Hi all from Mexico

October 20, First day. Hi, this is my attempt at a running blog while I'm here in Mexico. Susan did such a good job with one while we were in Norway that I thought I should try. I'll do my best to keep up.

As you probably know Susan didn't come with me today, she got a phone call yesterday morning from our doctor saying that the Holter heart monitor she wore a couple of weeks ago showed significant arrhythmias and that she needed to see a cardiologist. The timing couldn't have been worse, we were all packed and ready. Susan hasn't really felt any serious problems and we have been doing lots of walking up and down Powell Butte and other places without effect. If the doctor had waited one more day he would have missed us and we would have been happily on our trip.

As it was, the doctor wanted to put her on a beta-blocker heart medication and Susan felt really uncomfortable starting on it while out of the country. So, the choice was to ignore the doctor, not start the beta-blocker until we got back in a month, or not go on the trip and start on the drug and see the cardiologist next week. Anyway, we decided that it was stupid to take a risk, so we hurriedly canceled her reservations for her flights. We have insurance but our hope is that after seeing the doctor she will be checked out to come down next week and join me for the rest of our trip.

I felt that I needed to come at least this week because of all the preparations I made for my workshop. I have about a thousand dollars worth of supplies and equipment, plus between 10 and 15 people committed to coming. At worst, if Susan doesn't get clearance to come and is feeling ill, I can cancel and come home early.

Anyway, I left Portland this morning loaded with two huge suitcases, about one and a half of which are supplies for my workshop. One was entirely my testing materials and also books I'm carrying for Cecelia Barry. I'm not sure how much I'll need for the workshop, so maybe I'll be able to send the one suitcase home with the extra stuff with Cecelia or her husband Martin. After I get rid of all that stuff, I'll just have a few things to carry with me the rest of the trip.

I arrived in Mexico City from Houston. It's not a bad flight, 4 hours to Houston and 2 more to Mexico City. I arrived at the new terminal for the first time, which is pretty nice. No major problems with Customs, though they really wanted to know what the testing stuff was. Luckily I had my cover letter from Brenda Porter saying that they were humanitarian supplies.

I was met by a nice lady from Amextra, the Mexican NGO agency that took over our previous project at Tultitlan in Mexico City. They have projects ongoing in various parts of the country. She took me to stay with a family in one of the projects where they are working, near Chalca which is South East of the city, sort of on the way to Puebla and Oaxaca. We talked for a while. She has been working with Amextra and living in one of the communities for a number of years. Her work has been nutrition education for families. She is a strong advocate for healthy diets and has suggested that people add soy protein to tortillas and posoles to increase the nutritional value. Without some other protein, corn is not very nutritious. She also wants more beans in the diet for the same reason, and less fatty foods.

I suggested that perhaps she might want to come to my workshop in Oaxaca and give a cooking demonstration on the solar stoves, and she wasn't totally opposed. I don't know if she can get away, or how much it would cost for her to come, or whether it would be socially correct for her to travel like that, but it would be interesting. Susan was going to help me, but with her gone I'm sort of in a bad way for help. Cecelia Barry said she would help, but it would be really cool to have a real Mexican cook in charge. The Amextra lady also said that she knows Gaudencio and Ruthie, and that Gaudencio now is an advocate for solar stoves as well!

The family I am staying with lives upstairs over a tiny tienda they manage. They have two children and I'm not sure what else the husband does. They seem nice and friendly and have had other volunteers from Amextra stay with them. I had a nice dinner with a flat steak, fresh avocados, cucumbers and limes! My favorite Mexican food! Also a nice pasta soup and fresh salsa and hot tortillas.

After dinner we went for a walk around the neighborhood. It seems a little poor, but not too bad. They have electricity and water and paved streets. There is an Amextra office down the street. I guess tomorrow morning we will be going to another nearby community nearby that is a lot worse off.

I'm sleeping tonight under a mosquito net, they say they are bad. I haven't seen any yet, and I have bug lotion, but probably won't use it tonight.

That's all for tonight, its 10:15 and I have to get up early tomorrow.