I'm back at my host family's house, resting just as hard as I possibly can. I'm pretty weak and have to remind myself to eat so I don't get more worn out. I thought I was going to have a 6 week course of medication; instead I'm on a combination of 5 medications for 2 weeks and on a special diet for most of that time (absolutely no milk or cheese).
The new session of Spanish classes started Monday; I will have missed a whole week of the 4 week session. Plus, I won't have enough strength by next week to volunteer and run around with 8 year old girls for hours on end, so... I'm heading back to the States, hopefully Saturday or Sunday, as soon as I feel up to flying.
I'm really going to miss my friends here and the great people I've met, and I'd really like to work on my Spanish more, but I think I'll feel so much better resting at home with mom's special chicken broth and rice recipe.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
enfermeras, medicos y brucella... oh my!
So what would a trip to Mexico be without a little bacteria? Saturday I had a bad stomach ache all day, Sunday I felt feverish and queasy all day, and by Monday night I was miserable. I called the Roys (the family that takes me to church) and they took me to Hospital San Javier. A nice place, and there were a couple doctors who speak English; between those guys and Amber Roy, I was able to understand everything that was going on.
Turns out I ate some cheese or milk last week that had the bacteria brucella in it; I stayed in the hospital Monday and Tuesday night. I've kept down 3 whole slices of turkey and some jello, so that's improvement since Saturday. I can't eat milk or cheese products for the next 15-30 days (depending on how I'm doing) and I will be on a 6-week course of antibiotics.
Turns out I ate some cheese or milk last week that had the bacteria brucella in it; I stayed in the hospital Monday and Tuesday night. I've kept down 3 whole slices of turkey and some jello, so that's improvement since Saturday. I can't eat milk or cheese products for the next 15-30 days (depending on how I'm doing) and I will be on a 6-week course of antibiotics.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Acortar Distancias
The agency where my friends and I are volunteering is called Acortar Distancias and it's like a summer camp for children in disadvantaged homes in the area. A lot of the kids live in the neighborhood we ride through everyday, the one without roofs and just an old bed sheet for a door (I wonder how they cope with the torrential rain and thunderstorms).
There are 500 kids in the program and 50 volunteers (though it is required to do social service during the summer if you are in college here) and a few full-time staff members. The younger ones are always so excited to come in in the afternoons, it's like a sea of children running through the gates. There are 15 or so teams, ranging from babies to teenagers and a group of moms too (who are SO psyched to be there, they have make-up and cooking classes).
The kids have gym class (basketball, etc.), creativity, equillibrios (which is balancing and tight rope and that kind of thing), acrobatics/gymnastics, and malabares (juggling and other things like that). Each class is supposed to teach the kids a value, such as balancing - trust in others, malabares - determination, etc. Each team has its own cheer too, to instill feelings of pride and family (this week's saying is "my family, my treasure"). Our cheer, the purple team/team #7/girls aged 8-9 years, is to the tune of Justin Bieber's "Baby" and it goes something like:
Siete, Siete, Siete ooooh (7, 7, 7)
Siete, Siete, Siete ooooh
De color morado vestimos (We wear the color purple)
...something something family, friends forever. I still don't understand all of it.
Camp is extremely exhausting. Not only do the girls like to run for 3 1/2 hours straight, they like to talk really fast in Spanish and the other counselors find it easier to talk to me in English (a lot of them know some) or give up on me altogether. Both are frustrating because I'm here to learn Spanish! I am liking it there though, and it will be interesting to see how much I can contribute despite the language barrier and to see if my Spanish improves much in the next 3 weeks (it ends the last week in July).
Here are two videos about A.D. Even if you don't understand what they're saying, it's interesting to see the neighborhood (and compare it with the rest of Guadalajara).
"Miramar" Corto documental
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lODSAVSA_8
Acortar Distancias
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNLSgps6YiQ (This girl is in Daisy's group, though the buildings they show are at the old location and not where I'm working, so mainly just watch the beginning)
There are 500 kids in the program and 50 volunteers (though it is required to do social service during the summer if you are in college here) and a few full-time staff members. The younger ones are always so excited to come in in the afternoons, it's like a sea of children running through the gates. There are 15 or so teams, ranging from babies to teenagers and a group of moms too (who are SO psyched to be there, they have make-up and cooking classes).
