Another Amazing Weekend

I know it's been a little while since I've updated pero no preocupense. I'll catch you all up!

FRIDAY:
Friday was Helen's and my last day at Centro de Salud San Francisco Tutla but it was actually one of the more interesting days at the clinic.  I asked one of the doctors if she would mind if I sat in on her patient appointments. I didn't expect it to be too exciting cause I figured most people would be there for check-ups and/or flu symptoms but it turned out to be kind of cool.  I got hear an unborn baby's heartbeat! Also, there was this 65 or almost 70 year old woman who came in and about mid appointment started rambling, in detail and without realizing that I understood, about how she couldn't have sexual relations with her new lover because things down there weren't working.  It was kind of funny (and maybe a little embarrassing for her) when she realized I was actually following along. Haha.

After that I got a little lesson in machismo when the same lady started talking about her ex husband and how controlling he is and how he ran off with a younger woman and now wants her back.  She also told us that her grown up son said to her, "Mom, you're like an old broken down car.  You don't work and he [the ex husband] can't drive you anymore so why are you surprised that he left you." WOW. I would have smacked that kid.  Apparently, the sentiment that the man is always right/always in control is all too common in Mexico.  The woman had a small breakdown after that and we spent about half an hour talking to her about self worth.  I think she walked out of the clinic with some tools to help herself though, which is great. 

After breakfast, Helen and I left with Priscila to go vaccinate the pueblo.  Every couple weeks or so, Priscila leaves the clinic and walks around the town, trying to find people that aren't up to date on their vaccines. 

Helen and Priscila with the vaccine cart

This was really eye opening in a couple of ways. First, when in the world would anyone in the US go in search of those that haven't been vaccinated, and not only that but walk right up to their door and vaccinate them right then and there. Second, our little excursion really allowed us to get a feel for the town and the extreme poverty there. 

A mother and her 8 children live in this house

At the end of the day it was a little bittersweet having to say goodbye to everyone. I feel like we really did bond with the majority of the staff but we got all their contact info and promised to keep in touch and plan some sort of gathering before we leave. :)

SATURDAY:
Saturday was a pretty regular day.  I did a lot of reading and catching up on work. Not too much to say.

SUNDAY:
On Sunday, I went on a similar hike to the one I did last weekend.  This one was actually right next to Eric's (the guide) home town of Tlacolula.  The mountain was called Picacho Quialana. This is a picture from the bus ride there.

"Hey guys, see that mountain with the clouds in the middle?! That's where we're going!" -Eric

The bus dropped us off in Tlacolula, where there was a huge market going on.  Eric took us to a little chocolate shop where he knew some guys and they showed us how they make chocolate.

It took about 5 minutes to go from beans to yummy-ness. I would've never guessed it was so fast. Also, the amount of sugar that went into it was almost unbelievable.  Probably more sugar than chocolate! Haha.

After that we walked around the market a little more. Eric showed us a place to buy good mezcal (which I'm still not such a fan of) and he had us try pulque, which is alcohol made from fermented maguey plant.  I actually really liked that but I'm not sure how to describe the taste. It was fairly sweet. I'll have to try it again sometime. We also tried cornbread from a lady Eric knew. It was good, much denser than the cornbread I've had in the states, but I think I stand by my claim that Marie Calendars' cornbread is the best on the planet.

Once we reached the end of the market, we jumped in the back of a pickup truck and this guy drove us up to the base of the mountain.  This hike was a lot harder and steeper than last weekend.  It took us 4 hours to get to the top and then 2 hours to come back down.  This is me dying at the top of the mountain. Haha

 

And here's a shot of the whole group.  The view from the top was amazing!

 

When we finally got back down to the bottom of the mountain, we were all exhausted but there was a big festival going on in Tlacolula so we decided to stop for just a bit. We got really good tacos (less than a dollar each) from a random taco stand.  And then jumped on this crazy spinning ride.  Two things about Mexican amusement rides: 1) There's very rarely any sort of safety measures taken ie. a fence around the ride or seat belts on rides such as bumper cars or in our case, cutting branches off the neighboring tree that we were swinging into.  2) The rides last foreverr.  I think we were spinning/swinging/bouncing up and down for at least 5 minutes straight. I love roller coasters and amusement park rides but even I felt a little sick afterward.

In any case, the whole trip was a lot of fun and I didn't make it home until almost 10:30 last night.  I was so tired, all I could do was mumble buenas noches to my host mom, take a quick shower, and get in bed.  I didn't even bother to check my email or Facebook. You KNOW that's saying something. ;)