6.23

today I hiked up the mountain close to the school - incredible view of the entire town and the surrounding mountains. Passed a man carrying loads full of firewood on his back and suddenly felt incredibly guilty that hiking is fun for me and work for him.

by far the strangest holiday I have ever experienced - San Juan in Bolivia. All day long people kept asking me ¨Vas a quemar?¨ (are you going to burn?) for a dreaded moment I thought that this school full of catholics had discovered me as an athiest until someone finally explained to me that this is part of a custom here. They burn whatever, wherever, all night long. Its said to be the coldest night of the year here, and youre supposed to spend it raging all night long along with the fires. The questions of "isnt that dangerous?" seemed to be laughed at. They kept telling me that there was normally so much smoke that the next day it was hotter! I didnt believe until i saw the entire mountainside ( the very one which i had climbed earlier) engulfed in a series of fires.

6.22

The freedom to wander is really the best travel plan there is. We arrived in Sacabamaba on tuesday, as monday was another holiday of somesort. As I have no classes on tuesdays, I just sort of wander around. I went to my favorite little store to by chocolate milk and cookies (for 1 boliviano, p.s. im going to be 10 pounds heavier when I come back if I keep up this routine), and had the duena in a fit of laughter over my awful quechua pronunciations. I was wandering down to the greenhouses (which are about a 10 min walk from the school) in search of Profe Hernan, the Ag teacher, when I poked my head into the panderia. And there I stayed for the rest of the morning, chatting away and learning how to make bread in quantities large enough to feed a small army. There is something so beautiful about a practiced movement, no matter how simple it may be. For every one ball of dough I could somewhat adequately roll, Alyssia was rolling four - with both hands! I promised I´d come back to visit her soon... so she set aside a jar of our homemade strawberry jam just for my visits =P

the entrance to my school!

6.19
i have nothing super exciting so say. but im going to write anyway. thats the thing i always hated about blogs =P

i was so nervous for teaching my first class. im 19, and so are some of the kids im teaching. adding to that, i have no training whatsoever to be a teacher. also, its not like i have lots of magnificent books and resources to compensate. its me, the chalkboard, and 30 rather poorly behaved students.

i ate this lentil dish with meat that i didnt know was meat and was puking for an entire day. i guess im stuck as a vegetarian whether i want to be or not.

washed my flea ridden blankets in the river (actually more of a stream) with the other kids. great fun

still havent figured out a good time or place where i can skype in relative quiet or ease, but if you feel like , its relatively cheap to call my Bolivian cell from skyp 591 727 66 275 =)

also, for all those haters... eh hemmm t.horn and l.mohelman... id like to read your blog =P

6.10

Just returned from al campo and the house that was feeling so strange only four days ago now feels like a wonderfully familiar safe haven.

it was a rather strange week, being that there were no classes monday or friday, and tuesday was "celebration of teachers" and wednesday was "celebration of parents" halfway through thursday they apparently decided that only half a day of classes was sufficient, and we went home early on thursday. It certainly is not what comes to mind when i picture a catholic school....

the kids are all absolutely fascinated by english. its so strange to me because it seems like such a hideous language. their favorite thing is to have their name translated into english, but much to their disappointment, its usually just the same name. as much as they are fascinated by it, they dont really seem motivated to learn it. Julie, the FSD intern who worked with Jesu Maria before me, ended up teaching english classes as her main project. after only three (very non-traditional days) i know i wont be able too. on the other hand, english seems to me one of the few useful skills i have, and if that is what they need most ill find some way to make it work. Bottom line: RESPECT to all the teachers out there. =) sorry if i was ever that much of a pain in the ass

The parents and kids in a wheelbarrow race during the "parents celebration" day

Some of the kids at my school =)

6.4
its so weird waking up in a strange bed in a strange house. everyone had gone out to work or school by the time i work up at 9, so i crept awkwardly down the creaky strange stairs to eat a little breakfast of coffee and bread before tackling my first solo trufi experience. there are three main forms of public transport, taxis, and then micros (which are rickety old buses) and trufis (which are just normal cars more or less), but both of them (supposedly) have a set line which they follow. even if they are full though, they will still stop for you and squeeze you in (much to the displeasure of the other passengers).

i went to the FSD office, where i met up with julianne and daniel, and lillian (one of the other volunteers) and we all went to the CEPRUJEM "office" which is a church and small convent. Hard, but necessary to adjust to has been the idea of not really knowing what is going on. It comes with the very relaxed idea of time. There arent usually formal introductions with bolivian people... it more seems like you talk to them for a little while and if they decide that they like you and that you are worth their time then they ask for your name. and so we wandered around the convent, attended mass, and ate lunch with a bunch of people, having a jolly time, but i still have no idea who my supervisor is, or who ill be working with. Also, i discovered that monday and friday are some sort of holiday in Sacabamba (where i'm supposedly working) and so i only am supposed to come to work this week from tuesday to thursday =).after leaving Ceprujem i walked all over the city, not intentionally per se , but only partially lost, and discovered a fantastic little coffee place as well as went to an internet cafe. While i was there, someone stole two computers....OH bolivia.

