UNC, Mariachi, and the Giant Tree

The weekend has been a busy one thus far. Friday was filled with another health fair – we returned to Alonso Yanyes again, with Dr. Clark in tow. Together she and I gave a women’s health charla, and with some last minute inspiration Jason’s baseball cap was commandeered to be used as the demonstration tool for the self-breast exam. The ladies of the community were all very amused by that. The Mexican paparazzi were out in full force again, hoping to catch Michael’s dental charla and witness how salt, baking soda, and water can come together to make homemade toothpaste. Apparently this film crew that keeps following us out to the communities is actually working on a documentary. We are hoping they will send us links to the videos once they’ve aired, we are all really curious to see the interviews and footage from our fairs (as well as the other things that might be included in this documentary).

As we had already visited this town before, we finished a bit earlier than usual and so Rafa took us on a side trip to see this gigantic tree a few towns over. It was indeed a very large tree, tucked up in a small rural village in the hills. The network of roots was extensive – and actually several of the smaller trees nearby were really just offshoots from the roots of this one huge tree. The tree also produces water, apparently – there is a spigot coming out from the network of roots, and we even saw some of the local women come by to fill their buckets with the water. Dr. Clark rinsed her hands off in the water, too.  The giant tree was also the perfect time for a PPS SMA photo-shoot that mostly consisted of silly shots – but several serious yoga poses were also captured.



Look! We can spell "PPS!" with our bodies!


Friday evening was our first real night out on the town – our fellow med students in JR had taken the bus into town, and we met up with them. We wandered around el centro, swapped health fair stories, played a pick-up game of soccer in the middle of a crowded market, hired a mariachi band to serenade Nellie for her birthday, then ate dinner at a snazzy restaurant that Rafa had recommended. Rafa and Dr. Clark also joined us, so we were quite the large party. After dinner we hung out in the jardin in front of La Parroquia for a bit, where festivities for the big weekend were beginning (some sort of zumbathon, followed by a salsa concert, lots of people, that sort of thing). Rafa then took us to a bar nearby and we enjoyed drinks out on the rooftop terrace, with La Parroquia all lit up behind us.
 

The birthday girl, surrounded by her mariachi serenaders!


This morning we went out to see Casa Esperanza. During one of our mornings at the DIF before heading out to the communities, we had met this really nice man who runs this organization. We got to talking and he invited us to check out their place. The organization is kind of like a school and afterschool program for kids in San Miguel that have really tough home lives. Casa Esperanza provides food for them, tutoring and homework help, additional lectures and workshops to teach valuable skills, and psychologist support as well as support for their parents. We were all really amazed by the organization and all it has been doing to help these kids. Our new friend Farhad was pretty amazing and so excited to show us everything. We talked a lot about ways to get involved with the group in the future and are hopeful that we can find ways to help!

We met up with our friends from JR for lunch today at our favorite SMA lunch spot – Media Naranja. We hope to visit our fellow classmates on their home turf in Juventino Rosas next weekend. Tonight featured another stellar meal from Kelly – cabbage tacos, or tacos de col (col as an in “cole” – like cole-slaw, get it??) They were really flavorful, especially once the olive oil/garlic/onion/pepper mixture was drizzled on top. Dinner was followed by my favorite dessert – champan de fresa.

Tomorrow will be an interesting day in SMA: it is la fiesta de los locos (literally, the party of the crazies), and the whole town will be swamped by a giant parade (un desfile) where people will be dressed in costume. The few details/advice/warnings we have received about the event are as follows:

1. Wear a lot of sunscreen.
2. Be prepared to be pelted with candy that the “locos” are throwing – they apparently really like to throw the candy at the Americans.
3. Plan ahead for limited bathroom options.

We are also slated to have dinner with our buddy Kip from the Lion’s Club at his incredible home in the heart of SMA, which we have been eagerly anticipating. If going to Mass can be squeezed in there at some point, tomorrow should be an excellent Sunday – and of course a skype date with Dad first thing in the morning to celebrate Father’s Day from afar!