i have piojos

(the following was written on Monday)
So, last week my head started itching. I figured that this was normal, seeing as I had been swimming in the pool every day, all week. I thought my scalp was dry or something. But when I realized that the itching was caused by bumps on my head instead of flaky whiteness, I began to suspect that something more devious than dandruff was at work. I had Elizabeth (the reluctant expert on piojos) check my head between church and Sabbath school this past Sabbath, and she discovered that yes, (you probably guessed it by now) I have lice. I spent the rest of my Sabbath trying not to think too much about the little bugs living in my hair, but I just couldn't help it. Because it was Sabbath I knew that I couldn't do anything about the infestation until Sunday, but I also knew that Sunday would provide ample time to rid myself of the little mites as thouroghly and methodically as possible. So yesterday we started the process--washing most of my clothes and sheets, setting my mattress out in the sun for most of the day, and treating my hair with various poisons and combing-out treatments. Elizabeth said that compared to most of the kids I only had a few lice, but to me it seemed as though they were numerous. It didn't help that the "lice-killing" shampoo didn't kill all of the little buggers. Today we continued the process, and when Elizabeth searched my hair for nits, picking them out one by one (yes, this is where the term "nit-picky" came from), she found a few more live lice. After swimming lessons I combed my hair out again, and I found a few more live ones as well. I'm not too sure that the shampoo worked it's magic on my head at all. But at least the number of lice and eggs keeps dwindling. I will continue to comb my hair for bugs and we will have the privilege of repeating the shampoo process in ten days.
(now, written today)
Today is Thanksgiving, and it really doesn't seem all that different than any other day. I was reminded of the special day this morning as my roommate talked on the phone to her fiance, wishing him a happy Thanksgiving, but I didn't feel happy about it. But something happened during the work time today: I was working with my work group raking up leaves between two staff houses and Marla was working on painting inside one of these houses with her group. She happened to be standing outside, cleaning brushes, when out of nowhere she said to me, "Happy Thanksgiving, Brittany." I felt so happy. I had been picking up the leaves that my kids had raked and it was a bit windy, so along with the holiday wishes it really felt like fall. Plus, it struck me as particularly heart-warming because we were just the right distance away from each other that it felt like we were neighbors, working in our yards and exchanging pleasantries in all friendliness. It really made me smile, and I was thankful to have a friend like Marla.

'tis the season

I love Mami Yani. Last Friday night I was coming back from taking a walk with some of the girls when I saw them: flashing lights. Multi-colored lights. Christmas lights! Mami Yani had beaten everyone else by breaking out the Christmas decorations early. She asked me to help put up the lights, and I was only too happy to oblige. I smiled to myself as I wound the string of lights around and around the metal bars covering our windows, and even laughed when I discovered the lights' special feature: music. The lights came complete with a little box on the end that emitted cheesy christmas carols in MIDI format. Now usually I would be appalled at the earliness of the Christmas festivities--I mean, it's not even Thanksgiving yet (I just realized yesterday that Thanksgiving was this Thursday, but last Friday it still seemed a lifetime away). I'm rather picky about the Hollidays--the Christmas season must not start before Thanksgiving, and even the day after Thanksgiving is a bit early for my tastes. Also, Christmas carols must be in a minor key or be connected with my childhood in some way--O Come, O Come Emmanuel and the Carpenters' Christmas album are OK, Celine Dion or Mariah Carey singing a warmed-over version of Deck the Halls or Joy to the World are not. But this time was different. Putting up the lights I didn't care that it was early. I didn't care that the Christmas carols coming from the little boxes of joy were not my usual favorites. Instead, I enjoyed myself thouroughly. I was so excited, I ran inside to get my camera and we spent the next hour taking pictures of the lights and with the lights, along with the new conejito (bunny), Piccachu, who had recently joined the Mami Yani family. It was great.
This past week has been the first week of Summer classes (I don't understand why it's summer, when really, we're still in the Northern hemisphere, and technically are experiencing winter). I am teaching four sections of swimming classes. I have never taught someone how to swim before, but so far, things are going well. Pretty much all of the kids know how to swim at least a little, so Marla and I (Marla's a fellow SM) have been concentrating on teaching the kids how to do the Freestyle and backstroke. Some of them can't float on their back, so that has made it a little difficult, but all-in-all, I think that the kids are really improving. If nothing else, all of the kids have swum in the deep end, conquering any fear they may have of the pool.
Another week is coming to an end and I'm realizing how quickly the time is flying by. I was drawing pictures with some of the boys in my house last night, and I realized how much I actually loved them. Though they may be annoying sometimes, I'm gonna miss them.
This week in my work group the girls ran away from me two days in a row--one time armed with kumas, which are curved blades about a foot and a half long used for cutting grass, and the other time only one of the girls had a kuma. Needless to say, it was interesting. But I'm learning that sometimes saying something in a serious, "you're getting on my nerves" manner doesn't always work as well as a quiet, grave tone. We talked together as a group after work today and rated each other on their work time. I think that next week will be better.
Speaking of next week, Thanksgiving is next week! A volunteer group is here from Nebraska (bearing gifts from Uncle Dwayne and Aunt Joanie--thanks!!) and they have offered to cook us all Thanksgiving dinner! I'm very excited, but I hope that their pumpkin pie lives up to my standards.