Laura and her friends wanted to give me the best of bolivian welcomes, so we went bolichiando (barhopping) with some of the other interns before heading to pimiento, a discotec which doesnt open until midnight and doesnt close until everyone leaves.

interesting family dynamic - laura is 25 but has a curfew -which is very common here. even though we told mama carmen what time we would be back, she was awake/ woke up when we came back. everyone in the house seems to be very open and (whether voluntarily or not) shares everything with their parents.

6.3 went to this ecological park called Paurami to explore the hillside - beautiful view of the entire city. simple picnic lunch and played the "WAH!" game - throw back to gov school!

i am/was so worried about my host family. i dont speak well enough spanish to be able to hold up my end of an intelligent conversation, and i feel so awkward saying "que?, que" to every other sentence. My host mom is SO incredibly nice though. She absolutely LOVES honey (good choice mom =) and seems to be thrilled by the fact that im trying so hard to communicate, even if the majority of the time I'm failing. Nicholas, the adorable 10 year old, however, NEVER stops talking, and also doesnt hesitate to correct me when i mess up. however grammatically incorrect i am, he is happy to have someone to show his jardin to and to play games with. The oldest daughter, and nicholas's mom, is in Spain studying abroad, but the younger (25) , Laura had a bunch of friends over who loved making fun of my supposedly Mexican spanish.

We went out for a little to "tomar un cafe" which i was super excited for (Bolivian coffee is pretty incredible), but shortly after arriving to the bar discovered that this was apparently just something you tell your parents when you are going out to drink on a thursday night. =) Laura and friends taught me (el cacho) this incredibly complicated dice game. (and i thought the berube family had mastered all levels of complicated fun involving dice) i know my worries are for naught, and that this family is perfect for me! my only regret now is that i will only be able to spend weekends with them, as during the week ill be in el campo.

One part of the Aurora fan section

El Cristo

i haven´t quite gotten a handle on the catchy blog title thing

El Cristo- 5.30
did you know that cochabamba has the largest statue of Jesus in the world? it used to be the one in Rio, which is much more famous, but in 2004 Cochabamba built a bigger one =P
Today we woke up much refreshed to a light breakfast. much to my relief, they had plenty of coffee =) here it is brewed super super strong and kept cold, and then you add warm milk to suit.We then travled to the east of the city to see el Cristo, and to learn a bit about the history of the city. Maurico, a native Cochabambino and the program director for fsd, explained some of the complexities of life in Bolivia, and the many contradictions which prevail.

From there we traveled to La cancha, thought to be the largest market in the world. Picture thousands of people and millions of goods packed to the brim, with every sort of disgusting and delicious smell you could imagine. We were noticeable outsiders walking through the narrow hallways and often people would ask where we were from. Favorite part - the displays of skirts (polleras) and ornate blouses which are worn by cholitas, or women of indigenous ancestory who live in the city. These skirts vary in type but some are so fabulously oranate and beautiful that I'm suprised some Italian fashion designer hasnt coopted them into their spring line. Of course, they are somewhat tempered by the bowler hat precariously balanced atop a braided head which normally completes the outfit.

We then feasted on our first true Bolivian lunch. Almuerzo is the main meal of the day, and usually consists of soup first, and then a full second course. Lucas and I (who were on the same flight) had both lost our luggage, and so returned to the airport with Daniel, another member of the fsd site team, to retrieve it. turns out it wasnt actually there yet, although they had called us to say that it was, and while waiting we talked about Coca. what else? coca has such an important cultural history here, and they always say "coca no es cocaina." Bolivia produces cocaine, but they arent the people who use it. Daniel had very strong opinions on this, as im sure do many people, and it will be interesting to see the different perspectives as i go along.

* embarrasing, yet mildly hilarious sidenote. the adjustment to the altitude has not gone well for me, and i've had a wicked headache since i arrived. Knowing that coca is used to alleviate altitude sickness, i proceeded to chew some yesterday. Little did i know that you arent supposed to swallow it..... I then discovered another use for coca - it can be used to quickly and highly effectively induce vomiting* i have so much to learn =P

A perfect end to the day, i went to a soccer game between two of the different departamentos (states) in Bolivia. not having a particular preference, we aligned with Aurura, the home team, and cheered and cursed them into victory =) Bolivians are intense about their futbol, to the point that riot police have to protect the players during the game, and the referees after. i also learned various bad words which seem to only be appropriate when slung at the opposing team or the refs.