Sunday -- Fiesta Day

So, Sunday was a fun, fun day. We got up early to help our host family with preparations for the anniversary party. Keri and I sat on these tiny little stools and peeled potatoes for about 45 minutes. Of course, Ana came over at the end and peeled about 5 potatoes in the time it took us to peel one. Keri and I agreed that a good anniversary present for Ana was a potato peeler (actually, she probably is faster with a knife b/c that is what she is used to)! We then were tasked with pulling the good mint leaves off of their stems. The lunch included a salad of raw onion with mint leaves that is tossed in lime juice. We also helped moving tables and seats and stuff. We were expecting about 40 people for lunch.

At 10am, Ana, Celestino, Keri and I went to mass. The mass was a special mass to celebrate Ana and Celestino´s 1st anniversary. The priest is Ana´s cousin as well as the priest who married them. The church was small but very pretty and the mass was a very good experience.

After church, we went home and there were already about 30 people at the house. We tried to help, but we were shooed out of the cooking area. We did help serve drinks a bit but sat down and just started talking to the extended family and drinking our cervesas. We ate our first course and our second course and just kept drinking. The beers never stopped coming. Keri and I were happily surprised when 4 of the health clinic staff came. After that, we just laughed and talked with them and some of the family. We were all having a great time. They had us drinking this sugar cane rum with honey mixed in it and Holy Cow! it was disgusting!!!

Lunch lasted from 12 to about 4pm. Needless to say, everyone was tipsy by the time we left to go to the bull fights. So, Sunday was a festival and there were bull fights and then bands playing in the adjoining soccer fields afterwards. We headed to the bull fights and got separated from the family. However, have no fear, we managed to make some new friends and share some more beers! The bull fights were funny. It really was just drunk men running around with hot pink capes trying to get the young (and I mean young) bulls to charge them. You were rooting for the baby bulls. No bulls or drunk men were hurt in the process.

Keri and I are definitely starting to be known around town. We had to use the bathroom before the fights but the public restrooms were closed so we went to the closest shop to ask if we could use their facilities. As we walked in, I recognized everyone because they had been patients or family members of patients in the clinic. They were like "you guys work in the clinic! How are you? Of course you can use the bathroom! We will come and visit you again in the clinic!" It was funny. The people here are so friendly. It really is a tiny town.

After the fights, we went to the soccer fields and danced with random people until the skies opened up and it began to pour. Ana and our host sister Shurra came over to give a warning about drunk men. Luckily, I was pretty sober by that point and managed to pull Keri and our friend Michelle off of the dance floor and up into town for dinner. We met the other volunteers for pizza and then headed home while they headed to the pub.

Keri needed some more food in her stomach (she did not abstain from the sugar cane rum like I did after the first try) so we made friends with the "Pan lady" -- she sells 5 bread rolls for 1 sole (about 30 cents) and the lady who owns a mini mart. We made our way home. When we got in our room, I went to grab my hand towel to go wash up for bed and I nearly screamed. There was a big scorpion just above our window. Keri did not believe me until it moved and showed its true size. I lost our bout of paper, rocks, scissors and decimated the poor thing with the bottom of my shoe. Of course, anyone who knows me knows that I hate bugs - especially spiders. But I can now say that scorpions are right up there as well! We found out on Monday that the scorpions here will sting you but they aren´t poisonous or anything to worry about. I still plan on staying clear of them if possible!

So that was our fun day. Luckily, it was day drinking and we were able to sober up by bed and get to bed around 10:30 or so. The town was very quiet on Monday morning when we went to the clinic for work. We are assuming most people were at home with hangovers!