The kids have gym class (basketball, etc.), creativity, equillibrios (which is balancing and tight rope and that kind of thing), acrobatics/gymnastics, and malabares (juggling and other things like that). Each class is supposed to teach the kids a value, such as balancing - trust in others, malabares - determination, etc. Each team has its own cheer too, to instill feelings of pride and family (this week's saying is "my family, my treasure"). Our cheer, the purple team/team #7/girls aged 8-9 years, is to the tune of Justin Bieber's "Baby" and it goes something like:
Siete, Siete, Siete ooooh (7, 7, 7)
Siete, Siete, Siete ooooh
De color morado vestimos (We wear the color purple)
...something something family, friends forever. I still don't understand all of it.
Camp is extremely exhausting. Not only do the girls like to run for 3 1/2 hours straight, they like to talk really fast in Spanish and the other counselors find it easier to talk to me in English (a lot of them know some) or give up on me altogether. Both are frustrating because I'm here to learn Spanish! I am liking it there though, and it will be interesting to see how much I can contribute despite the language barrier and to see if my Spanish improves much in the next 3 weeks (it ends the last week in July).
Here are two videos about A.D. Even if you don't understand what they're saying, it's interesting to see the neighborhood (and compare it with the rest of Guadalajara).
"Miramar" Corto documental
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lODSAVSA_8
Acortar Distancias
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNLSgps6YiQ (This girl is in Daisy's group, though the buildings they show are at the old location and not where I'm working, so mainly just watch the beginning)
Sunday, July 4, 2010
More of Week 3
-One day for lunch we had tamales which are tortillas filled with something or other, not really sure what, but they were good (that's my attitude towards most food here, but I will NOT try the famous grasshoppers). Apparently they are extremely difficult to cook and it's a very long process; Blanca had gotten them from a friend who made a bunch at once, so we probably won't get them again.
-There's a famous saying here, "He has his cathedral but he also has his chapels," which refers to the common occurrence of Mexican gentlemen (caballeros) having a girlfriend (cathedral) and other female friends as well... Our dear host brother Joakin is kind enough to set an example for us of how this process works (i.e. when his girlfriend is in the States).
-Chenoa and I did a presentation for our Mexican Culture class about the family and I found otu several interesting things:
>Mexican Catholics become extremely offended if you call them Christians
>It is the norm for children to live with their parents through schooling/work until they get married, and to move back in if they get divorced
>In more traditional families, the youngest daughter must stay home and care for her parents until they die (meaning no marriage). In others, the youngest children are not taught to cook or clean and that responsibility lies with the oldest children.
-One day for lunch, Blanca fixed us spaghetti and instead of garlic bread, just plain white bread. It sounds kind of plain but I realized I am so used to wheat or garlic bread at home that this tasted kind of sweet.
-I don't remember if I've said this before, but Blanca truly is the Christmas Story mom. She never gets a hot meal, always fixing people more food or cleaning up after the dog who has already been house trained but decided she didn't want to be anymore. That's really appetizing during a meal, so that might be another reason Blanca doesn't always eat with us...
-Saw Toy Story 3 in Spanish in a gigantic IMAX theater in a mall that looked just like any in America. I understood the plotline, even if not all the words or jokes. Daisy and I looked at each other at the end and we were both crying as we watched Andy leave for college! Thankfully Joakin and Eli (with whom we saw the movie) thought it was more endearing than pathetic.
-There's a famous saying here, "He has his cathedral but he also has his chapels," which refers to the common occurrence of Mexican gentlemen (caballeros) having a girlfriend (cathedral) and other female friends as well... Our dear host brother Joakin is kind enough to set an example for us of how this process works (i.e. when his girlfriend is in the States).
-Chenoa and I did a presentation for our Mexican Culture class about the family and I found otu several interesting things:
>Mexican Catholics become extremely offended if you call them Christians
>It is the norm for children to live with their parents through schooling/work until they get married, and to move back in if they get divorced
>In more traditional families, the youngest daughter must stay home and care for her parents until they die (meaning no marriage). In others, the youngest children are not taught to cook or clean and that responsibility lies with the oldest children.
-One day for lunch, Blanca fixed us spaghetti and instead of garlic bread, just plain white bread. It sounds kind of plain but I realized I am so used to wheat or garlic bread at home that this tasted kind of sweet.
-I don't remember if I've said this before, but Blanca truly is the Christmas Story mom. She never gets a hot meal, always fixing people more food or cleaning up after the dog who has already been house trained but decided she didn't want to be anymore. That's really appetizing during a meal, so that might be another reason Blanca doesn't always eat with us...
