St. Michaels, AZ, Day 4: Eggless, but with spirits high

I had a rough start to this morning because we didn't use the stove and so there were no eggs. I had some cereal with milk and a piece of cheese. But the burner is working again. In fact, Jia Jia just made some onion eggs. Now that I have eaten some, I am feeling well enough to write.

Gonpo, Lyndsay, Jia Jia and I are hanging around the meeting room. Beth and her mom are going to cook us dinner! I'm not sure what we will be having. I think I heard something about "Navajo tacos."

Ellen's yoga sessions have been going really well. Yesterday morning, I played the violin (quietly) while she led, and this morning I participated with the actual yoga. The kids were shy but seemed to get the point of what we were doing. We worked for about a half hour and then they ran off to their classes. I'm really glad that we've been practicing because I've definitely had some yoga-withdrawl since my course ended.

Williams isn't offering yoga for PE next quarter! I think I might petition to practice yoga on my own for my final gym credit. I think you're allowed to do some kind of independent course once you've done your first three. And maybe some of the other people who were in my class will want to continue (Ellen.)

A little later in the morning, Lyndsay, Ellen, Kyle, and I helped Brother Jim to move chairs and desks in the basement. Apparently, the sewage system is being renovated and he's worried that the desks will get "wet" if there are any "accidents." So we managed to get all of the desks up on various shelves and tables, away from the exposed pipes.

Brother Jim was very happy to have us as helpers. After we worked for a while, he invited us to a coffee break. He spoke about how he ended up on the reservation. Brother Jim used to live in New Orleans, and he's been here for about five years, ever since Katrina hit. I asked him if there was any kind of "downtown," thinking of something like Spring Street in Williamstown. I think he assumed I meant something like downtown Albany or something. He said, "Ha!" But then he explained that out west, even though there might be as many restaurants or shops as in a tiny town like Williamstown, they are so spread out that there's no real downtown.

Today was a half day, so Gonpo and I didn't give a music lesson. After lunch, we went back to hang out with the kids after school. I spent most of my time with the first grade girls. I ended up teaching one little girl how to read notes in the treble clef, and she definitely sort of got the hang of it. One of the other girls was very excited because she found my arm hair, located on my wrist just above my right hand. She said, "What's that??" I said, "How did that get there?" We spent a while trying to figure out where all of my arm hair's friends went.

Beth and her sister drove us to a Navajo craft store where we wandered around for a while. The jewelery was pretty expensive because it was legit turquoise. I ended up buying a mug with the official seal of Navajo Nation. There were lots of other things I wanted that would have looked nice on my desk or dresser, but I only ever buy things that look nice on my desk or dresser and I wanted something practical. Anyway, I think I'll leave it at home (Niskayuna) and then drink from it when I'm there. I tried to buy a tone that will match our kitchen cupboard.

After that, we went to the Navajo Museum. I was really glad that they had an exhibit on the creation story which was still a little fuzzy after our speaker's explanation. It's still a little fuzzy, but less fuzzy. There was also a section on the "Long Walk"

- dinner break -

Navajo tacos! Very delicious. Basically taco fillings with "frybread" as the shell. Mmm.

Anyway, the "Long Walk" when the Navajo were forced to move to eastern New Mexico from their ancestral lands around the four corners area (where Utah, NM, Arizona and Colorado meet) to eastern New Mexico where the earth is even more dry and uninhabitable than the rest of New Mexico. Fortunately, the Navajo reservation today is back around the four corners area, though their land has been significantly condensed from its original boundaries.

After we looked at the exhibit, we met Miss Navajo Nation! Her headquarters are in the museum, and Beth just asked her if she would say hi to us. To be Miss Navajo Nation, she has to speak fluent Navajo and slaughter a sheep...I don't remember the other things, but it sounded very arduous. She also wears traditional Navajo clothing seven days a week and is very busy with speaking engagements. She sent us home with signed pictures. Kyle is in love with her. Gonpo accidentally dropped his signed picture and since eastern New Mexico is a giant wind tunnel, it blew away really quickly. For some reason, no one ran after it, so I had to run after it while everyone laughed. Fortunately I was able to retrieve the photo, or the entire spectacle would have been for naught.

I put up some more pictures, but I'll post the link to Ellen's pictures when they come up because she has some good ones of our work in the basement (with face masks!) and also the after-school madness.