I have spent the last ten days traipsing around Oaxaca doing field work, and I write this from my room here in Villa Sola de Vega - at the clinic!  That’s right I am staying the rest of my time here sleeping in the clinic.  There is a room with bunk beds and the offered to let us stay here and since it is free and kind of fun we thought why not.  It is really eerie being here when everyone has gone home.  There is no shower here and I can’t do any laundry so… needless to say I am not my cleanest most beautiful self.

I have had a really wild couple of days.  Last night (Monday) as we left the clinic and locked up we saw a pregnant girl and her family walking towards us.  She talked to the nurse and it was decided that this 17 year old girl was in labour with her 2^nd child.  The doctor was already home but I was really happy that the nurse went to find him and ask if he would come back to check her.  He did return and even decided to attend the birth at the health centre.  Of course I was really excited that I would be able to see a delivery here in Mexico.  I observed some of the checks and mostly waited to see how things would advance.  She arrived at 7:30pm and by 2:00am she was 8cm dilated.  Her membranes had ruptured naturally but she was not advancing so they had to make the decision to refer her to the closest hospital - still nearly two hours away.  The girl was really scared and didn’t want to go to the hospital so I felt terrible that she had to.  I of course didn’t go in the ambulance but heard this morning that she was attended there but when they left at 6am she had still not advanced and likely would ‘need’ a c-section.  Although a birth would have been more interesting I was happy to see the referral process in action and see how it worked outside a research study.

Today we spent the morning working on charts which is starting to get a little boring.  There is a festival in Oaxaca right now so there are lots of parties and activities.  Today there was a rodeo and since I was specifically invited by the doctor and nurse I went.  The transport of choice was the municipality’s ambulance.  When we arrived the activities had not started so we were served a meal.  The meal was some unidentified meat full with bones smothered with some type of chilli sauce and a spoonful of refried beans.  I took a tortilla and draped it over my food to hide that fact that I had not touched it, although I did drink the pop we were given which tasted like sparkling jello.  Within five minutes I knew the whole trip was a mistake.  The whole thing was mean to the animals and I wanted to go over and stroke them and tell them everything would be ok.  Soon my fears turned to the participants.  The first bull rider got his chest thrown against the metal fence, the doctor ran over to tend to him.  Within about 15 minutes he returned and said everything was fine.  I thought really fine!?!?!?  Soon into the event it started to rain so we all piled into the back of the ambulance opened the doors and watched the events from there.  It didn’t take long for another accident, this time the rider was dragged around the ring banging against the railing.  Somehow he emerged and we again did not take him back to the health clinic.  The next incident was similar to the last where the rider was hanging by one ankle and I distinctly saw his skull smash into the metal railing.  It was so traumatic and overwhelming that I started both crying and laughing from shock.  I jumped out of the ambulance as the injured came to be tended to.  Every time to my shock and amazement the doctor laughed looked them over and sent them on their way.  Besides the injured we had a few diabetes patients come in for shots as well as sick women and children who came in to be checked.  We realized that although the doctor found the event entertaining he was required to be there.  Today was the small bulls and tomorrow are the big ones which I will be sure to avoid.  The event went on for hours and I couldn’t wait for it to be over.  By the last couple of hours I sat in the front seat of the ambulance and read my book with the doors locked.  There were a lot of drunk men, and by drunk I mean so drunk that they could not even remotely stand up without help and were escorted out many times yet stumbled back in.  There was one town drunk that had bothered me a little the day before when I was taking pictures of the church and I was not excited to see him there even more drunk than before.  It is no surprise that the main agricultural product of the area is Mezcal (a local alcohol).  I had a few ‘friends’ who stood outside the window to peer in.  Needless to say it was an extremely uncomfortable afternoon.

Although I expected excitement and unique experiences I wasn’t quite prepared for the events of Oaxaca.