April 5th, Yeah..we knew I would sick eventually

(Sorry if most of this post sounds pretty un-enthused. I'm not feeling well)
I woke up at 6 to go with Noe and search the beach for Turtle nests. We only rode for two hours rather than the usual four. Either way, we didn't find any that morning. They were expecting alot to come in that morning because the North wind was coming in, making the beach a breezy, and cool place to lay eggs. At the end of the beach I got to drive the ATV. I actually prefer to just ride on the back. I don't have to multi task and can just look for tracks. Driving you have to keep your eyes open for tracks, big dips in the sand, drift wood, and turtles that might be coming on to the beach (when they first get on to the beach you have to keep your vehicle pretty far away so you don't scare her off). I was pretty un "animau" anyway so driving was not what I wanted to be doing. Over the past couple of days, I've been described as having "no animau". This means i'm not animated or excited or in the zone. Haha..kind of drifting off into space with a really sullen look on my face.
Noe and I returned and I went right to my room to and just layed down. I started to read my book but was pretty tired so I fell asleep. I woke up to Fernando knocking on my window, seeing if I was ready to go. He started apologizing when he realized I was sleeping and said not to worry about going out yet, and that I should just sleep. I said I would be ready to go in a little bit and that I would see him out there. I fell asleep for 15 minutes more, and went into the main house. I went into the house and had some lunch with Dulce, Irma, and Paty. Dulce is a girl who lives in the area I believe and works at the camp on the weekends. The first time I met her, I'm pretty sure she made fun of me to the max, but now we're good. She's very sweet. After I ate, Paty asked me to help her outside. I cleaned the baby turtles they have at the camp and put salt on the minor infections the little buggers had. After that Paty was ready to MOVE. She was rushing around getting sticks, and finding her hat so that we could go meet her friend that would drive us to the beginning of the beach. In Tecolutla, there is a certain amount of beach where no vehicles are permitted. There was an accident not too long ago and now driving on a 1.5 span of beach isn't aloud. We drove to where that 1.5 miles ends and started running. I'm not sure why we were running but we were. We found a turtle nest, along with two guys named Ruben and Jim. They were all about the Turtles and wanted to see what the fuss was about. Paty was already flustered with the running and finding of the nest, she started freaking out and having Ruben translate what I should be doing. I understood already, but with the language barrier, Paty wanted to be 100% sure. I waited by myself for a while until Noe came to help out. We collected the eggs of that nest and started walking. When you walk or ride on the beach, it's important to look back every once in a while. Those turtles can be anywhere! Anywho, we looked back at one point and saw Ruben and Jim running-a clear sign that a turtle was wherever they were running to. We walked back to the Turtle and waited with Ruben and Jim. Ruben speaks Spanish and English and Jim just English, so while the two of them asked questions or told stories in English, I did my best to translate what I could so Noe could feel apart of the conversation. If there is anything I've learned from being the only one, aside from Fernando, who speaks English, It feels good when someone tries and translates what's going on so you can feel included.
Noe and I walked after that until we met up with Fernando, who was driving the now working VW Dune Buggy.
Fernando and I spent the rest of the afternoon together, looking for nests which was nice. I can speak English with him and he can help translate words I want to know into spanish. He dropped me off at a nest while he went down to the end of the beach to mark other nests. I have developed this little habit of singing when I'm alone with the turtles. I make up words to tunes that come into my head and It doesn't even matter if it makes sense, because no one can hear me anyway. When Fernando came back for me, we drove a little further to a Turtle that was still making her nest. I've been trying to find the right moment to ask him what the TTPP can do for them next, but haven't found a moment to bring it up when I can get a detailed answer. While we waited he said that they needed more vehicles for the beach and more people to work there during turtle season. So for the TTPP, I think more ATVs would be a good next step, and working toawrds another campsite would be a good second step. This season they are looking at getting 500 nests, and within the next few years, double that. They are going to need more space for regular helpers and nests.

After collecting those eggs, we decided to go down to the end of the beach to just double check that we hadn't missed any nests. From where we were to the end of the beach is about 35 minutes of driving. We started talking, and since he has met my dad, he asked about my Mom and what she did. I told him she was Una Maestra de Voz (voice teacher). We also talked about her visit to Tecolutla in May! He said we would wait for her at the bus station with a Mariochee Band. Then he asked if I sang. Whenever anyone hears my mom can sing and asks me if I can, I always say a little. Everytime. He said he wouldn't look if I would sing him something (usually when someone stares right at you, you get a little intimidated). I sang him some Enrique and his expression was so adorable I couldn't stand it. I guess somewhere after my musical debut and Fernando telling me, "you need to learn curse words, its is necessary." I started to feel sick. I'm not sure if it was because the buggy was so close to the ground, making bumps feel bigger than they were, or if I was coming down with something that made me feel sick. All I know is that I needed to get out of that car. We got back to camp and Irma had cut up some Papaya and made tea for me. I really don't like Papaya. I've eaten it everyday I've been here, hoping that my feelings for the fruit would change, but alas, they haven't. I sat with Fernando, Irma, and Dulce for a while before I really couldn't take the stomach pains without wanting to cry. I excused myself, and went back to my cabin. I tried to get comfortable on my bed so I watched Little Miss Sunshine (yes, again..I'm going to know every word of that movie by the time I come back). About half way through, however my stomach had different plans. Now I won't go into yucky details, but I threw up alot. I started experiencing vertigo shortly after and yelled for Noe who was sleeping in the cabin next to me. He speaks zero English, so luckily my Spanish was decent enough to convey the message, "Where's Fernando, I need Fernando. I can't open the door right now. One moment please. I want the doctor. I can't feel my hands." I finally made it out of the cabin and found Fernando just getting back to the house. They had wanted to take me to the Doctor earlier but I didn't want to go anywhere in the bumpy car. Now I was ready. The doctor said I had a Gastric Intestinal Infection...or something along those lines. I'm pretty sure it was that bad batch of beans from Thursday. I got a shot in my bum and some medicine. It was terrific. We got back in the car and Aurorita was so cute. She started blowing bubbles, trying to make me feel better. and you know what, they helped haha.
Fernando and Irma had me sleep in Aurorita's room so they could keep an eye on me if anything happened and I needed them. They truly are a wonderful family. Considering I'm in a foreign country, without family, or people who can really speak the same language as I, I feel pretty at home. My Spanish is getting better, however, so I really can't complain. I think I fell alseep around 9 and woke up multiple times during the night. Being sick is pretty lame.