10:57 p.m. - 2007-10-21
Yuma^2
I wasn't really going to write tonight, but I figured I'd be up for a long while for no apparent reason anyway. So why not. Lots have happened.

So I went with Yannine and Mariel to go buy her mom and sister a gift for their birthdays. We bought and I came home to find out my mom wants to get my dog Tara euthanized. She hadn't been eating at all for the past three days before and it seemed like she just wanted to pass on. So I said my good byes that night since my mom would bring her in the morning I was heading for Yuma. I admit, as she grew older I grew apart from her, but she was still my first pet. If I think about her a lot I start to tear up but I know she was suffering. My mom took her to the vet Friday morning and she passed. We're getting her ashes Thursday.

Well, Friday I left for Yuma. Ended up being just Elda and I. We went to Redlands as usual and picked up students. They have a nice eating area and food. The ride was a long one since we took some streets. We set up the tent pretty well. (Later comments on that). The first day we just mellowed out. Went to this sweat thing at this guy's backyard. He had a dome shaped hut with a hole in the middle of the floor inside. It was a cleansing ritual. All of the girls went in bunched together while hot rocks were brought in. The temperature in that hut reached 130 plus humidity no doubt. We prayed for various reasons and people and Phil, I think his name was, chanted Native American chants. We sweated out our impurities of the city. It was a pretty awesome experience being in such a hut.

The next day we were set on cleaning the river. We broke into groups and oddly, my group went to go clean up the backyard of Phil where the sweat was held. So, we swept up leaves, picked up the leftover bottles and trash, removed the rocks used, etc. Got it all done pretty quick and got dropped off back at where we were camped at (which was a park). Finishing at 10:30ish, we had absolutely nothing else to do so by recommendation from our guide, we head to the museum. After a long walk, we get to the top of the hill and it's pretty deserted. The museum of course, is closed (though the sign says it's supposed to be open). We hang out and enjoy the view for a bit before going back to camp to wait for others to get done working. We get back, it's like 11 and we just chill and talk. The first two girls who come back have their legs covered in muddy water. What'd we do? Clean a backyard. I kinda did want to go and help the others with the river cleaning but I'd get lost trying to find them. Anyway, eventually everyone gets back tired and dirty and we all devour burritos from the local Mexican restaurant.

Nighttime came a small festival for us. Tribal songs and dances accompany Thanksgiving type dinner. I am already tired from not sleeping well the night before so I just try to mellow out and wait till the bus ride back to camp. Had the most awesome time watching the sky with all it's stars. Even saw two awesome shooting stars in the sky. When I'm tired, I get spurts of activeness and spurts of tiredness. So yea, fun fun.

Which reminds me.

I got to know Saul a little bit better. I've seen him and talked to him various times at U-cash events but never really got to know him until this trip. Hmm, well, I think there's a whole love/hate thing going on. I mean, he threw the first fighting words at me, and then I threw the physical objects at him (well, ice down the back). I was going to retaliate after he threw a cup of water at me, but that was the day I turned into a zombie.

So leading into the night. We finally get back to camp and check out the bonfire they've set up under the bridge nearby. It's just a bunch of logs propped up and set on fire. But we roast smores over it anyway. An interesting bum on the train tracks above us starts to yell something about 'wanting his pussy' which of course, entertains us all. Elda and I start to feel the effects of exhaustion and we head for bed. 1am, I am awoken by a blast of wind just banging on the tent. The wind continues and I sleep 1 hour, and wake 1 hour. It continues until I feel the need to pee and I get up contemplating on whether I can make it to the restrooms and back alive by myself. I consider that bringing my pocketknife might keep me safe if need be, but then re-consider that my blade is 1 1/2 inches long and my reflexes will not give me those 10 seconds I need to actually get the blade open. So I ask Elda to accompany me. Which brings me to another side story.

After getting back from working oh so hard in the backyard of the sweat hut, we girls go to the restroom to find a sandwich bag filled with bloody cotton balls and a needle protruding from it right next to the toilet. Woah. The guides told us there were dangerous bums around, but I didn't think we'd actually encounter something like that.

So, Elda and I get to the restroom ok and I'm pretty much awake and some thought comes to Elda's mind to call Johnny to tell him about the wind storm. We talk about our bad luck with the wind and end our conversation as we hear people shuffling in their tents (probably from being woken up with our voices). So we try to sleep again and the wind teams up with the tent to murder me in my sleep. The tent is literally over my face because the wind is blowing so hard. When morning comes, the wind is still blowing hard as ever and in the daylight we see that our tent is the only one that's half caved in from the wind! Wtf? I think we just chose a bad location to set up or something. So we try to get our tent packed as best we could. But not before playing parachute with the top. Absolute fun. I was such a zombie this morning from lack of sleep in the night. Also tired from being gringy all weekend.

We load onto the bus a while later. We drive to some wetlands where the project has been pretty successful and our guide tells us about the plants. We learn, eat and get back on the bus. Ride home, drop off Redlands students, get to CSULA and wait just a little while for Elda's dad to pick us up.

When I finally get home, filled with dust from the winds of Yuma my parents are ready to go to dinner with me. I have to jump in the shower and scrub so get the dirt, bug spray, suntan lotion off me. Eat a bunch, which I realize is a bad idea after standing up and go get desert ironically.

I think my stomach shrank from Yuma. I realized I didn't really eat much. Apple for breakfast usually, yogurt, some chips. Not like last year. But I guess I'm healthier for a few days.

So tired right now.

One thing that did sadden me a bit was not seeing Tara on her blanket when I came home. I always greeted her when I came home or left. It'll be weird not seeing her there anymore.

-keren