Day 165

I never really slept last night either. Around 5 am or so, A and I tried to lie down to rest, but as I was on the uncomfy office couch, it was a light sleep. When the new midwife came in at 8 am for shift change, A and I both looked terrible. Our hair was sticking out in all directions and we looked like we'd be partying it up all night. We took one look at each other and cracked up. It's moments like these that I'll miss a lot.

She drove home and I went off to sleep in my own bed for a few hours. In the afternoon, she picked me up and we made a trip to Maternidad La Luz, which is the other independent birth center in El Paso. There tends to be a lot of "us vs them" talk when it comes to the two clinics, with rumors of each one saying or thinking they're better than the other, whether it's in terms of prices, care provided to clients, or training provided to students. I don't like the way midwives cut each other down sometimes, especially in such a marginalized career. The medical establishment criticizes us enough, we don't need to do it to ourselves, too. Anyway, in our attempt to break down the barriers in communication with MLL, A and I just drove over there (3 minutes away, across the freeway) and introduced ourselves. The interns were pretty nice and gave us a tour of the clinic, the intern living areas, and the classrooms. I will admit that I loved the way their clinic was decorated, with lots of ethnic artwork and bright colors.

The MLL clinic is in a two-story craftsman home, so the walkways and rooms are much more cramped than our open clinic, but it definitely had a homier feel. I'm really glad we made the effort to go and be nice, because now I'll have more of a reference to use when comparing the two clinics. Ooh, and they also have a jacuzzi birth tub, which was nice to see.

After our field trip, A and I went back to her house, where she very generously cooked dinner for us while I entertained her girls. Because they loved the earrings I made them so much, I brought along two trays of seed beads, girly beads, and the fixings for earrings that we could make together. They were thrilled! Each girl made four pair of earrings, plus one pair for me and one for their mom. The beads and their stories and the combing/styling of my hair and all the "do you wanna see___" moments kept us entertained for hours. I love hanging out with them. They almost make me want to have two children. Almost.

After a delicious dinner of organic, free-range chicken curry, potatoes, tomato-basil-mozzarella salad, and cantaloupe (real food!), the whole family took a walk around the neighborhood. It was still 95 degrees out, but without the sun beating down, it was more than tolerable and I didn't even have to put my hair up. Her husband works by selling on eBay, so we had a great conversation about the benefits of having a store and the logistics of shipping. I bragged about my Nancy Drew first edition best sell and he told me about how he once sold a Beatles record for something like $2500. It was an honor to have been adopted by them for the evening.

Oh, and on our walk, we somehow got on the topic of slang and how different words are used around the country. A has worked with students from nearly every state and more than a few different countries, so she's heard a lot. But, she ain't never heard some of our Bay Area slang! I made her laugh with my instructions on the proper use of the words "janky," "hella," "fa sho," and "holla." It was hilarious to hear her try to use them in our conversation, because I realized how silly we must sound in the Bay Area sometimes. If anyone has suggestions for other words or phrases I can share, lemme know. Or, actually, holla!