Saying Goodbyes, Honoring Those Whom We've Come to Know and Love

The school director, Roberto, (right) welcomed our family into his school. He went out of his way for us by hanging an American flag next to the Mexican flag so that both could be honored. Roberto looked out for our family's well-being during our stay, providing us with free medical attention and free lunches. Once during a quick onset of a virus that comprised Madeline's lungs, had called the hospital ahead, making it possible to receive immediate attention upon arrival. Roberto visited Tammy while ill with dysentery, doing everything possible to drag her to see the doctor. He even sat with us one afternoon while visiting with Tammy's parents for a couple of hours through Skype. His leadership and fatherly nature made us feel well-cared for.

Having given up her home for over 3 months, Lupe (left) has shown us what real sacrifice is. Not only has she shared her house and all her personal belongings, she has been a friend. Many times she picked up Tammy to go to her school, to drive around town to take pictures, taught her how to make enchiladas, and accommodated Tammy's need to get out of the house to exercise a little. Lupe took the whole family to see Morelia for the first time, the city Tammy fell in love with. As a full-time teacher and a single mom, our family appreciated all of her sacrifice on our accounts.


Gumero and his wife Carmen (right) welcomed us into La Huacana for the first and most critical weeks. Gumero introduced us into the Mexican culture, took us out of town on several occasions and to a few local fiestas. Our kids were moved by his kindness. Little did they know that they were about to experience that sort of kindness by all the people in the weeks to come.
Our La Huacana neighbor, Fernando (left) is a strong brother in the Lord. Always a joy to bump into him, he is overflowing with the power and love of God, ready to give glory to Him. Fernando was our first friend in La Huacana and has seen us through clear to the end. His amazing witness is how he cares for His aging Grandfather, having totally given up his life in Acapulco. It will be impossible to hold back the tears when saying goodbye to Fernando.

Raramure (right) opened his heart and his home(s) to us. His gentle spirit and his kindness made us all feel at home in La Haucana and in Morelia. He has made his casa (house) our casa...giving us an open invitation in any of his three homes at anytime. In fact, we plan to take him up on his offer next year when we return for a month by moving into his empty house here in La Huacana. Raramure will also visit us in the US with his uncle and we look forward to showing him the same kindness he has showed us.

Enock (left) made it his mission, along with his nephew Raramure, to make our time in Mexico enjoyable. He spent a lot of time caring for our family and because of him, we were able to see many new places. He had treated us to witnessing the turtle project (See blog post Tortugas), amongst many other great places. Besides weekend travels, we played chess, dominoes, basketball, and ate enchiladas and carnitas together. Enock's personality is full of quick whit and laughter. Our kids decided that he and their Grandpa Ron would get along great. That is good news since Enock will be visiting the US in June in the new teacher exchange program between OSU and Mexico. The Knutz children have decided they would like to host Enock at their Grandmother's home for dinner, since that is the place of the best made American food they can think of.


Esther (right) is a kind friend to Tammy. I previous post told of how she came immediately to the house once she heard Tammy had come down ill with dysentery. With her she brought home remedies and a niece to help clean-up the house. Esther was a wonderful companion on our out-of-town excursions and made yummy food for all of us.

Enock's & Esther's three sons were as hospitable as their parents. Eatabean, especially, was always just a phone call away. Like the time his father called him to go and fetch a plant from his house so that a brew could be made to alleviate our family's pain from severe sunburns. I could tell many stories of all Eatabean's acts of kindness. A mother could only hope their sons will turn out as well as all three of these young men.

A Few Useful Natural Remedies For You; Friendship

This is Esther, Enock's wife with her niece. Esther has been a very good friend to me. The language barrier has been challenging between her and I, but even when you cannot communicate well with words, the spirit of love comes through loud and clear.

Esther drove straight to my house the minute she heard I came down ill. In fact, her sons came with her. With loving concern, they all were eager to check in on me. Esther brought with her one of Mexico's natural remedies to settle a volatile stomach and stop diarrhea. How well it worked I am still unsure due to the nature of my illness. I am not sure it is fair to judge it when trying to stop a strong case of dysentery. I'm certain I benefited from it's use. Here it is for you to try the next time one in your family comes down sick. She claimed that it serves as a instant plugger-upper.

1 heaping tablespoon of corn starch
2 fresh squeezed juice from lemons (small lemons)
1 small bottle of coca-cola (use of the caffeine, coffee can be substituted)

Take 2- 3 times in one day.

Natural remedies are widely used in Mexico. Medicine isn't as prevalent as in America and is very expensive for the people, most of which are very poor. As vinegar is valued in the US, lemon juice is in Mexico. Lupe is always telling me of how I can get rid of this problem or that with the use of lemon juice. It can be used to stop the mosquito itch, and it can be rubbed all over your skin to prevent the mosquito bite.

