It's been a long, long time since I last blogged (I know you missed me so much....). Anyway, on May 30th and 31st we were at Ruth Roessel's family compound in Round Rock, Arizona. It was a very interesting experience; 16 people sharing a tiny, dirt-floor hogan (first picture) and one tiny bathroom, but overall, it was amazing. On our first day, Ruth taught us a little bit about Navajo culture. She explained the significance of the hogan, the Navajo calendar, some of the language relating to family relationships, and some of the stories. Fun Fact: Hogans always open to the east. I didn't know a lot about Navajo culture (or Native American culture for that matter), but now I know some basics and definitely have a better understanding of their way of life and spiritual beliefs. Ruth told a story about her uncle and how he said that is doesn't matter what skin color you are because our hearts are all the same and the blood that runs through our veins is the same color. Ruth was such an amazing woman to be so open to sharing not only her home, but her culture with all of us. I also have become so much closer with everyone on my unit after this little two-day excursion (not that I wasn't before). Later that day, we made some delicious fry bread.
On June 1st, we travelled on to Canyon de Chelly. Now....the entire hike was about 7 miles. Yes, 7 miles, so all you readers should be proud of everyone on this trip because we all hiked it. We were led by a Navajo man named Andrew Bia who spent his childhood summers on a sheep farm in the canyon. Canyon de Chelly was absolutely spectacular and we got to see ruins as well as cave drawings/carvings. At one point during our long trek, we got to take off our shoes and walk about 3 miles barefoot through little puddles of water and soft sand.
And we reach today.....which was basically spent on a bus for 7 hours. We retraced the Long Walk by bus and are now currently in Fort Sumner. Tonight, we had dinner local high school students from Fort Sumner high school. It was really fun meeting the locals and seeing what life was like for another high school student my age in New Mexico. After dinner, we were given the rations of bacon, corn meal, flour, salt, and coffee beans that were similar to the rations that had been given to the Navajo people during the Long Walk. With these rations and our team of a few other people, we had to make meals with them. Now, the rations we were given, we were familiar with what they were, but the products were totally foreign to the Navajo people at the time and so they had no idea what to do with them. Well, that has been my busy three days and I hope you enjoyed reading about them. I will be back tomorrow :).
L
We did, in fact, fit 16 people in there....
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