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| Jacalyn outside Church |
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| Lead singer from last night in restuarant |
Grant said he finds this blog gives him much-needed routine, and he wants to keep a diary of events anyway; but he quickly took me up on my offer to "guest blog" today....
Sunday is the only day no treatments are given at the clinic here, so things were quiet this morning and we got to sleep in a little (a welcome relief to this student who prefers working early morning hours!)
We ate cooked oatmeal for breakfast, as Grant usually does here - mine with hot chocolate instead of milk on top, something I learned to love when we went to an all-inclusive Mexican resort a few years ago...
Then we got ready for church (which started at noon). Grant had ordered up the taxi ahead (Manny was driving again) but when we went to leave, our street was blocked off (we have no idea why); so he had to find an alternate route.
Manny pointed out the long lines on the freeway going to San Diego - he said the wait to cross the border was 6 hours long today - probably because so many people had come here just to visit for the weekend. He confirmed what Alexandria, Dr. Castillo's daughter who picked me up last Friday, had said: in December, people get really grouchy and miserable here when driving! Apparently they're ruder drivers and won't let anyone in line...
I found that interesting, as at home, it seems it's the other way around. When I hit the mall briefly last Thursday before leaving Red Deer, it seemed people were more helpful and cheerful than usual. Hmm, 11 months of grouchiness then one month of good cheer...or 11 months of good cheer ending with one month of grumpiness....kind of a toss up!
I don't find Grant's room here above the clinic too bad- it's quite spacious - thanks for getting this one for him, Evan! There's a perfectly adequate kitchenette, a computer table as well as a kitchen table to eat at, and a view out the east window of a hill completely covered with residences. (At home, the hill would be bare and the houses would be built on flatter land instead). Tijuana has a population of about 3 million; and San Diego, just a short drive away, has another 2 or 3 million; so we're talking numbers we don't see at home.
At church, the people were very friendly, but few spoke English, except for one full-time missionary from Wyoming. The bishop looked to be about 30 years old. They had no one to play piano, so I volunteered - they sang Christmas hymns today, just like at home; but piano was in much better shape than the one in the Bower chapel in Red Deer. (Maybe from lack of use?)
I keep being reminded of CapeTown - the razor wire on the top of fences, the security guards everywhere (Last night Manny, our taxi driver, went home and sent another driver to pick us up when we were done at the restaurant; but Manny had "Juan" dial him on his cellphone and hand it to Grant to personally confirm that's what was really going on, even tho' the restaurant was in a good neighborhood, in a gated compound, etc). The church is also iside a gated compound, in quite a poor neighborhood - we saw a long line-up in a nearby park and asked what it was - seems it was a "soup kitchen" of sorts - food and clothes were being handed out to the poor, Manny said. But at the church, the members' cars weren't locked in during services, unlike CapeTown.
When I got here to the Castillo clinic on Friday, I was pleased to see that Grant walks up and down the 2 flights of stairs several times a day, instead of taking the elevator, so I could tell his energy level was improving. The interior building stairs are beautiful - marble I think - and the table at our restaurant last night was also granite or marble, with no tablecloth on it (and none needed!) Everything is built with cement - very soundproof.
I cooked veggies and scrambled some eggs for supper; forgot to put the rice on first, so we had toast instead; then organic peppermint tea I'd brought from home. Grant had half-heartedly offered to cook; but I think that secretly he's glad his chief cook and bottle-washer has joined the excursion.. (Grant's added comment: Yes, indeed!). OK, now we'll try again to add photos....
Sunday is the only day no treatments are given at the clinic here, so things were quiet this morning and we got to sleep in a little (a welcome relief to this student who prefers working early morning hours!)
We ate cooked oatmeal for breakfast, as Grant usually does here - mine with hot chocolate instead of milk on top, something I learned to love when we went to an all-inclusive Mexican resort a few years ago...
Then we got ready for church (which started at noon). Grant had ordered up the taxi ahead (Manny was driving again) but when we went to leave, our street was blocked off (we have no idea why); so he had to find an alternate route.
Manny pointed out the long lines on the freeway going to San Diego - he said the wait to cross the border was 6 hours long today - probably because so many people had come here just to visit for the weekend. He confirmed what Alexandria, Dr. Castillo's daughter who picked me up last Friday, had said: in December, people get really grouchy and miserable here when driving! Apparently they're ruder drivers and won't let anyone in line...
I found that interesting, as at home, it seems it's the other way around. When I hit the mall briefly last Thursday before leaving Red Deer, it seemed people were more helpful and cheerful than usual. Hmm, 11 months of grouchiness then one month of good cheer...or 11 months of good cheer ending with one month of grumpiness....kind of a toss up!
I don't find Grant's room here above the clinic too bad- it's quite spacious - thanks for getting this one for him, Evan! There's a perfectly adequate kitchenette, a computer table as well as a kitchen table to eat at, and a view out the east window of a hill completely covered with residences. (At home, the hill would be bare and the houses would be built on flatter land instead). Tijuana has a population of about 3 million; and San Diego, just a short drive away, has another 2 or 3 million; so we're talking numbers we don't see at home.
At church, the people were very friendly, but few spoke English, except for one full-time missionary from Wyoming. The bishop looked to be about 30 years old. They had no one to play piano, so I volunteered - they sang Christmas hymns today, just like at home; but piano was in much better shape than the one in the Bower chapel in Red Deer. (Maybe from lack of use?)
I keep being reminded of CapeTown - the razor wire on the top of fences, the security guards everywhere (Last night Manny, our taxi driver, went home and sent another driver to pick us up when we were done at the restaurant; but Manny had "Juan" dial him on his cellphone and hand it to Grant to personally confirm that's what was really going on, even tho' the restaurant was in a good neighborhood, in a gated compound, etc). The church is also iside a gated compound, in quite a poor neighborhood - we saw a long line-up in a nearby park and asked what it was - seems it was a "soup kitchen" of sorts - food and clothes were being handed out to the poor, Manny said. But at the church, the members' cars weren't locked in during services, unlike CapeTown.
When I got here to the Castillo clinic on Friday, I was pleased to see that Grant walks up and down the 2 flights of stairs several times a day, instead of taking the elevator, so I could tell his energy level was improving. The interior building stairs are beautiful - marble I think - and the table at our restaurant last night was also granite or marble, with no tablecloth on it (and none needed!) Everything is built with cement - very soundproof.
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| Jacalyn at railing at front door of Clinic |
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| Manuel (Manny), our main cab driver |
I cooked veggies and scrambled some eggs for supper; forgot to put the rice on first, so we had toast instead; then organic peppermint tea I'd brought from home. Grant had half-heartedly offered to cook; but I think that secretly he's glad his chief cook and bottle-washer has joined the excursion.. (Grant's added comment: Yes, indeed!). OK, now we'll try again to add photos....
Reading the description of razor wire on the fences and guards reminded me of El Salvador (and made me want to go to Metrocentro, one of the malls that has guards carrying rifles who guard the parking lot). Glad to hear that your trip is going well. Love, Andrea and Steven
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