Krazy Korean

My last year in Camden I had roommate named Jaeduck Park, who we affectionately called the Krazy Korean. At the time he was studying for his second Masters in Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. We became quick friends. He was always whipping up exotic Korean concoctions in the kitchen. When I would try them, he would reply with one of his pat sayings, like "You my friend man!" (Insert cool Asian accent)

We both moved away in 2007. He took a job with the government in Monterrey, California teaching intensive Korean language classes to CIA-types by day. At night he teaches English as a second language at a local community college to Mexican immigrants. Through his experience he's become very interested in the Spanish language and culture. So when he heard I would be in Mexico for 6 months, he didn't hesitate to book a flight for a visit.

It's been amazing to watch him attack the language from such a technical standpoint. Despite having no formal Spanish education, he's constantly asking about different verb tenses and grammar structure. Unlike most tourists he actually uses his Spanish/English dictionary with incredible efficiency. He's developed his own entourage of kids who follow him around, so he's had plenty of time to put his knowlege to use while I'm working in the clinic. Not to mention, he's a really funny guy, which he finds a way to transcend with his limited language skills. I'm glad he's here. We'll be heading to Mexico City together this weekend for a little descanso.

Mexi Stache

I was experimenting with the mustache before I left for Mexico, but decided to go clean cut before I left. Ever since I've been waiting for the inspiration to bring it back. After being mustache-less for the last two and half months, my mustache whiskers were jumping out at me, so I decided to leave it when I shaved the other day. As is usually the case, I've gotten mixed reviews. One of the best was from one of my fellow volunteers, Kelly, who complimented the stache in the early stages, saying it was on par with the Mexi Stache. Mexican men aren't known for the full beard but if they don't shave for a few days, the mustacle seems to represent the strongest. I'm not sure if my stache will last, but I feel like it gives me a little extra street cred for now.

Adventures With Pati

I mentioned last week that my Saturdays are always different. One activity that I forgot to mention was taking Pati to visit friends in the pueblo. This usually involves pushing Pati through the backroads of Miacatlan literally for miles. I'm feeling much more comfortable with my off road wheelchair driving skills. The good news is that there is usually a nice meal on the other end of the journey. Today we ended up in the home of a very nice family who had prepared a birthday pozole for Pati. Being both a foreigner and a visitor I was gifted with the pig's foot in my bowl of soup. I asked if it was edible or just for flavor. When they told me it was a delicacy, I ate it up, little hairs and all!

One other bonus to the trip was this little guy Juan who you see in the pictures. He's 4 years old and such a cute kid. Little ones love Pati and he's no exception. As he layed with her on the floor he would ask me great questions, like "Does she ever cry?" Which I responded, "Sometimes." Then he asked, "Why doesn't she grow?", which I didn't know how to answer. Me and Juanito also played soccer and explored a nearby river after lunch. He's quite the climber, refusing to hold my hand even on the steep inclines.

Mexican Hot Dogs

Having just bragged the other day about having access to homegrown meat here at NPH, I must reveal that we also eat our share of meat slurry. Hot dogs are big staple here, for breakfast and dinner in particular. Often for breakfast they're chopped up and served with salsa. Yesterday for Pati's birthday party Dona Felipa whipped up a special concoction with hot dogs, cheese, and green salsa. Tonight was straight up hot dog night. The line is always slower to get your food because there is an assembly line of condiments: first is the maynaise bucket (as seen above) - which goes directly on the bun, then chilis - a Mexican favorite, then tomatoes and onions, lastly ketchup - which is squirted haphazardly over the whole plate. The final product is quite the creation as you see Paco displaying. Even a true Chicagoan would be proud, minus the ketchup of course.

Girl Talk

Girls are more responsible than boys. I've known this for a long time, but now I'm being reminded of it every day. I'm finding that when a girl has an injury, they come in for an evaluation right away and they keep coming back until they're better. The boys tend to wait a couple of weeks until the injury is really bad and then ask for help. Instead of focusing on what they need to do to get better, they perseverate the whole session on when they can go back to playing soccer. I'll usually see them again whenever it's convenient for them. I'm still trying to find ways solve this problem.

For the time being, I have a lot more girl patients than boy patients. In fact, many times in the afternoon, there are several of them at once. Lately these three young ladies in the pictures; Fabiola, Blanca and Nancy, have been working out together. As I coordinate all of their treatments, I also tend to get caught up in their girl talk. Conversations tend vary from anything from school to boyfriends to who believes in ghosts. They tend to critique my music selection and recommend movies I never intend to see. I still have Twilight (Crepusculo) and New Moon (Luna Nueva) DVDs sitting on my desk. I tried to explain that I won't watch them, but they won't take them back.

Eating Local

I've mentioned sheep (borrego) once before, it's the nickname given to kids with curly hair. Some people count sheep to help them fall asleep, but I just listen to them instead. My room happens to be a straight shot from the sheep pen, so when I'm lying in bed at night, I fall asleep to the rhthmic "bahs" of my wooly neighbors. There's something comforting about sleeping so close to my food source. They say the average piece of food in the United States travels 1500 miles before it arrives on your plate. It takes a lot of chemicals and fossil fuels to sustain such a journey, not to mention a cost to the nutritional value and flavor. Today we had barbeque lamb for lunch...and it only had to travel 500 feet from the farm to the dining room.

Spiders and Flies

When I was applying for a position with NPH I was most intrigued by the opportunity to provide physical therapy in a Latin American country. I downplayed the fact that I would be working with kids, both in my own mind and when describing the opportunity to other people. The reality was that I had very little pediatric physical therapy experience and limited interactions with kids in my personal life. Living and working in a big city like Chicago, sometimes it felt like days would go by without seeing a kid. During my morning bike commute it was always a shock to see a kid riding his bike or walking to school. My most recent kid credentials involve being an uncle to my nephew and niece, which usually involves fighting the rest of my family for their short bursts of attention.

One of my few legitimate kid experiences involved working as the part-time phys. ed. teacher at Sacred Heart School during my last year in Camden. I would teach K-4th grade on Tuesday mornings and 5th-8th on Thursday. It was a tough gig because they were inner city kids and it was the only scheduled physical outlet that they had at school all week. I wanted to respect their need to burn off some energy, but I also needed to retain some sense of order. The result was chaos...fist fights, cat fights, and tears almost every class. Not to mention the fact that I was usually alone with them in a park across from the school and I had to leave right after class to go to my other job, so I could never enforce any of my punishments.

One of my few positive memories was playing a game called Spiders and Flies with the younger kids. They would line up at one end of the soccer field and I would pick a couple "spiders" who would go to midfield, the rest of the kids would be "flies". Then there was a chant between the two groups: "We are spiders!"..."We are flies!"..."We're going to catch you!"..."You just try!" Then the flies would try to run to the other side of the field without being caught. If they were, they'd become spiders.

Every Sunday here at NPH we do a volunteer activity with the kids in the afternoon. Today I decided I would do Spiders and Flies (Aranjas y Moscas) with the younger kids. I wasn't creative enough to come up with a chant, but I made sure to hype them up before they ran. They really got into it. As you can see from the pictures, they were at a pool activity before mine, so they're sporting their swim gear. No fights and no tears...it was good day.

As far as my kid credentials go, I think I'm slowly advancing. I was pretty shell shocked my first day here, but I'm learning. I've noticed that kids often don't want to "interact" with you, they just want you to show up. They don't always say much at the dinner table or in the dorm at night, but they always ask me to show up and they always notice if I'm gone.