infestations

My, so much has happened since I last wrote! First of all, the day of my last entry, I went home and found out that the substitute parents, Mami Yani and Papi Chepe, would be taking over our house the following day. I was so relieved! Things have been so much more peaceful and organized in our house ever since. I feel secure that if there's something that I can't handle, I can rest assured that Mami Yani will take care of it.
The following Sabbath was Communion Sabbath, and I really felt the Lord's provision for me then. When it was time to wash our feet, I didn't know where to go, but Mami Yani showed me. Then once we were outside, I asked one of the girls if they were going to wash their feet, but they said they couldn't because they weren't baptized yet. So I looked around for someone to wash feet with, and this woman was there under a tree with her daughter. I don't know who she was, and I'm sad to say, that even though she told me her name at the end, I have forgotten it. Anyway, she offered to wash my feet, and it was just such a blessing. She was so kind and helpful, and didn't laugh at my prayer in broken Spanish. Then, when I went back into the sanctuary, I sat down and felt like ready my Bible. I knew I felt like reading a Psalm, but I didn't know which one, since I haven't read the Psalms a whole lot. So I did something I don't usually do--I just opened my Bible somewhere in the middle. My eye fell on Psalm 63, and it was exactly what I was hoping for. The words spoke to me, and I felt at peace. It was wonderful.
Now for the main topic of this blog: infestations. No, it does not seem like a happy topic, but it must be broached. Last Tuesday I came back from my day off and picked a skirt to wear to culto. I picked one I hadn't worn in a while, and when I shook it out to get rid of the wrinkles, ants went flying about the room and something that looked like grains of rice hit the floor. My roommate and I were appalled, and I actually screamed. We tried to kill them all by squashing them with our feet, but there were too many, so we broke out the can of Raid and sprayed as many ants as we could. Then, to our horror and chagrin, we discovered that the two neighboring skirts were infested as well! We took out the skirts and washed them at the pila, then swept the room and mopped. It was an undertaking that took a good 45 minutes, so we ended up missing culto. Along the way, we discovered that the "grains of rice" had eyes. They were ant larvae! I was thouroughly disgusted. Ugh.
Another type of infestation is that of germs. I have acquired my first "cold" recently, complete with sneezing, nasal drainage, and achiness. Whoever came up with the term "cold" in referring to the symptoms I have just mentioned obviously thought that such an illness could only be encountered in northern climates. I have not felt cold for some time now, and yet, I have a cold. Go figure.
Also, while picking up piles of leaves with my work group yesterday, we discovered an infestation of glass in the grass. I spent quite a long time scouring the lawn for more fragments of glass, but just when I thought I'd seen them all, another one would pop up. Very exciting. My kids got impatient with me. Oh well.
Anyway, that's about all for now. We will be starting summer classes on Monday and I will be teaching four classes of swimming. This will be exciting.