Stuck in San Cris

Chris and I are still in San Cristobal. We bid farewell to Jackie and Farah on Tuesday evening. Hopefully they are faring well and aren't having too much trouble completing spirometry and PM in Chuctik (the 3rd and final community they are working in). They should be back on Friday.

We spent Monday and Tuesday trying to navigate the buraucracy of getting stoves across the border. Right now, it seems that Helps (the organization who is donating the stoves), will be paying the importation tax, which is very helpful. They tell us that the stoves will be ready for pickup on the Mexican side of the border probably mid-week next week. We were hoping to start installing stoves on Monday, so this delays us a bit, but it should be fine overall.

Chris and I stayed behind in order to be able to communicate with Helps and any border agencies as quickly as possible (and to let my GI tract recuperate). So far it has been pretty boring. I'm sort of restricted to Junax due to need for bathroom proximity, and we basically wait around for one particular email or phone call. Today Fernando is supposed to be in San Cristobal, so we are going to try to meet with him in order to figure out the best day for us to go to the border to pick up the stoves, and if it is possible to rent a big truck in advance.

I know some of you have been wondering what type of stove we are installing. It is the ONIL stove. More information can befound here: http://www.onilstove.com/

. .. . and as a follow-up from my last post, I forgot to include another one of my favorite aspects of last week.

5. We ate dinner with Antonio and Maura this week. Antonio is a health promoter and Maura is one of Fernando's younger sisters. They live in a pretty painted house, and only use the estufa. They don't have an open fire, which is quite exciting. It is great to hear Antonio's perspective on things. He is one of the only people in Quehalhukum who we talk with regularly who isn't one of Fernando's siblings. He is in his early 20s, and I think Maura is 17. They don't have any children yet. Antonio is a 'multiplicador' health promotor which means, like Roselia and Fernando, he can teach health promotion. He showed us the books that are used to teach health promoters and, as Chris already described, they are very detailed. I described Antonio as an 'old soul', bu I'm not really sure what that means, exactly. He seems quite serious, and is very religiuos. He didn't finish primaria, and learned Spanish while working construction in Mexico City. He is going to go back to Mexico City on Saturday to find work for 3 months, which unfortunately means I may not see him again before we come back to take post-measurements. I asked him why he is going now, and he said it is becasue the corn has all been cleaned, and, basically, there is little farm work to do, so it is best to go to the city now. He is saving up to build a separate kitchen.

Its kind of amazing. When I'm in San Cristobal, Quehalhukum and Puebla seem to exist in another world. Like part of a dream. I guess it can seem too discordant to keep all these different ways of life in my mind at the same time.

When Farah and Jackie return with the computer, I will try to post more pictures.