-Saw Toy Story 3 in Spanish in a gigantic IMAX theater in a mall that looked just like any in America. I understood the plotline, even if not all the words or jokes. Daisy and I looked at each other at the end and we were both crying as we watched Andy leave for college! Thankfully Joakin and Eli (with whom we saw the movie) thought it was more endearing than pathetic.
ahhh, que ocupada
I've been so busy the past week that my free time is spent zoning out trying to catch a breath. Here's what's been going on with me:
-At Starbucks last Sunday the cashier could tell that Daisy and I were from the US and started singing Limp Bizkit to us (for those of you who don't know, it's an American band. the band's not too great and neither was this guy).
-Learning about Mexican birthday traditions: they shove the birthday girl's/boy's face in the cake (which is often tres leches: made with regular, condensed, and powdered milk and is really moist) and all the family and friends compete to see who can sing the birthday song first (it's unique to Mexico and no, it's not "feliz cumpleaños a ti" like they sing in the US)... as in calling them at 5 am.
-Mexico-Argentina game was not so hot BUT the Argentina-Germany game was! There are a lot of Germans who live in Mexico and there are several who volunteer at Acortar Distancias where we all do, so they painted everyone's faces in Germany's colors, it was so exciting, 4-0!
-My sunburn from the pyramids is subsiding, in case you were concerned.
-There are so many characters in our classes: for one - Puff, the Angry Dragon as we call her, who can't go an hour without a cigarette (or she gets angry), and the Canadians (collective, they're all pretty much the same), and James. James is probably forty or almost there and is in classes with students in their early twenties, so he sticks out to begin with. He pronounces all his "h's" in Spanish (which is a no-no) and has the world's loudest laugh. However, he told me that he was in an awful car accident a few years ago and while he was bedridden, he decided to quit being a chef and do something productive with his life, so he went back to school for Social Work. Before he came here, he bought all his clothes at Salvation Army and is planning on donating them to the homeless in el centro the day before he leaves. It's kind people like James that remind me why I'm on this trip.
-Instead of cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers here, they have carne asadas which I'm assuming are a little nicer than what Taco Bell has. Anna, Chenoa, Daisy and I hung out at a cookout with Joakin and Eli for a little bit one day and learned that the phrase que padre (yes, translated "how father") means "cool" in Spanish.
-I also learned that there's no word for "awkward" in Spanish... so when I fell on Eli FOUR times on the bus, there was nothing for me to say. That was definitely an uncomfortable situation, I've got to develop some balance.
More later!
-At Starbucks last Sunday the cashier could tell that Daisy and I were from the US and started singing Limp Bizkit to us (for those of you who don't know, it's an American band. the band's not too great and neither was this guy).
-Learning about Mexican birthday traditions: they shove the birthday girl's/boy's face in the cake (which is often tres leches: made with regular, condensed, and powdered milk and is really moist) and all the family and friends compete to see who can sing the birthday song first (it's unique to Mexico and no, it's not "feliz cumpleaños a ti" like they sing in the US)... as in calling them at 5 am.
-Mexico-Argentina game was not so hot BUT the Argentina-Germany game was! There are a lot of Germans who live in Mexico and there are several who volunteer at Acortar Distancias where we all do, so they painted everyone's faces in Germany's colors, it was so exciting, 4-0!
-My sunburn from the pyramids is subsiding, in case you were concerned.
-There are so many characters in our classes: for one - Puff, the Angry Dragon as we call her, who can't go an hour without a cigarette (or she gets angry), and the Canadians (collective, they're all pretty much the same), and James. James is probably forty or almost there and is in classes with students in their early twenties, so he sticks out to begin with. He pronounces all his "h's" in Spanish (which is a no-no) and has the world's loudest laugh. However, he told me that he was in an awful car accident a few years ago and while he was bedridden, he decided to quit being a chef and do something productive with his life, so he went back to school for Social Work. Before he came here, he bought all his clothes at Salvation Army and is planning on donating them to the homeless in el centro the day before he leaves. It's kind people like James that remind me why I'm on this trip.
-Instead of cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers here, they have carne asadas which I'm assuming are a little nicer than what Taco Bell has. Anna, Chenoa, Daisy and I hung out at a cookout with Joakin and Eli for a little bit one day and learned that the phrase que padre (yes, translated "how father") means "cool" in Spanish.
-I also learned that there's no word for "awkward" in Spanish... so when I fell on Eli FOUR times on the bus, there was nothing for me to say. That was definitely an uncomfortable situation, I've got to develop some balance.
More later!
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