Eaten Alive!

Well, we´re back from the coast, and we had a wonderful time! Neto´s mom is doing quite well, but gets dizzy spells and nasuea for a few days at a time. She was just fine while we were there, but I guess it kind of knocks her out when she has a spell. She was so happy to see us, especially the kids, and Neto spent several evenings visiting with his mom and siblings once the kids were in bed - lots of laughs! They speak in Zapoteco, of course, so if I´m there they end up translating everything for me or just speaking Spanish for my benefit. But I love hearing the language and trying to pick out the words I know. Unfortunately the words I know aren´t as interesting: tomato, tortilla, good morning, etc. I´m trying to learn, but I quickly become reminded that it was hard at first when I learned Spanish.

We mostly spent our time hanging out and helping out, Neto and his brother clearing our lot where we want to build. It is a great lot, and apparently lots of people keep offering to buy it. I guess that just after we bought it last year the town decided they wanted to make a park there with a soccer/basketball court, and they tried to make them sell it back to the town. Luckily, Neto´s family are strong-willed people and there was nothing the town could do. They are building another court across town that will be nice, so I don´t feel too bad. The little house that is there is in need of lots of repair. We had originally thought we´d tear it down to build a big house, but we realized that it really just needs a new roof and a few minor fix-ups, and it could serve as extra living space or a shed. It´s just a one-room space with two doors and no windows (we can easily put in a couple windows), but that´s a project we´re leaving for later. We´ve decided to build a fence around the property first, because the hope is that Neto´s family can use most of the space for a produce garden and have that as a source of income. The problem is that many animals come by - chickens roam freely, (I still can´t figure out whose chicken´s my mother-in-law is feeding, as she only has three and there are at least a dozen who come to eat the corn she puts out every day!), and horses get loose and eat otehr people´s grass and flowers, etc. Anyway, we´ll have a fence made of cement block to about knee-height, then wire fencing up to about 8 feet, with a couple big doors for getting in and out with a truck or car, or by foot. This will take up most of the savings we have, so the house plans will have to wait. It´s so exciting to be doing something with the place, though, and hopefully helping out Neto´s family with an alternative source of income. The fish and seafood is so depleted right now, no one is getting anything they can make a living off of.

So, why the title for this entry, you may ask? Mosquitoes - how can something so tiny impact one´s state of sanity so much?!?! I estimate about 300 or more bites on my body alone (judging from the 100 or so I counted on only one calf and foot). It seems like a lot, but really a bite that just looks really big is actually a cluster of 5 or 6 bites. Eric is equally bitten, and Anna a little bit. When there are so many bites in one area (both Eric and I seem to get bitten mostly in the calf/ankle area) it makes the itching quite excruciating. I keep intending to wear socks but it was so hot I couldn´t bring myself to do it some days. But, we´re both over the hump of the itching, and have some local remedies for next time, I hope. If they don´t work, I am actually considering some real repellent, which makes me shocked at myself, but it really is bad - especially for Eric. Neto, of course, is unaffected. I don´t get it. If anyone has some wisdom on mosquitoes please write! In the meantime, we´ll jsut keep plugging along.