Rights, fights and the freedom to live

I've noticed here in San Vicente, most women get pregnant at age 15 or 16 (sometimes as early as 13 or 14) and spend the rest of their lives in their house. They never leave, Amas de la casa as they're called, never, ever leave their house, they feel like they have to be there in the house all day every day. The kids go to the market after school for anything they need, and the husbands go out and work. I've started to purposly have my charlas at Ferney's house, instead of one of the houses of the women, to force them to walk across the market, and by the muni. Just to get them out. I then talk about the different foods they can get at the markets in Sija and Xela, and the health benefits of eating different types of food instead of beans and tamalitos everyday. I'm not sure if this is working, but I did notice that many kids had pasta salad packed for lunch the other day, one of the recipies we made in my cooking class with lots of veggies and no fried food!

I've also started to have protemas (freeze dried soy protein) stocked in some of the stores in town, it's good because it's easy to make, and is much cheaper then meat but has the same health benefits without the fat. Today one of my cooking classes and I made rice with protemas and salsa de tomate - putting the three main food groups together, carbs, veggies and protein. And best of all, no need for oil (everything people cook here requires at least a cup of oil). I think it went well, and I'm glad the women will be able to buy protemas here in our aldea.


On a "my kitten is adorable but kind of nuts" note: My kitten is working up to catching and eating the mice out of my room by catching and eating insects. It's sort of cute, but I don't really want to cuddle when you have a few spider legs hanging out of your mouth thank you very much.

He also had to get his first rabies shot today (he was so brave!), but I couldn't watch. I walked him up to the centro de salud in my bag and we got there and I had to hand him over to someone else while he got the shot, because I couldn't stand to watch! But he survived and was very brave, and even let a two year old torture him for about fifteen minutes while I had a meeting with ver few complaints.