Bienvenidos once again! Another week gone by, and another week absolutely full of adventures and stops in this journey! I feel like a running theme of the week was FIRE, and here is why-
First of all, we were able to celebrate the Bolivian holiday of dia de San Juan with the team and the boys on Tuesday. Though none of us gringos were exactly sure of the origins of the holiday, what we have gathered over the years is that it is a day where all the people in Bolivia burn things. You burn certain things for luck in different areas of life I guess. Though we did not burn specific things, we definitely had a HUGE bonfire to compete with all other bonfires in the town! The team, the boys, the hosts, and the Hernandez family who built the Centro were all together, eating hot dogs, playing volleyball, and shooting off fireworks. Young boys with fireworks is pretty funny. They loved to shoot fireworks towards one of the dogs, Bobbi, because he kept on trying to eat them, which the boys loved. They also enjoyed using their sparklers to set mini fires in the little grass that was left on the soccer field. It was a good night, that´s for sure. The next day was SO smokey. Cochabamba was prepared for it though- they no longer schedule any flights to take off or land in the city because it is so thick.
The work project I was assigned to this week was burning the weeds in the same field we macheted 2 teams ago. We spent two morenings trying to supervise a manageable fire, which went well about 92 percent of the time. The second day we had to fight a mega-wind that almost caught the abandoned pig farm on fire, but we had a group who was calm under pressure, and we fought that fire back under control. I think that field is my baby this summer, my special project. I have been out there almost every day.
This week was one of the toughest for me. I think I am just pretty tired, but sleeping and taking care of myself have been pretty low on the list of priorities for me. Another bummer for me was that I dropped and broke one of the team member´s cameras, which I really have still been bummed about. Elena, the girl whose camera it was, really humbled me by her reaction though. She told me that she cared more about people than she did about things, and she was really full of grace. And I know that we should care more about people than we do things, and a lot of us say that, but when our THINGS break, we don´t act like that. She taught me a lot about grace even in that one instance. The other hard moment of the week was that I took my first team to the Christ Statue, La Cancha (the market) and the airport by myself, which was tough on me. I felt so nervous and unconfident for the first time since I´ve been a host. It was a week that showed me that I still have a lot of confidence issues within me that I still need to put to rest.
One thing is for sure- God is growing and stretching me a lot. My fellow hosts and the team members have incredible God-stories that have made me stand in awe of God. I´m learning to lean on God, and that He is big enough, strong enough, and worthy enough for my burdens.
The first Lake Forest team arrived on Friday, bringing INTERESTING news about Michael Jackson, Ferrah Fawcett, and Iran. It´s unbelievable how removed we are from any news. The LFCC team also brought the news about Steph! Rumor had it that he´s heading to Washington (though some said California?) which is SWEET because that´s my home for the next 9 months! Whooo!
Anyways, hasta luego! Muchos abrazos!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
All Work AND All Play
Time is flying here as I check my watch to make sure it´s sunday already, and time again to blog! Team #2 got here on Friday, but the week has been wonderful.
Although we didn´t have teams to work alongside of us, there was still much work to do around the BLC this week. We tackled quite a few work projects, from reorganizing the toolshed to painting the doghouse and fountains to digging trenches to the Bolivian favorite- rock painting, we definitely worked hard for our food.
Working hard this week didnt mean we didnt get to play hard. We found multiple hours a day to play with the children, and had a special night on Wednesday, when the hosts met up with a group of bolivians from the church, and went to town for some BOWLING!! i can´t believe I went bowling in Bolivia!! Even more so, I can´t believe I bowled the first turkey of my life and still lost! We had a great time together though. After the bowling, the Bolivians took us to a special hot spot where they sell anticucho- Cow heart!! And it was comparably as delicious as the llama meat I had on Sunday! yummmm!
Tio Alberto (AJ Hergenroeder) arrived this week, which has been great. It´s great for the boys to have a solid Christian guy around. And among other things, he has become the new recieving end of many of the boys´jkokes. He read his Spanish textbook on the flight here, so the boys have loved his formal and proper sayings, such as ¨Desafortunadamente¨and ¨Desde me punto de vista¨. They have already welcomed him in, no surprise there. ´
Yesterday was the big highlight of the week. At 8am, we piled into multiple vans, and rode off to th park for the day. I got to touch a baskteball for the first time since I´ve been here. I realized just how much I miss it. I played one game in the AM of Tia Amanda vs. 7 chicos, and won 5-0. Then they began to call me the wife of Goliath. Oh, they crack me up.
In the middle of the morning, I took a side trip with Sandra, the BLC nurse, and 2 of the boys, Alfredo and Marcelino. We went into town together, then I took Marcelino to the orthodontist while Sandra ran to the pharmacy with Alfredo. Since Marcelino has last seen the ortho, he took out his wire and lost the brackets on his two front teeth. Needless to sat, the trip was much needed. And poor Alfredo has been on crutches for 6 weeks and the end is not in sight because an x-ray showed that the bone in the leg that he broke is still fractured. BTW, he was injured doing a ropes course with the Bolivian army- the rope underneath his feet broke and he fell to the ground and broke his leg. Anyways, it was so wonderful to be with Marcelino at the othro. I hope I did half the job Tia Kimmi would have done!
After we ran those errands, we drove back to the park to find 2-3 dozen of the boys in their undies jumping into the POOL. In bolivian WINTER. I hadn´t been back for 7 minutes when I was suddenly swarmed by a group of the grandes, who took my shoes off, then threw me in to join them. It took a LOONG time to defrost after that. But I´ll talke that as a sign of affection.
