Miercoles
Wednesday, Jun. 18, 2003

030618 A Long Day

Since I took a shower last night, I didn't have to take a shower this morning. In fact, last night taking a shower I washed the two high tech shirts that I brought with me and hung them to dry.

Since it was raining, and besides I wouldn't want to hang my stuff outside even though it's allegedly common, and we have no way to make a line in the room, I used the extensions on our backpacks to hang the shirts. The backpacks have rollers and handles that extend out. They are heavy since our clothes are still in them, so I just set them on chairs with the extended handles sticking out horizontally.

This morning, my stomach didn't feel too good. It felt like gas, turning corners, if you know what I mean. Breakfast was good, but I was set to be disappointed when I saw it. It was bread cut in half with refried beans spread on it and then feta cheese. I had two of those and two small glasses of this yogurt and nut mix that they buy in a very large tub. A couple of cups off coffee and I was off to the bathroom.

The only bathroom I wanted to use in my time of need was the one in the casa we are staying in. It's private, mostly, and especially since it was working hours. I had a true Imodium moment.

Afterward, I went upstairs and read the Imodium box. I took two, and put another in my pocket.

About 15 minutes later, I had a second Imodium moment and took my other.

As close as I can figure, when I was showering last night, I think I got some of the water in my mouth. Yes, it's stupid, I know. But I was preoccupied with washing the two shirts.

Today I'm wearing my new Dickies pants. The only difference between my new ones and my old ones is that I got the right length on the inseam this time. I wear a 34x32, not a 34x30. Perhaps if I start swabbing decks or a levee breaks they'll come in handy.

I mostly worked in the lentes department today. Lentes are glasses. There are some organizations which raise money by collecting old glasses and selling them to people like us who are doing medical missions in poor countries. These are Lentes por cerca (for close) not lentes por lejos (for far).

It's a fun station to work since you get instant gratification. Paul was cutting hair all day. It seems the absence of my shaved head makes them come in droves. I took over around noon, which isn't to be confused with lunchtime, since that is usually 2:30 but today was 3:30 for me. We ate in stages since the croquetas (tuna and potato balls deep fried (excellente!)) and spaghetti type stuff. Also a very small salad. There was guacamole and the hot salsa on the table too.

I found out today that they don't use the word salsa here. Hmm, someone has been telling me wrong for a long time.

The clippers in the peloquedoria are dull. I cut the hair of either two or four kids today and it took forever. I also nicked one kid's ear. Man, I sure don't like doing that.

I realized that the ugly translator is not really ugly. He just considers himself part of the Educated Elite. I'm a droog. All the other mission workers are droogs to him. The Mexican people are droogs, but since they are so grateful to him, he expects everyone to worship him. So, he's not mean to me, he's condescending and overly critical of everyone.

I was talking to Gerardo just a little while ago and we were talking about what kinds of things we liked in our spare time. I couldn't think of what I liked to do. I like to detail cars, play playstation, and write.

Yes, I've come to realize that my online journal, although it gets around 70 hits a day, all but five of those people are using google and not finding the "wife mpeg" or "Let The Bodies Hit The Floor" that they were looking for. I desperately need to put code to unlist myself from Google.

I've learned a lot of new Spanish phrases and met the gals who help around here. I generally don't have female friends and don't really talk to females that much because I don't intend to since I'd consider it inappropriate. I've never had a friend who was a girl that I wasn't romantically involved with. And since I've been married to Alison for 11 years and we dated for just under two, I just don't hang out with chicks.

Liza and Roxanna are excellent translators. We talked a long time about different things. I speak in broken Spanglish (Espangles) and they both understand me. They can go to any school they want to here. I told them that the schools affected the property value in Estados Unidos since where tu casa es, tu tienes ir a that escuela.

I also mentioned to them that it seems to me that the education of the Mexican people is better than the education of the Estados Unidos personas. They agreed.

One more day of mission work and then we get a free day off.

I need to go find Gerardo and tell him about the detailing.