At Chateau-d'Oex I saw, for the first time in my life, hot air balloons! I was as giddy as the little kids on the train as we arrived. Lovely! Afterwards Farah and I met the marvelous Fam. Margot, friends of Phillipe, in Rossinière, a gem of a village in the Swiss Alps. We walked to Rossinière through the woods, along the railroad tracks, and along winding roads, arriving at dusk without an address. But a kind lady in town directed us and we found ourselves embraced by one of the dearest families ever.
Am feeling official. This is my bus pass... though do a little more walking than bussing. I actually ran across to France yesterday!
Another tribute to the good mothers of the world, from my ever expanding collection.
Can you imagine what sort of creature has these funny looking feet? Even my artsy sister Ruthie would be proud to walk in these shoes. God, you're pretty darn creative! A picture from Ashley and my adventure at the Isla de La Plata, the poor mans Galapagos. Where the birds are charming and you can charm the director of the park.
On a whirlwind goodby visit to the Chimborazo communities I fell in love with, I saw this lovely lady again. A little shy, but nonetheless gorgeous.
A beautiful 100meter waterfall in the center of south america (Brasil) surrounded by red cliffs of sedementary rock and deep green untouched valleys. Consider yourself (ok, myself) lucky to have been there and been guided by a local tough guy, Senhor Waldir Davene de Sousa, Jr and his sidekick Thiago.
I dont think I´ve ever had this much fun pulling teeth (actually filling in cavities). Dra. Siomara Gonçalvez Morales Ribeiro, my dentist, is the sister of my spunky Itajubanian mother, Sonja. They are obviously related. I think I might Bono here.
Wondering what life is like inside the hospital here? To the left you can my classmates (in ALL white) listening to the venerable godfather of OBGyn Dr. Aurelio Rocha. To the right the baren but sterile obstetrics/gynecology operating room. Order of the day is: rounds, class, OR, if I´m lucky.
A few views of the southern state of Minas Gerais, north of Sao Paulo, third largest city in the world! It is a beautiful, though almost completely deforrested sub-tropical region. To the west of us is the pantanal, the marsh jungle.
So with my new family I do a lot of laughing.... namely about language, literature and love. These are my sisters here: Marina (R) is a dedicated 23yo geography student and discipled runner who loves outdoor adventures and solitude, Cinthia (L) is a 19yo hippie-loving, Australia-headed, social-butterfly with a big smile and even bigger heart. My sense of humor is evolving here.
Well ok not quite. In case you did know, I´ve moved from Ecuador to Brasil and am currently doing an OBGyn rotation in Itajuba, Minas Gerais. A friend of mine is a professional dancer here and I asked to come along to see what it was all about. I found myself chatting enthusiastically with Keila afterwards, near midnight, as we walked down dark winding streets in the center of town. Here are some images of her world. Music and dance is poetry here.
So when when three young women (including Ashley the Sociologist, Tannia the Ecologist, and Priscila the future-Gynecologist) arrived in Shanaycu, the community was very surprised: they were expecting a group of men, including my Bruce my Boss. They had killed a fatted calf in anticipation for our arrival. Needless to say we were obliged to stuff ourselves silly (so much that Ashely and Tannia got sick) and apologize profusely. Here is one of the chef's and the remnant of our lunch in the hot, smokey, windowless adobe kitchen. 
Here's another tribute to good mothers and healthy babies. This is a kindly older lady and her almost-toddler, who also demanded a lunch break, though of a different type. Most mothers breast-feed until the age of 1.5-2yo.
Two older ladies taking a lunch break durring our 5 hour course on women's health in Shanaycu, Chimborazo. The evangelical church was responsible for making two full meals for the 50 women who participated, their many children, and spouses!
So over the last four months I've been traveling from community to community, "like a nomad" :) A little tiring, but moments like this are refreshing: consider this bus stop outside of la Pacifica, a lady on one side of the road, I on the other.
When this gentleman, of Puruhuaypampa saw we were taking pictures (which we always bring back to the community and give to the families), he ran over to grab his young son. He is standing here in his growing field of peas with this son, oh so proud. What more to say? Dad, were you this proud of us, your four daughters? :)
Wish I knew what Liana was thinking, sames goes for YHVH.
I was taken aside by this lady and quietly told, "I can't read, but when I saw the picture of this woman and child I knew it was a book for me. There are so many women here and in other communities who do not know what is theirs, what are their rights." I've put together this booklet on women's health and use it to teach.
My community health class this week was highlighted by a nutricious "stone soup" and the chorus of men, women, and children shouting "Papanicolau!" when I asked what exam that could prevent cervical cancer.
Many years have past, since those summer days Among the fields of barley See the children run as the sun goes down As you lie in fields of gold.
-Sting
So it's not golden yet, but it is barley and it is beautiful.
In the Community of la Pacitfica, were I was this weekend with Ashley and Tannia, we walked around inviting the women to the health course later that day. It was a misty morning and the trail was well marked.
"Cotopaxi is Ecuador's highest active volcano at 5897m, located in the Eastern Cordillera... It has an almost perfectly symmetrical cone, rising from a highland plain of 3800m and covered by a mighty glacier starting at a height of 5000m"... and here you are: a chunk of the glacier.
Cotopaxi National park we weren't the only visitors. This is a roads leading through an old lava field. "The last big erruption of Cotopaxi was in 1877 and many scientist think that one is due again, given its historical hundred year cycle of eruptions."
Faviola is a 24 year old woman who likely has multiple sclerosis. Despite the many tragedies in her life (the onset of her disease two years ago, the death of her baby three months ago, abandonment by husband two months back, and her near complete immobility) she is a strong woman. I've visited her a couple of times and have met her mother (foreground), who is a dedicated caretaker, despite her many other responsibilities as a member of a subsistence farming family.
picture by Bonnie Chen
