A lovely first week at CASA. Today was spent listening to a wonderful doctor address public health issues with the promotores. He discussed what health issues were common all over the world as well as the issues that are specific to Mexico. Diabetes is one of the most prevelant public health issues here in Mexico and the doctor expressed that much of the problem comes from the amount of soda that is consumed. The promotores asked questions regarding how heart attacks could be prevented as well the dangers of smoking cigarettes. There was some giggling and shared smiles when cigarettes were being discussed as a few of the promotores admitted to being smokers and were very interested in how it was affecting them. It was a fantastic learning experience for me in that I'm completely unfamiliar with discussing public health issues in Spanish so there were many new terms and I thought the subject matter was very compelling. Being a part of the promotore training has been invaluable. I worked on an activity after the doctors presentation for one of the next promotore trainings that will involve a game of terms and definitions. A card will contain a word, LGBTI, for example, and the definition next to it will be of a different term so the promotores will need to match them up. Again, learning a whole new set of terms and definitions in Spanish such as transgender, bisexual, and sexual orientation was superbien. My classes at PSU were primarily history and literature focused, so there wasn't a lot of discussion about public health or issues of sexuality and gender identity, unless it related to an author or movement of course. It's Friday and everyone is getting ready for their weekend. As I walked to a volunteer meeting at a woman's house (whom is helping to organize the Caminata contra la Violencia, Walk against Violence on January 24th in San Miguel) on Avenida Independencia, schoolchildren were trundling along with their parents, an ice cream cone or bottle of juice in hand, fiery sun overhead, and the smell of fresh tortillas around every corner I felt good. A strong, whole, round, pudgy, good.