Month: July 2019

Babies make lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk, but 10,000 years ago, babies after weaning could no longer make that enzyme and could no longer digest milk.

Some time in the interval between then and now, men started raising livestock in the form of camels and cattle and over many generations humans evolved to continue lactase production into adulthood. That meant that humans were able to continue drinking milk throughout their lives. Before that happened, people would remove the lactose sugar from milk by fermenting it.

From our domesticated cattle, we receive many gifts – milk, cheese and butter. Thanks to Louis Pasteur’s experiments, the modern world has pasteurization – a process using heat to kill any microorganisms that might be in the milk. Through homogenization, cream no longer separates from the other components of commercially sold milk.

In my father’s time, growing up in the Bronx before the Great Depression, you brought your aluminum containers to a local shop where milk was ladled out of a big milk can. Later on, glass bottles would be delivered to homes. Now you buy it in stores in bottles, containers or plastic bags, depending on where you live. As with much of our food in First World countries, people have lost touch with nature and your packaged foods no longer resemble their original form (think ground beef, hot dogs, etc.).

Here in farm country, it is quite different. Your chicken was probably running around the yard a few hours ago. Fruits are picked off the trees and sugar cane is in its natural state in the sugar cane fields. And so it is with milk.

A while back, I passed a sign on one of the local roads that indicated they sold “leche caliente” (literally “hot milk”). I was curious as to why someone would be selling hot milk and was told this was what they called raw milk. It is caliente because it comes straight from the cow, and therefore is warm from the cow’s warm body.

Yesterday, I had my first taste of this milk. My neighbor and I were hiking and went up to her family dairy farm. There we saw the cats, dogs, horses and the milk cows with their calves.

It appeared that the cows were not milked dry, but some was left for the thirsty calves. During milking, the hind legs of the cows were tied together, and when it was time for them to join their calves, they were untied and shooed out to pasture.

We were all offered some leche caliente, and I was a bit hesitant at first, so I watched the process unfold. First, a little chocolate powder was placed into each glass, and then about 5 or 10ml of alcohol was added to kill any germs that might be there.

The teat of the cow was cleaned and then the milk squirted directly into the glass.

Then it was time to drink the finished product. I felt that since everyone was having it, and no one had a history of becoming sick from it, that it was safe to drink. I normally don’t like warm milk, but it tasted pretty good – maybe the addition of chocolate helped.

Two people did get upset stomachs from it later on, but it turns out that they both were lactose intolerant and drank the milk anyway. This morning I let them know about products like Lactase that they probably can get here.

For me, this morning I had really bad stomach cramps and some diarrhea, lasting several hours, but I am fine now. Possibly from not being used to raw milk. Some foods do bother me here, but probably because my system is not used to it – such as beans (frijoles) being a staple and served with breakfast, lunch and dinner.

So – such are the pleasures and pain that comes from exploring the cuisines around the world. Until next time – have a great day !

Today I want to talk about another personal experience, which illustrates how we humans could be one inclusive community throughout the entire world, if only we would choose that path.

Since moving into my house at the end of 2016, I had been involved in the life of a neighbor who has a disability. Many of us in the village looked out for her and helped her out so that she could be as independent as possible in her own home.

And then she started to become sick. She was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. An advanced stage by the time it was diagnosed. Now, except for my parents and son, my experience with illness has always been in a hospital in my capacity as a registered nurse. I was sure that procedures, laws may be different here in Mexico, so I consulted with my Mexican nurse friend to see how things worked here – consents, hospice, attitudes about end-of-life care.

Meanwhile, because this neigbor had a mental disability, I wasn’t sure if there were any differences in verbal interactions with a mentally challenged adult versus one who had full mental capacity.

And for this, I am forever grateful to live in a time that has the wonder of the internet. It is not only a way to show cat photos to the world (of which I am guilty) or arguing with someone whom you have never met (also guilty) but it is a treasure-trove of information and a way for people to connect in the most meaningful ways.

