Feminista
Attended a Feminista meeting with M and M on Tuesday evening. Margo gave a speech on the internet in Spanish. Very impressive. Met many very interesting people including two women who print a Feminista newspaper, which I have casually left on the table for William’s family to read. Almost left my shoes in M and M’s car, but knew they were there somewhere as I could smell them. Mucho funky from the mud on the banana plantation and the Atlantic Ocean. Carmen has somehow managed to get the smell out—unbelievable. I figured I’d just have to live with every dog and cat in the city following me for the rest of my stay.
[Note from the future: I was wearing these same shoes to an event at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco and they just fell apart on me. The soles crumbled into tiny little pieces, leaving a trail everywhere I walked. I wonder if this happened because of Carmen’s cleaning.]
Wednesday I spent half the day in an internet café—a different one than I was using as I pooped in the other one after days of one of the traveler’s curses, constipation, and the toilet didn’t work. Feel sure they can’t pin it on me but am taking no chances—DNA testing and all that.
Today Carmen and I went first to a lawyer’s office where we met up with the pastor of her church and Carmen signed some type of testimonial about the church, I think to verify its existence so the pastor can go to the US to raise money. Before we left the office we all put our arms around each other, kind of like a huddle, and the pastor prayed the loudest but Carmen and the lawyer (female) ran a close second. They were all saying different things at the same time. Carmen and the lawyer said a lot of gracias and Senors and the other man, who drove us, used the word Padre a lot. I didn’t say anything. Though I heard my name mentioned by each of them a couple of times—they were probably asking the Senor in the Sky to watch over me carefully as I fell twice walking up the stairs to get there. I think the stairs are different heights. Carmen told me I need to watch my feet instead of looking around. I didn’t tell her that I just recently quit watching my feet because William told me to stop looking at them all of the time.
Carmen and I then went to an exposition for computers that was supposed to be the largest in the world. It was probably the smallest such event I’ve ever seen. The computers were very expensive compared to Dell, unless prices have soared in the past two weeks.
Afterwards, we took a bus to San Jose where we walked into some art galleries and around town a bit and then took a bus to Alisia ’s (this would be Wm’s sister Alisia II, not to be confused with Wm’s mother, Alisia I) house somewhere in outer Heredia. Also went to visit Alberto, Monica and Gilary—Patricia’s son, wife and 6-year old granddaughter. I was amazed at what this little girl can make with only a set of dominoes. Her mother also drew a picture on a piece of paper and this is what she used as a coloring book. There is no money for a real coloring book here.
Alberto made a pair of socks for me with my name on them at the sock factory where he works. The first night I was here I thought I heard William III (this would be Rosabell’s son, Wm’s nephew, William III, not Wm’s son, William II…yikes!) and Beto and Alberto talking about the various merits of bikini underpants vs. other types and sure enough, they were. William III works in a panty factory where he sews panties on a sewing machine. Alberto makes socks using some type of computer. William III mentioned that they make gigantic panties for WalMart in America and he wondered what these gigantic women looked like to need such gigantic panties. By the way, I have never told William I (my William) that men don’t call their underwear panties. I get too much of a giggle out of hearing him use the term to tell him. [Note from the future: finally had to tell William about panties as we were at Sears and he stopped a store clerk and asked him where the men’s panties were! “Why you let me say that all these years?!”]
Carmen and Alisia II tried to convince me that the world is a much more dangerous place than it used to be, but I managed somehow to tell them that they think it is more dangerous because they watch shows that feature all the bad things that happen all over the world—including much blood—and that in the past, there wasn’t a camera focused at the site of all the bad events and even if there were, the media didn’t put it on TV. Alisia looked like a light bulb had gone off in her head but I could tell Carmen remained unconvinced. Had the same conversation with William’s folks and they looked like light bulbs had turned on too. My next move will be to tell them to quit watching those programs as they are being brain washed into fear poco a poco.
Carmen went to a prayer meeting tonight. She told me that she does this every week and prays for everyone in the family including me. She’ll probably be spending more time on me after she reads the paper I left for her. It has a long pro-choice article that’s going to flip her out. Need to beef up on my Spanish pro-choice/anti-war terminology before that conversation.
Carmen the Chicken Killer by Sarah Curtiss 