1, 2, 3, CONDOM!!!

1,2,3 condomMiss Lizzie, she won all the charleston competitions in her day and I can believe it!

This was the prompt for the most recent photo I have taken, a great group photo which I unfortunately may not be able to load onto a computer for a while. I went to the meeting of the youth action group JENH (youth setting new horizons is the english translation) and they watched two documentaries by MTV on HIV in latin america in preparation for a community festival they are going to create to raise awareness and education about HIV. The group is made up of girls mostly, and the outspoken ladies won my heart right away. I think it takes guts to talk about sex and sexual health in peer groups, and these young ladies and gents are on a mission to make sexual health something that is brought into discussion in homes and in the community. They plan to play the videos and prepare songs, poems and art that focuses on the issue rather than the standard informational pamphlets. One girl made a comment about language and the way that they present information, that a pamphlet might have language that is too scientific OR that the pamphlet couldn´t replace the way that they communicate information in a mix of spanish, creole and english. The whole meeting was a public health major´s wet dream.

Earlier today I met with Miss Lizzy Forbes Nelson (insert great picture of this beautiful woman here). We sat on her front porch and I heard stories mixed with laughter and really insightful suggestions on identity and culture. She is the kind of elderly woman that possesses such grace, warmth and humor that you feel as though you have known her your whole life. A school teacher and past cultural delegate for the region, her specialty is dance and sharing the history and stories about dances that have been popular here in Blue Fields.

The internet cafe is closing in a couple minutes (it´s only 8.30!) so to some up the past two days or so:

Other Highlights: Holding the cutest most outgoing baby girl I have ever met! Sitting at a bar right on the lagoon with an eerie screen-saver like night view of the water. Eating bananas cooked every way imaginable, eating gallo pinto, eating pinapple pastries, I swear I do more than eat here. Going to BICU (Blue Fields Indian and Carribean University) checking out and reading the oral history of Blue Fields by Hugo Sujo, the local historian I met. That was on my take-it-easy day, when I was resting because of a cold that miraculously has vanished after only 2 days of coughing. Spending time with Kenya, Jaime and Danilo. Learning how to get the toilets here to flush (that´s what the bucket of water is for!). Journaling journaling journaling. I can´t remember if I mentioned this before but I discovered while I was sitting in the airport in Costa Rica that the paper in my journal can withstand watercolor painting so my sketches are now brought to life with color.

I think the real highlight of the last couple days has been reflecting on the last three weeks of travel, it´s officially been three weeks now. What I have learned about myself so far, my comfort levels, my energy levels, and how thankful I have become for certain life-saver items that I have packed. So much more to say on my three week reflections. To be completely honest I was incredibly homesick at the very thought of leaving my parents for eight months. But the energy that was going towards tears and sadness has transformed into a profound respect for my family, the support they give me, the unconditional love I receive and the lessons they have taught me that I am thankful for more now than ever.