There are many online groups of like-minded people who can connect for various reasons – politically, religiously, professionally. One of my groups is a network of professionals, mainly nurses, started when Joy Behar made her famous “why was she wearing a doctor’s stethoscope” remark (Keep this in mind if anyone wants to publicly impugn the abilities of a nurse. P*ss off one nurse, and you’ll be doing it to all of us.).

Anyway, I put the question out there to connect with anyone who had experience with this type of patient and two nurses answered. I seemed to have more of a rapport with one of them, so I thanked the first one and continued conversations with the second nurse, who lives in the United States.

Over the course of two months, I received advice and much-needed emotional support for which I will be forever grateful, as I was second-guessing myself quite a bit. I was better able to explain things to the family and give the family and this woman the proper kind of emotional support and explain each step of the end of life process because of my conversations with this wonderful hospice nurse. Many years ago, this would never have been possible.

My neighbor passed away in her own home, in her own bed last Thursday, surrounded by family and friends. The process here is that an ambulance was called, they came and pronounced her, and then the funeral home was called. She passed at 6pm, but the funeral home did not come until after midnight. The village church rang its bells at her passing.

The next day, a tent was erected in the street in front of her house. Seats were placed under the tent where we sat, prayed, talked, while having juice and soup. Her living room had been cleared out and the casket was inside, in front of a red screen, with lit candles and flowers around it, and a picture of her dressed up for a friend’s wedding.

At 4 pm there was a funeral mass, after which her casket was put into the hearse. The hearse then proceeded to the cemetery at a walking pace, since all of us in the village who were attending walked the approximately one mile to the cemetery right behind the hearse.

This is the rainy season, but fortunately it did not begin to rain until we were almost at the cemetery. For those who wished to see her one last time, the head of the casket was held open, and shortly thereafter, she was placed in her grave.

Being a Catholic country, the custom is to have the tent outside the house for 9 days, during which prayers are held every evening (a Novena). But with the rains, the tent was taken down and prayers are held inside her house. After prayers, various snacks are served, such as hot chocolate and pastries.

I like many of the traditions here, which emphasize family and caring for one another. Beginning after the death and for 9 days following the funeral, people gather to talk about the departed, comfort one another, pray, eat, give emotional support and allow grieving.

Through technology I was able to deal with being retired, being in a foreign country whose language is not my first language, and not being familiar with the customs and details of caring for a person with her specific needs.

All of humanity has different languages and customs, but underneath we are all brothers and sisters, and I am grateful for this extended worldwide family that technology and being born at the right time in history has allowed me to experience. My one wish for the world is for all of us to incorporate this feeling of “one-ness” into our innermost beings.

Greetings to everyone, wherever you are. I noticed that after my last post about the eye bank I had more visits than in the more than 3 years that I have been writing this blog.

While my purpose is to alert people to the unexpected situations in which they might find themselves in a foreign country, and how I was able to handle those experiences, I also wanted to share the culture and daily lives of the people of my adopted country.

However, I know that you may have questions or wish to learn about other aspects of life abroad, or of Rotary, and so I am sending out this message to all of you – Is there any new topic you would like covered? Anything into which you would like me to dig more deeply?

Please send me your comments, critiques, and I will be happy to address them and create more content in which you are interested. That would include any comments about my writing style – I will not be offended as long as your critique is constructive.

Thank you again for following along with me in my journey through life. Take care and I eagerly await your comments and suggestions. Have a great day !!!!!

Greetings again and I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, wherever you are. Last October I wrote about going to the Mexico-USA Friendship conference in Acapulco and my committee choosing three projects for our Rotary Club to help support. In March I talked about visiting the General Hospital of Cholula, Puebla where the eye bank will be. Now I am pleased to be able to announce that the eye bank has had its inauguration, is open for business and has had its first client from day #1.

On June 28th at 4pm, Rotary club members, hospital staff and dignitaries gathered in the General Hospital of Cholula, greeted by someone in a giant eyeball costume, complete with an optic nerve protruding from the back of the “eyeball.”

