The grasshoppers I ate are called ¨Chapulines¨and my handy Lonely Planet guide defines this seasonal treat as: Grasshoppers purged of digestive matter, then dried, smoked or fried in lime and chili powder. I also saw another one of the seasonal treats that Lonely Planet mentions in the mercado the other day. Huitlacoche or ¨corn mushrooms are an inky black fungus delicacy with an enchanting, earthy flavor.¨ At the mercado, Erika (the therapist) showed me these. It´s just an ear of corn exploding with this white fungus that they peel off and then apparently eat as a tasty treat. Should have taken a picture!
This week has been a mix of being really busy or having big chunks of down time. It´s a pretty good setup because then I have lots of time to explore. Yesterday I went on three home visits with different therapists from different programs. The first visit, one therapist, two teachers and I took a taxi (what felt like) way out of the city. We turned off of the highway into a small area of homes and then the taxi driver took us as far as he good. When he dropped us off, we walked about 10 minutes back a path, over a stream (well actually the water was murky and still) to a home of one family. There were six children ranging from 6 months to probably 18. Then the oldest daughter had a 9 mo old and her husband or boyfriend lived there as well. Every classroom or session I´ve been to starts with a community meeting which is a piece of Sanctuary (How are you feeling? What is your goal for the day? and Who can help you?). So far I´ve got ¿Te sientes hoy? down. The how are you feeling part! The therapist worked with the parents for about 30 minutes, while the two teachers worked with the children on academic work they had brought with them. It´s always fun to observe even though I don´t know what´s happening most of the time! When the parents rejoined the family with the therapist, the parents seemed to be congratulating or praising one of the boys. From what I could understand, the therapist helps support the parents in being positive with each of the children. THAT IS MY VERY ROUGH INTERPRETATION!! And I´m sure doesn´t begin to summarize the work that these professionals do with these families! As usual, the family was very welcoming to me and smiled a lot! I think the worst feeling for me is knowing that I am being asked a question in a group setting and just staring back blankly because I have no idea what was asked or how to answer! The other worst feeling is not knowing how to convey my gratitude to these families for allowing me to be in their homes and observe intimate interactions. Usually, I just smile a lot and say muchas gracias over and over again or mucho gusto (pleased to meet you) repeatedly!
Later that day, I visited two more families with two different therapists. The families really seem to vary in their needs. It seems that a lot of work is done to support the parents and to increase positive interactions among the family members, which is not that different from the US.
This evening I will head to Cuernavaca for language school. With the help of Maíte, who speaks very good English, I found a bus that goes directly there in 2.5 hours. Without her help, I would have been taking a bus through Mexico City and it would have taken me at least 5 hours! Thank God for helpful people! I can tell that I am already more able to break down people´s speech into words. That was one of the most difficult things at first - it just sounded like everything was jumbled together. And last night was the first night that I didn´t wake up at 3am having some strange anxiety dream about not being able to communicate what I want! I often wake up with Spanish in my brain. Ok - getting too long. Hope everyone is well and thanks for the comments and emails!
P.S. I don´t believe in proofreading my blog so you´ll have to live with my typos!!
