Last Thursday I went to my first Native American Feast Day! A Feast Day is a huuge celebration. We went to the Santa Clara pueblo land which is only about a 10-15 drive from Espanola. The Indians dance from about 6am and go all day. They only stop for about 20 minute breaks...its pretty amazing. There are Summer and Winter clans that do different dances, obviously for different reasons. The Summer group dances all day in hopes for rain. It was an extreme privilege to attend one. The public is welcomed and accepted to watch the dances, but you don't ask questions, clap when they are finished or get loud and crazy. Women also walk around the crowd during the dance "thanking you" by choosing random people to receive gifts. The gifts include fruit, vegetables and little toys. I got an orange :) what an honor.
We also watched a Buffalo Dance. The men actually had buffalo skins and horns on and the women dance barefoot. Remember that the dance lasts about 15-20 minutes and it was about 90-95 all day! The outfits and headdresses were so amazing. The elder men are the only ones who sing and play the drums.
Sadly, you were not allowed to take pictures. But if it were my home, I wouldn't want people taking pictures of me like I was a show either.
So far, teaching is going fine for Emily and I. On Sunday, both of us were trying to prepare lesson plans which have to be turned in a week in advance. A huge storm was brewing so the Internet wasn't working well all day--until it finally knocked down a power line and shut it down for the night. Needless to say, we couldn't get them done. Emily has keys to another building on campus--so she ventured over to see if it had working Internet. As she's going to leave, books, keys and phone in hand the massive steel door smashed her hand. Within 15 minutes, her knuckle was the size of a golf ball.....we headed to the Espanola ER.
Being there is an experience all on its own. Everything was in Spanish, I sat in the room on my own being creeped on and watching a woman come in FREAKING out, I still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her...? After X-rays and some pills, Emily is sent home in a splint with a fractured hand.....so we head to Pizza Hut :)
Feeling better about our crazy day, we sit down with some pizza to watch a movie...until the power goes out in our dorm. Well crap- we're going to make the best of it and watch it on my laptop...it still has battery. It dies in 10 minutes. After this craziness, we conclude that its just a sign we should go to bed.
Wow thats a lot.
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