We were off work on Monday for Labor Day, and John took me cycling in New Mexico – it was great! We went almost 18 miles, and saw ostriches, boer goats, longhorns and horses along the way. It was great to be outside! Afterward, we had a great Mexican breakfast, stopped at Barnes and Noble and came back to Juarez. (Tuesday’s massage felt especially good!)
On the social side this week, we went to dinner Thursday night with the regional medical officer who was visiting the Consulate. Friday night we went to a dinner party at our neighbors’ house. Lara made a yummy seafood pasta, using salmon her dad in Alaska caught.
We had two parties yesterday – a going away party for a co-worker in the afternoon. Last night we hung out with our Mexican neighbors who were having a cookout – it was a beautiful night outside.
On the work side, I did a prison visit on Wednesday to see three Americans.
On Friday, I went with a father who had flown in from the States because his son was murdered here. Between Friday night and Saturday afternoon, I spent a lot of time with him (along with one of our fabulous local staff employees). We took him to identify the body, meet with detectives, sign a million things, pick out caskets, make arrangements for the body, etc. Yesterday, our last stop was the funeral home for him to say goodbye to his son – a very, very sad time. It was an intense experience, but good in that we felt we were really helping someone who needed it.