After mingling, we were called to order and presentations were given by the people up on the stage – various government ministers, the Director General of the Hospital Dr. Francisco Javier Enríquez Reyes, the head of ophthalmology Dra. Marcela Tejeda Mondragón and the president of the Club Rotario Puebla Campestre Real Mónica (Maby) Flores.

After the speeches we were led into the eye bank. There we were able to see the culmination of all the efforts of Rotary in collaboration with the hospital administration and staff. There was a table set up with gleaming new instruments. There was a new refrigerator which enabled storage of the donated corneas.

For me, the crown jewel was the microscope. This instrument did not resemble what you would think of when you hear the word “microscope.” It was a cylinder set on top of a square container next to a computer screen which was also attached to a printer. The cornea is placed into the microscope and its image appears greatly enlarged on the screen. This enables the doctors to view it in great detail at the cellular level and detect any problems which might disqualify it from being transplanted. I must say that I am constantly amazed at the progress in the field of medicine just in my lifetime, but that is a post for another day.

After the tour there was a reception during which we had many separate discussions with our colleagues from this endeavor. In addition, several more short speeches were made, including by Dra. Tejeda Mondragón and Mónica Flores.

While the inauguration was the purpose, and would be the highlight, of my trip, there was still more to come. After a good night’s rest, it was time for a road trip.

The Rotary year begins on July 1st with dinners officially celebrating the changing of the guard being held around this time. This dinner was for the district governor of Rotary District 4185, which includes the states of Puebla, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Morelos and Guerrero.

The dinner was being held in Veracruz, so after spending the night with Maby and her family, we packed ourselves into their car and off we went – me, Maby, her husband, son and daughter.

I slept for part of the way, and for part admired the landscape on the way, including wind farms. On arrival, we checked into the Galería Plaza Hotel, where the dinner would be held, and it turned out that I had a very nice room overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. The dinner started at 8:30pm so we had plenty of time to relax.

The dinner began with traditional dancers, speeches, presentation of the outgoing district governor (Ing. Cipriano Navarro Maya) and the incoming governor (Jesús Pita Barcelata). Plenty of photos were taken and a delicious dinner was served. Kudos from this gringa from New York to whomever prepared the menu. Only a single hot/spicy (picante) item, which was a crouton floating in the crab soup. The rest was delicious and thoroughly enjoyed.

I don’t even remember what time I returned to my room for a good night’s rest, refreshed in the morning and ready to see some of the sights of Veracruz before returning to Colima on my 4:30pm flight.

As I said, Veracruz is right on the Gulf of Mexico, so it reminded me of many little seaside towns on the east coast of the U.S. Souvenirs had mainly seaside themes, the fresh fish was absolutely delicious and one tourist attraction reminded me of Acapulco. In Acapulco there were cliff divers who earned money by having tourists watch them dive from cliffs into narrow stretches of water. The divers in Veracruz would dive from the docks to retrieve coins tossed into the water. I noticed that when they stood up, the water was only waist deep. However, a ship was also docked a little ways away. I was told that the ground beneath the water was flat until it almost reached the ship and then there is a steep drop.

After touring Veracruz, we went to the airport, where I was told I could not take my flowers on board. Maby had given me a nice bouquet and I believed that since I was still traveling within Mexico I could take them with me. I was told by the agent that it was not allowed, that it didn’t matter if I was not leaving the country. I don’t know if she was correct or not, so Maby kept the flowers and I kept the wooden box in which they came.

So there ends my latest tale, but I will leave you with one thought. How lucky I am to be part of such a wonderful organization such as Rotary International – a worldwide volunteer organization. I have been blessed to meet so many wonderful, caring humanitarians whose volunteer work makes the world a better place one person and one project at a time.

If you have a Rotary club near you, you might want to check it out, be a guest at a meeting and see what we do. If you are not inclined to join, you may want to help them in some of their activities. In addition, or even instead of, it is a wonderful experience to travel and meet other people from different countries, different cultures. You will see that deep down we are not so different after all.

And so – adiós until next time!