As I mentioned in a previous post, the drive to El Paso was stunning. Sam and I were so grateful that Pat recommended Highway 90 because the scenery was breathtaking. I've never been out to the West before and being able to literally drive through dozens of counties and changing landscapes was an experience that I will always remember.
We took our time getting to El Paso, stopping along the side of the road to stand out in the middle of Highway 90 and take pictures of the desert scrub, mountains, railroad tracks, and a nearby thunderstorm. We were on Highway 90 until we were about 115 miles outside of El Paso and picked up I-10 again. I was shocked that the speed limit was 80!
We gained another hour because El Paso
is in the Mountain Time Zone, but we were still ready to get out of the car. Once we arrived in El Paso, we went directly to Judith's home, the midwife I am staying with for the summer. She showed us around the casita she had prepared for me and it is very cozy. She has worked so hard to get it ready for me after only moving into her house five weeks ago! She has it all stocked and furnished and I am extremely grateful for all she has done to prepare it for my arrival.
She recommended a Mexican restaurant, Ay Caramba, and Sam and I decided we were ready to try the authentic Mexican food we have heard so much about. Sam had chiles rellenos and I had a tortilla soup - they were fantastic and flavorful, just as native El Pasoans have described! We settled in for the evening in the casita and will spend the next few days getting some more necessary items and visiting White Sands, New Mexico tonight. It is a full moon and I have heard that the moon's reflection on the white sands is pretty spectacular. We hope to go on a hike tomorrow in the Franklin Mountains that are right near Judith's home and to the border to see and feel what it is like. Thanks for your patience with how slow I have been updating this and thank you for your continued support!
Sam and I had a long eight hour drive to San Antonio on Tuesday. We drove through the rest of Louisiana, passing over many more beautiful marshes and swamps. I absolutely loved the bayou area and it is definitely an experience to drive across so many bridges and to see just how much water is in the southern part of the U.S. feeding into the Gulf of Mexico.
We wondered what the exit number would start at once we entered Texas, knowing that we would be crossing the entire state. It started at 880 and we would be driving all the way to 22 in El Paso! Eastern Texas was very industrial and we had to drive through Houston before we got to the prettier, expansive farmland on I-10. We drove for about 250 miles to get to San Antonio and arrived in the evening at my cousin, Dominique's, home. She is in the process of moving right now and was extremely gracious to have us over in the midst of this process. It was very special to see her after so many years and we had a nice evening eating some Mexican food and sitting at an outdoor bar area near the San Antonio River. The night passed so quickly catching up and we returned to her house to visit with her sweet dogs, Alex and Bella, and get some rest.
The next morning we went to the restaurant Dominique works at, Twin Sisters, and that her mother, Pat, founded and owns. Twin Sisters is a bakery and cafe that has been around since 1981 and serves local, healthy, homemade foods. We had our best breakfast yet, omelettes with lots of aguacates (avocados), and I enjoyed seeing Pat after so many years. She treated us so kindly and advised us to take Highway 90 if we really wanted to see Texas. She said that the road really shows you the landscape of southern Texas and that you could drive for miles without seeing another car. Sounded good to Sam and me, especially since we still had 500 miles to get to El Paso and wanted to drive on roads with no mile markers and plenty of desert and mountains. We stopped to buy a map at the CVS before driving past the Alamo downtown and then were on our way to our final destination.
Our first day of travel was Sunday, May 23. We stopped in Atlanta to see Sam's cousin, Kali, and eat at Ippolito's, a delicious Italian restaurant that my family and I used to eat at frequently when we lived in Norcross. We had a great time seeing Kali and her new apartment. The garlic rolls at Ippolito's were just as great as I remembered and we took another bunch along in the car with us. The car smelled pretty awesome!
We left in late afternoon to drive the rest of the way to Montgomery. Pretty soon after we crossed the Georgia-Alabama border, we gained an hour, which was an unexpected surprise! We got into Montgomery around dinnertime and checked into the hotel before venturing into the downtown area. Because it was a Sunday night, everything was pretty shut down. The downtown area was small and easily navigable so we walked around for awhile before settling down to dinner at Wintzell's Oyster House. Sam enjoyed a catfish poboy and I had some mahi-mahi. We walked down by the Alabama River hoping there would be a place to sit and enjoy a drink or dessert, but there weren't any restaurants. We also realized that we wouldn't be able to see any of the Civil Rights monuments and memorials since it was a Sunday night. Nonetheless, we enjoyed a relaxing evening and rested up before our drive to New Orleans.
