Day 22: Compound Sweet Compound

10:30 am

I got back to the land of running water and microwaves yesterday late afternoon. I'm sorry I didn't write anything on the blog yesterday, but by the time I got around to thinking about the computer, I was so tired that I didn't even want to unzip the case.

Anyway, I'm back! And none worse for the wear. Unless you count the scorpion stings that I already told you about, and Sunday night's slight mishap with a carrizo knife. I was stripping carrizo reeds with the ladies, and my knife (which looks like a little 10-inch machete) slipped and gashed my finger open. (Don't read this if you're weak of heart or stomach: I felt the knife hit the bone when I cut myself!) I don't think I need stitches, though, luckily. Band-Aids seem to be doing the trick. And, right after I cut myself, Doña Vicki put a slice of an "aloe cactus" plant on the cut, and the bleeding stopped for the most part. Folk medicine never ceases to amaze me.

I will now reward your patience with a few fun pictures of my stay in Cieneguilla...

This first picture is, I think, my favorite. Yesterday morning, my last morning there, I finally got up the courage to ask Doña Chabel if I could make tortillas with her. So I did, and, as you can see, they came out a little (okay, a lot) less than perfect. But, even better, I asked her to take a picture of me with my bad tortillas, but she had never taken a picture before in her life! And, as you can see, her first picture also came out a little less than perfect... But I love this picture because it's a picture of firsts and cross-cultural experiences.

Our first morning in Cieneguilla, at Doña Vicki's house. From the left, Betsy and Yolanda (who dropped us off), Simone, me, Erica, and Doña Vicki.

This is a picture of Simone, Auralia (one of the girls at Doña Vicki's house), Erica, and me in the "garden" (public square) in Cieneguilla.

This is Doña Chabel, stripping carrizo, so you can get a better idea of what it looks like.

This is me with my little Anita Karen. She is SO CUTE!!!

My host family: from the left, Doña Chabel, Don Primi, me, neighbor Ipolita, Esperanza and Ana Karen, and Doña Chabel's sister, who lives next door. I don't think she ever told me her name, they all just call her "sister."

This is Ana Karen with her grandmother, my host mother, Doña Chabel. She calls her "Ma Chabel," which I think is hilarious. Isn't this a sweet picture?

Anyway, that's it for now. Definitely more to come! Have a great day!