They live in a very hilly area... I wouldn't call them mountains, more like foothills. Everyone farms on the steep green hills - mostly corn and soybeans. I was woken up this morning to the sound of cows mooing, roosters cock-a-doodle-doodling, and TONS of children playing. Odilia and Santos have 8 kids (I think? I keep losing track) from ages 5 to 28, but the 28 year old doesn't live here. Odilia's sister died from cirrhosis five years ago, so her 5 nieces and nephews also live here. I have never lived with a host family before, and with around 15 of us I'm really getting the full experience! The kids loved the bubbles, crayons, and gum I brought as small gifts - but I would have brought more had I known there were so many! I played with them a lot today. I never knew you could play soccer, volleyball, and baseball all with the same ball and without goals, a net, or a real bat. The kids make the most of what they have and are SO happy. The youngest is Lupita, a really sweet 6 year old who has been clinging to my side all day. Then there are a group of four boys, ages 7, 8, 10, and 11, followed by a bunch of teenage girls and boys. I would list all their names but I honestly can't remember them yet - lots of names to learn!
All of these people live in three different bedrooms, up to six of them in a room. I'm very lucky to have my own room up a flight of stairs and away from all of the chaos! Although I'm trying not to spend much time in my room, it's nice to know I have a place to rest if I need a break from all the kids. :)
We eat three square meals a day, everyone together! For breakfast we had an egg dish, for lunch a soup with vegetables and shrimp, and for dinner rice and hot dogs. Oh, and all meals have tortillas! I helped Juana, the second oldest daughter, pat out some tortillas today before lunch... everyone could tell which ones I made because they were the opposite of round and way too thick. Oh well, the kids still ate them! Kids, dogs, baby chicks, and cats are constantly going in and out of the kitchen and I don't even mind.
After lunch Odilia and I went to a woman's house for a prenatal visit. We walked there through the village - up and down the hills but not too far. Everyone stares at me here, but not the way they did in Peru. I feel very safe here and everyone on the streets smiles and greets me as they would any other person. I am definitely the only gringa (white person) here. Anyways, we got to the woman's house, who is 34 weeks along, and I got to participate in my first ever prenatal check up! We measured her abdomen, took her blood pressure, listened to the baby's heart with a doppler (yes I admit I teared up when I heard it...) and felt the baby's position (head down!). By pushing in the right place on her belly, I got to feel the head which was SO cool! Next, Odilia and the woman went into the demascal, a tiny stone building with buckets of water inside which heat up over a fire. It makes it like a very hot sauna inside. Odilia gives each client a prenatal massage at every visit in their demascal. I didn't go inside this time because I didn't want to intrude, but Odilia has a demascal here so I will bathe in it tomorrow! I already told her it will have to cool down for a while before I go in so I won't faint :)
I am so grateful for the hospitality this whole family has shown me already and am eager for the next month I will spend here. There are 3 women due near the end of the month, so hopefully I will get to see at least three births! That's all for now, folks... time to go to sleep. (I'm going through Diet Coke withdrawal!)
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