1-29-07 (Girls in Water) Laundry and Nail Day
The sky was clear blue this morning so I bit the bullet and got my clothing together to hand wash. I will appreciate washing machines so much more when I return to the states. It took me over an hour to do about one third of a load of laundry. While I was washing the chickens came over and started pecking at my laundry bag thinking it was food. I shooed them away then paused for a moment…I am in Mexico surrounded with orange trees, coconuts, and chickens, while I wash my laundry on a stone with river water.
I spent the afternoon painting the fingernails and toenails of over a dozen little girls. Their faces lit up with joy when they looked at the fresh paint. Then for the next ten minutes after I had finished they would repeatedly ask if the nails were dry yet. The rest of the afternoon we played Frisbee, Futbol, and tag. When it is play time we attract the same group of kids everyday. It has been great to build relationships with them and to learn a little bit about their personalities.
This evening after our services we invited the Pastor, some families from the church, and Alfredo (the man that owns the house we are staying in) for dinner. We rushed to finish up the dinner but it took longer than we expected and our guests had to wait for the meal to come out. According to our guests, in Mexico a meal is served when company arrives. Finally, we set out the meal of rice, beans, carrots, tortillas, sausage, and French fries. Our company looked at the spread and started laughing hysterically. I think they were afraid to eat the food, but the laughter broke the ice and the evening was much more relaxed.