Mike stubbed his toe badly, it having swelled up more than twice it's natural size. Our neighbor across the street, Alahaundra, went to her yard to pick some Arnica leaves. She lovingly wrapped my husband's toe in fresh Arnica leaves and by morning all the swelling was gone. (I would have liked to have access to these leaves in great quantities when I badly sprang my ankle a few summers ago and it was swollen for months!) Later, I learned that I have an Arnica tree in my own back yard. It is an important plant for the Mexican people so everyone grows them. I'd love to be able to plant one in my yard at home.

Esther had not only given me the medicine that comforted my stomach but she delivered medicine that touched my soul. Her visit to help me in my hour of need was invaluable; she and one of her nieces also fully cleaned my messy house. The people continue to amaze me by their generosity, their positive attitudes, their readiness to help and just how happy they are. Most Mexican people live in challenging circumstances so it is obvious that their happiness isn't determined by these means. I pray this is what I can bring home from Mexico with us.

The Full Meal Deal Part 2; My Experience with Dysentery

We were warned about what our life-style should "look like" in Mexico. The University met with Mike more than once to give him the facts, like don't brush your teeth in the tap water and stay away from fresh unpeeled fruits and vegetables. In our possession is enough paperwork on the subject to keep us busy for a long time. Not only that, we are students who like to read and prepare ahead for such a thing as taking our family to a tropical, underdeveloped country. But, the truth is, we tend to get laid back at times and can be overly optimistic. On one hand, I feel as if we have blown it big but on the other, I feel so blessed. Mike was told that 50-80% of Americans who travel to Mexico will come down sick within the first week. OK- let's do the Math... there are 6 of us and we have been living here now for 10 weeks, I'd say we are doing pretty darn good! And, most Americans are traveling for vacation purposes, visiting the beach towns that cater to American travelers' needs, like providing purified water. Our family has been living in a town that is as authentic as it can possibly get.

Let's be realistic though, the recommended precautions would be extremely difficult for a family who is living in Mexico verses visiting for a couple of weeks.

*Buy purified water and use for all cooking and drinking, or boil your water for 10-15 minutes
*Don't brush your teeth in the tap water
*Stay away from all fresh fruit and vegetables unless it can be peeled
*All foods ingested must be prepared with heat to kill any organisms
*No cold drinks prepared with ice or water in the market place
*Avoid unpasteurized milk products, raw meat, shellfish, salads
*Avoid all food prepared by street vendors or others whom you don't trust their sanitation methods

That doesn't look like much but actually walking it out week after week is extremely difficult! First, that means I have to do ALL my own cooking for my family for weeks on end. We are prohibited from even picking up an ice cream cone in the market place. In La Huacana, the streets are lined with vendors selling fruit cups, fresh squeezed orange juice, tacos, refreshing fruit drinks, home-made ice creams, home-made breads, interesting treats of all kinds, most of which we don't even know what they are and most prepared in people's own kitchens. Do you realize that it rules out me making the famous Mexican salsas and guacamole? They both contain tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro which would all be no-nos. Following the guidelines would reduce us all down to saltine crackers. Comparing to the choices available to me at my local Winco, supplies are very limited. Every single store has just about the same stuff, most of which is fruits and vegetables and toilet paper. Without salsa and guacamole, I am not sure what we would eat. Preparing food for my family in Mexico has been an ongoing challenge. I'd say that American grocery stores are what I miss the most about my home, including my own bed.

What is dysentery? It is the result of ingesting unsanitary drink or food that contain micro organisms. These organisms take up residence in the intestines and cause infection and damage to the lining of the intestinal walls. There are two kinds of dysentery, amoebic and bacillary. Amoebic is parasitic and is commonly spread through fruits and vegetables and through negligent hygiene. There are many form of bacterias, some you might be familiar with are samonella and E-Coli. Basically, the person who is preparing your food can forget to wash his hands after using the bathroom then pass the amobic or bacteria to you. It is commonly passed through human feces. The reason Americans are easily infected is that they haven't acquired the immunity that those have grown up in the area. I 'd say the local residents have guts made of iron! This is a common problem in tropical climates and underdeveloped environments that have less than ideal hygiene and sanitation methods.

