a kindergarten school and a high school. The school buildings and grounds are nothing like you would find in the US. The men in this picture are constructing a new classroom.

The kids start school at 7 AM, eat their lunch at 10:30, then go home about 1 PM. When we arrived the kids were eating their lunch of rice and beans. They don't have a cafeteria, so kids were eating outside and in the classroom. They were being served from these two pots at this little table.

It is hot in Taisha. We didn't have a thermometer with us, so we don't know exactly how hot it was. There is a lot of humidity here, and because the equator is closer to the sun, it felt very hot. There are not glass windows in the classrooms, just metal mesh. This lets the cool breezes blow into the classroom, since they don't have air conditioners. It also allows rain blow through the windows during tropical rain storms.

The playground equipment was in need of repair. The slide couldn't be used, and there were no swings on the swing set. Looking at the school yard made us thankful for all we have at our school.

The bell rang and the students lined up on the basketball court for some exercises and an announcement from the principal. Can you see Quesla?

It was almost time for us to leave when the kids went back to their classes. Quesla and Mr. H spent a few minutes in one of the classrooms before leaving. We think this was a first or second grade classroom. The sign on the front wall says, "Train a child and you won't need to punish a man." We thought that was good advice. Can you see Quesla in this picture? Mr. H tried to explain to the children that Quesla was traveling around the world. I wonder how much they really understood. Most of these children have never flown on an airplane, much less traveled to another country.