La venganza de Montezuma

So today was rather horrible. Nate & I have been having some minor stomach issues the past few days, but not bad. Nate was a lot better this morning, but I am horribly sick with a bad intestinal infection from who knows what. And Madelynn was doing fine until this morning, she just randomly started vomiting all over. After we went to the doctor, we found out that she actually has an infection in her throat that is making her vomit. Probably from something she put in her mouth. A few days ago at a restaurant we all ate at, there was a little fountain with water coming out of it that she just wouldn't leave alone. She kept putting her fingers in it and licking them, and we just couldn't stop her fast enough. So that's my best guess for why she is sick. Unfortunately, Nate was at school when we woke up horribly sick (I had been really sick since the night before but thought I was getting better) and we hadn't gotten our cell phones yet, so I couldn't call him. Our Senora called one of the program directors and talked to her, and she was able to tell Nate, and then she and her sister (Tia Lupita) drove us to the University to pick up Nate and then take us to the doctor. The doctor was very good- he spent a lot of time talking to us, asking questions and examining each of us to find out what was wrong. And it was so much cheaper, too- only $40 total for both me and Madelynn together, plus he gave us some medicine and some shots that were included in that price. I was very impressed with the clinic and the doctor. The doctor even called later to check on how we were doing, and was available directly by phone later this evening when I suddenly started vomiting. So we've got all sorts of medicine to take now. One of them I think is similar to pepto bismol, but it's bright yellow and looks like snot, so that's hard to swallow. I almost barfed earlier when I was taking that, even though the flavor wasn't so bad. We bought some electrolyte drinks, too, to help rehydrate, but those taste awful, so Nate went back out and got a bunch of gatorade. Seriously, right now the gatorade tastes like heaven. Unfortunately, I'm also craving pizza and french fries, which I unfortunately cannot satisfy without becoming even more sick. So, gatorade it is!
We're having a really hard time adjusting to the heat. Even though it's a dry heat, it's still horribly uncomfortable. But, when it's 90+ degrees outside, the air is still tolerable to breath- it's not suffocating like in more humid areas. (Oh, I do not miss the humidity of Iowa.) So now I am missing the gloomy, rainy Oregon weather. Didn't think I'd miss it this soon- I couldn't wait to leave it last week! And most places don't have air conditioning, so we're just constantly hot, even with a fan blowing air on us at night when it cools down significantly. Our Senora told us that we needed to sleep with our window closed and the fan blowing air towards the ceiling. Yeah.. we tried that for about 20 minutes, and it was awful, so we'll just have to hide the fact that we're still sleeping with the window open, otherwise it's suffocatingly hot in here.
I didn't realize that there were so many cultural differences here. I mean, I knew there would be some differences, but I didn't realize how strongly they would feel about them. Here is a list:
1. No one puts ice in their soup to cool it off. They thought I was crazy when I asked for some ice to cool off Madelynn's soup so she could eat it.
2. The only people I notice wearing shorts are gringos. I went to the store yesterday to look for some more shorts for Madelynn, and there were only pants! Better hope that her shorts last her the entire trip.
3. Apparently, it is completely unacceptable for parents to share utensils with their children, like when I lick the bottom of a spoonful of yogurt before feeding it to Madelynn so it won't make a mess.
4. I don't know if this is a cultural thing or just our Senora's rules- we can't go barefoot in the house. (Except when we run from our room to the bathroom.) They think that our feet are dirty and will make the floors dirty.
5. We aren't allowed to eat anywhere except at the kitchen table. So Madelynn isn't allowed to have a snack while watching Elmo. (We have food hidden in our room, though, and are sneaky about it.) Having drinks in our room, especially agua, seems to be okay.
6. It seems as though there are certain times of the day when we aren't allowed to wash our clothes. Thus, I have no clean clothes left and am wearing Nate's last pair of clean shorts besides the one's he is currently wearing.
7. Apparently you can drive on whatever part of the road you feel like and can make a left turn from any lane you feel like. There are no lane dividers. And the speed limit seems to be optional, as does signaling for turns. But you still can't run red lights (as we found out the other day when our Senora got a ticket).
8. Sidewalks are random and there are no handicap-friendly roads. I haven't seen a single person in a wheelchair outside, and have only seen a few in the Plaza del Parque (a mall near us) which is the only wheelchair-accesible building I have seen. And pushing a stroller is a major feat. Sometimes there are sidewalks, though they are often uneven and sometimes have steps, and the neighborhood streets are made mostly out of cobblestone or brick. Looks interesting, but a major pain in the butt to push a stroller. I wish we had a jogging stroller with those big tires. I'm certain that Madelynn's stroller is going to collapse at any moment, and she has a pretty sturdy one, too.