We have no idea what took up residence in my gut but I know one thing, my gut didn't like it all. After searching online, I decided that I was infected with a very strong case. My Mexican friends are sure that it was the fresh milk but then again I am sure they don't understand the level of poor sanitation in their own community. You might gasp to see how food is prepared in my current town, usually with no running water or refrigeration nearby. As I observe Mexican chef's prepare my food I always wonder where that knife was laid last, when the hands were washed and in what water or when the last time the wooden cutting board was replaced that is oozing in meat juices in 95 degree weather. Worse yet, watch the local butcher cut-up your carne! At these moments I am reminded that I could resort to only saltine crackers, but instead, I gratefully say "gracious" and devour the scrumptious food provided to me. Yes, I have experienced Mexico to the fullest degree and my bout with dysentery has changed a few habits around here but after thinking on it further, I am sure there was no way it could have been avoided. We are praying that our family can make it back to the US without Mike or one of the kids contacting it. We are thankful that we have made it this far with only one of us coming down since we have broken every rule there is.

For an update on me, I am much stronger today, up and out of my bed and caring for my family. I get tired easily, still have no appetite to speak of, have infrequent bouts of diarrhea but feel more like myself again. As of yet, I am not anxious to sample anyone's authentic Mexican cutlery; saltine crackers and I are close friends.

Maybe next week.

An Average Day in the Life of the Knutzs

A few people have asked what a "normal" day looks like for us in Mexico. This is how most days work themselves out.

6:45 AM
Mike, Molly and Josh leave for school


7-1o AM
Showers, breakfast, morning chores, Tammy starts laundry, ironing, floors, Spanish lessons on computer begin, alternating people


10-1 PM
*Home school for Maddy and Jake, email and blogging for Tammy
(Activities are interrupted multiple times from people stopping by to ask about this, to sell that, and students dropping in)


10 PM MONDAY ONLY
Monday market day. Vendors come from all over with fresh foods, household items and clothing. It is the cheapest way to buy things here. And, it's just plain fun!


1:00 PM
*Mike and teens arrive home from school. With them come 5-15 students on any given day. This time changes frequently.


2 PM THURSDAY ONLY
(No English class today) Mike hauls a van loud of kids to La Presa to swim and jump (see blog!)


1-4 PM
*Mike studies for his English class and does bible study with students
*Teen hang-out time, card playing, goofing off,
*Practice the language with the studengs through friendship
*Tammy: make snacks, wash cups, serve drinks, translate English for Step class that afternoon, serve salsa and guacamole
*Knutz kids try to get their daily chores done amongst the chaos, Kids teach card games

4-5:30 PM
*Mike teaches an English class to local school teachers
*Tammy & Molly attend Mike's English class since we learn Spanish at same time
*Josh and Jake practice basketball at school with the team
*Maddy chills at house

5-11 PM FRIDAY ONLY
Friday Night Fun Night, kids come to have salsa, guacamole, tostadas, soda and Pizza. Card playing, goof-off time, a movie in Spanish at 8

5:30 PM
*Lupe picks up Tammy. Tammy teaches Step class for 2 Spanish teachers at her ranch house
*Mike hangs out with students that come to house after basketball, gives kids snacks, sometimes prepares dinner

7:30 PM
*Tammy returns from exercising. Time to eat. Many times we walk to town for real Mexican food. We can feed the whole family for under $15. We have two regular students who have dinner with us every night.

8 -10 PM
Normal Activities, depending on the day:
*Shop in downtown tiendas for groceries.
*Walk and hang out in plaza.
*Visit with Fernando (see blog)
*Recap with our kids, take time to encourage and instruct with what's been happening in their daily lives in Mexico

Sunday Night is Plaza Night. The evening mass ends at 5:30 PM, the tiendas close up shop and everyone stays in (after mass) town in there best Sunday attire. The Catholic church opens up into the town square. People walk the town square, or gather on the benches to enjoy a long evening of fellowship and fun.

WEEKENDS ARE DIFFERENT. We try to leave town to see what else is in Mexico! It requires about a 3 hour drive whatever direction we travel.

Coolness

Xavier, Jake, Eric and Hugo. The three muchachos visit daily. Eric, behind, is wearing my women's sunglasses.
All the teen boys like to wear my sun glasses. The come into the house looking for them. In such a sunny culture, few people wear sun-glasses, at least in La Huacana. They are a luxury. A lot of times I leave them at home. Walking through town in sunglasses screams, "Rich Americano!"

Tony and Hugo sport both Mike's and my sun glasses. Mike gave his sunglasses to Tony; read I am Sad Tonight, Tony's Story.... He walks around town like he is real special now.

(I asked them to pose this way. It is a joke between us. They aren't really this tough looking They are well-mannered kids. I am hoping they rub off on my children).

A Visit to La Haucana's Hospital

Madeline came down with a bug that caused her Asthma to act up. It required an emergency trip to the hospital. Upon waking Tuesday morning, her lungs were greatly constricted and she was having to push to get what little oxygen she was getting. We had a very good experience there. Read the post, "Special Treatment".