Sam and I are finally here! We decided to drive all the way to El Paso yesterday and made it in last night. We had a gorgeous drive through Western Texas. We took the more southern, scenic route on Highway 90 and went through the changing desert and mountainous terrain. It is such a different kind of landscape than the east coast, but beautiful in its own way. We passed by dozens of ranchos (ranches) with so many vacas (cows) and cabras (goats). There is so much espacio (space) in western Texas and it is absolutely fantastic. Highway 90 also straddles the Mexican border so most of the time we could see into Mexico, especially when we got back onto I-10 and could see the Rio Grande. I will write a bit about each of our stops along the way, with pictures included. Enjoy!
Love,
Kimberly
Exciting news! My research was approved by the IRB yesterday! It really feels like everything has finally come together. I feel very calm going into my trip out to El Paso next week and that the summer is officially on. I am laying out all of my things to pack now and will be leaving on Sunday for Montgomery. Look for pictures soon! To the left is one of Maternidad just for a preview of what's in store...
And check out these awesome podcasts I just found of daily life at MLL:
http://video.aol.ca/video-detail/maternidad-la-luz-production-podcast-3/3798303717
Looks like an independent video producer is making a documentary about Maternidad La Luz and the journeys of two women who are training to become midwives there. The podcasts are part of her developing film. Here is a link to her website:
http://www.iftiinproductions.com/index.html
Hi everyone!
I will be spending this summer interning and conducting interviews at Maternidad La Luz (MLL), a birth center and midwifery school in El Paso, Texas. I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with the wonderful staff midwives, student midwives, and clients at MLL in just a few weeks and to UNC's Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, APPLES Community-Based Research grant, and Honor's Thesis Research grant for making it all possible. I will be attending and participating in appointments and births, as well as attending courses with other student midwives. I will spend about forty-eight hours per week in the clinic, do two, twenty-four hour shifts at the center per week, and conduct and transcribe interviews somewhere in between. Hopefully there will be some time to explore some of western Texas and southern New Mexico's great hiking and sights, too!
Right now, I am working with the Institutional Review Board (IRB) to ensure my research is ethical and that the rights of participants are protected. It is a long back-and-forth process and I am trying to get everything worked out before I drive out to El Paso with my partner and traveling adventurer, Sam. Because public transportation is pretty minimal in El Paso, the midwife I will be living with, Judith, advised that I bring my car out to El Paso. Sam and I will leave Sunday, May 23rd and travel through Montgomery, AL; New Orleans, LA; Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; and Ozona, TX until we reach El Paso on Thursday, May 27.
Stay tuned for photos from our trip across the country in about a week and a half!- Kimberly
Sam and I made the most of his two days here by visiting White Sands National Monument in New Mexico and the Franklin Mountains that are a few miles from the casita. We drove to White Sands on Thursday evening to see the moon rise and were worried about the impending clouds. We arrived at dusk and the view for miles around was cloudy, yet tinged with pink and purple from the setting sun. We saw lightning bolts from about twenty to thirty miles away, which is one of my favorite sights here. The moon was full Thursday and we were so happy to see it rise! It was orange and huge and we watched it ascend into the sky until it disappeared behind the many ominous clouds.
We hiked in the Franklin Mountains State Park on Friday evening about two hours before sunset and were grateful that the sun was on the other side of the mountain! The temperature was tolerable, but the hike was tough. The terrain is jagged and rocky and it was a tough ascent and descent. Even though we had to take our time figuring out the path up, the view at the top was fantastic. We could see the Rio Grande and mountains to the east in New Mexico. I hope to return to both of these places on one of my weekends to check out more trails and to picnic at White Sands. This part of Texas is so accessible to many interesting landmarks and I am grateful to be able to leave the city and within twenty minutes see nothing but mountains and space.
Tomorrow, I begin my orientation at the birth center. It will last for four days and we will do one twenty-four hour shift this week. During orientation, we will learn more about Maternidad, our responsibilities, and take a field trip of El Paso to learn about great eats and markets. Stay tuned for details from the first few days!