This is one concern I had to surrender to the Lord before leaving the states. With a daughter who has food allergies, syncope spells and Asthma, I knew it was very likley she would require medical attention in a four month period. (We always do at home). Knowing nothing about Mexico's medical sytem, I aimed to fully trust the Lord.

The school principle sent both a teacher and a student with us to the hospital. The student was able to translate for us. The teacher showed us where to find the hospital and pharmacies.

Pictured is Mike, Karen (translator), the principle, the nurse, doctor and Madeline.
Madeline has recovered nicely at home after recieving all the care she needed.

Special Treatment

Hi All,

I am sitting in town at the Cyber Cafe looking through the blog to read new comments. Molly is sitting next to me Face Booking. I just have to let you know what is going on all around us. Five muchachos (young men) are hanging out about eight feet from us. And, the size is growing by the minute. They are making a lot of racket, saying Molly´s name in English, laughing and cutting up. I asked Molly why they are saying her name over and over and she said, ¨Because they think it is cool.¨ This is the way it is everywhere my kids go. They are such an item of interest. Every day after school I hear stories. We are hearing random English words directed our way with laughing. Molly is pretty good at being kind to the young men but ignoring them when it is appropriate. She handles them with grace giving them enough attention to not be rude but not too much to encourage them.

Our children are treated with great honor. They are forced to take the best seat, to be the 1st in the lunch line, etc... This bothers my kids. Today they laid their feet down and insisted on going to the back of the lunch line like everyone else. I am not sure if this okay to do. We are continually trying to figure out the social graces here. There have been a few social blunders....

Mike and I have had the same experience yesterday. Madeline came down sick and her asthma starting acting up. We had to take her to the local hospital since her rescue inhaler wasn´t cutting it, and when we got there, there was lots of people waiting to see a doctor. I thought¨oh my goodness, this is going to take awhile¨. Well, they rolled out the red carpet for us and took us straight back to see a doctor. Mike says the school principle called ahead to let them know we were coming. I was glad MAddy got immediate attention because she truly needed it but we all know what emergency rooms are like in the US.

Yesterday the doctor wrote several perscriptions and then sent us out to the pharmacy to pick them up. We had to visit a couple of pharmacies to find each medication. One store owner gave our persciptions to us without knowing us at all. Then, after returning to the hospital with the meds, the doctor admitted Maddy for treatment. This same doctor has made herself available to us day and night while we are here in La Haucana. The school principle came to check on us while there. After being there for a couple of hours, we were excused and expected to pay nothing. What a blessing this was since we really didn´t have the money this would have required.

God takes care of his people!

Liberties in Mexico

Town Square in La Haucana

When we first arrived our family couldn’t help but notice the freedoms here in Mexico. There is a lot less laws and governmental control. I must admit, I like this about Mexico. In America, we have ordinances for everything. Now, after being here for awhile, I am respecting many of the laws in America, like honor thy neighbors’ sleep (put in my terms). These laws are making a lot more sense to me.

Teens and children alike drive cars, motorcycles, mopeds and trucks

Kids and teens drink alcohol and have it offered to them at fiestas.

Anyone can operate a business, just open the door. Cleanliness not a requirement.

Don’t have to follow traffic laws. Most aggressive wins. Stop signs are just for looks. Drive extra fast. Pass everyone you can on blind corners honking. Use brakes abruptly. What are pedestrians?????? (Many animals, even large animals like cows and horses, get killed on the highways).

Young children purchase and use fireworks with no adult supervision.

Loud fire-crackers are used randomly. It sounds like TNT blowing up.

Very young couples marry and have children.

No minivans or seatbelts necessary. Just load up in the back of the pickup and pack in tightly.

Haul your donkey or horse in the back of a small Toyota truck while still sitting on it. LOL!

Ride your donkey to town down the middle of the cobble-stone street in between the rest of traffic.

Entrepreneurship is alive and well. Peddle your goods. Stand at all speed bumps and stop signs to knock on windows

Cook whatever food you want (on the street), wherever you want and then sell it.

No prescription needed. Walk into the pharmacy and just ask for it.

Build onto your house anytime you want without asking authorities.

Throw your garbage down anywhere anytime. Burn the litter down the streets.

Clean bathrooms not necessary. Provide your own TP everywhere you go.

Burn your household garbage all hours of the day

Dogs roam the streets and sleep in the roads and market places.

These are a few ways that Mexico culture is different than our own. I am sure there are many more that haven’t yet been obvious to me. Mike thinks kids would have more fun growing up here without all the rules we have in the USA. ~T