After the park and dinner, we took the team and a group of the boys to a Saturday night youth service. On the way home, Allie, Allison and I rode in the trufi with the boys in it. Allison and I were in the back, surrounded by niños who were exhausted. As they all started to fall asleep, I was overwhelmed by the moment. Marcelino was asleep on one side of me, and Cristian on the other. I was just rubbing their backs, touching their hair, giving them healthy, motherly affection. My connection to them all is so indescribable and unique. It´s not quite mother, not quite sister, not quite friend. But gosh, it´s SOOOO deeeep. These kids are all soooooo worth it. I hope my actions are reinforcing that, and that they help somehow in their healing processes.
I love you all. Happy Father´s Day!
Although we didn´t have teams to work alongside of us, there was still much work to do around the BLC this week. We tackled quite a few work projects, from reorganizing the toolshed to painting the doghouse and fountains to digging trenches to the Bolivian favorite- rock painting, we definitely worked hard for our food.
Working hard this week didnt mean we didnt get to play hard. We found multiple hours a day to play with the children, and had a special night on Wednesday, when the hosts met up with a group of bolivians from the church, and went to town for some BOWLING!! i can´t believe I went bowling in Bolivia!! Even more so, I can´t believe I bowled the first turkey of my life and still lost! We had a great time together though. After the bowling, the Bolivians took us to a special hot spot where they sell anticucho- Cow heart!! And it was comparably as delicious as the llama meat I had on Sunday! yummmm!
Tio Alberto (AJ Hergenroeder) arrived this week, which has been great. It´s great for the boys to have a solid Christian guy around. And among other things, he has become the new recieving end of many of the boys´jkokes. He read his Spanish textbook on the flight here, so the boys have loved his formal and proper sayings, such as ¨Desafortunadamente¨and ¨Desde me punto de vista¨. They have already welcomed him in, no surprise there. ´
Yesterday was the big highlight of the week. At 8am, we piled into multiple vans, and rode off to th park for the day. I got to touch a baskteball for the first time since I´ve been here. I realized just how much I miss it. I played one game in the AM of Tia Amanda vs. 7 chicos, and won 5-0. Then they began to call me the wife of Goliath. Oh, they crack me up.
In the middle of the morning, I took a side trip with Sandra, the BLC nurse, and 2 of the boys, Alfredo and Marcelino. We went into town together, then I took Marcelino to the orthodontist while Sandra ran to the pharmacy with Alfredo. Since Marcelino has last seen the ortho, he took out his wire and lost the brackets on his two front teeth. Needless to sat, the trip was much needed. And poor Alfredo has been on crutches for 6 weeks and the end is not in sight because an x-ray showed that the bone in the leg that he broke is still fractured. BTW, he was injured doing a ropes course with the Bolivian army- the rope underneath his feet broke and he fell to the ground and broke his leg. Anyways, it was so wonderful to be with Marcelino at the othro. I hope I did half the job Tia Kimmi would have done!
After we ran those errands, we drove back to the park to find 2-3 dozen of the boys in their undies jumping into the POOL. In bolivian WINTER. I hadn´t been back for 7 minutes when I was suddenly swarmed by a group of the grandes, who took my shoes off, then threw me in to join them. It took a LOONG time to defrost after that. But I´ll talke that as a sign of affection.
After the park and dinner, we took the team and a group of the boys to a Saturday night youth service. On the way home, Allie, Allison and I rode in the trufi with the boys in it. Allison and I were in the back, surrounded by niños who were exhausted. As they all started to fall asleep, I was overwhelmed by the moment. Marcelino was asleep on one side of me, and Cristian on the other. I was just rubbing their backs, touching their hair, giving them healthy, motherly affection. My connection to them all is so indescribable and unique. It´s not quite mother, not quite sister, not quite friend. But gosh, it´s SOOOO deeeep. These kids are all soooooo worth it. I hope my actions are reinforcing that, and that they help somehow in their healing processes.
I love you all. Happy Father´s Day!
Monday, June 15, 2009
There´s a first time for everything!
Hello again!!
I can´t believe a full week has gone by!! This week was a week full of firsts for me. The first church team has come and gone. They were a lot of fun, but it was a week chock full of activities. we started work projects around the orphanage this week. 4 of the most macho, most excited team members joined me in cutting the grass and weeds in an overgrown field at the center... with machetes. That was my first time using a machete, and the first time I didn´t cut grass with some sort of machine. The machete´s were pretty cool though... they made a fun schwing sounds when you used it right! It took three days, but it payed off the moment we saw Monica and the other cow run into their new pasture to graze.
Another first for me this week was making me first connection with the grandes, the oldest kids. All the kids 4 - 12 are pretty accessible and open, but the grandes take more time to warm up to the gringos. This week, during the bonfire, I made my first connection with the grandes. How? Through none other than our shared love for High School Musical!! Haha. A group of them approached me during the bonfire and asked if i knew the songs, and as soon as I said yes, they sat down in a circle around me and asked me to sing song after song. It was a riot. So, for all you HSM critics wondering why I like it even though I´m 21 years old, it has helped me big time here in Bolivia!!
Another first: eating chicken heart and cow tongue!! We go to this restaurant with the teams that serves 37 different kinds of meat! I tried some pretty wacky food! The cow tongue I ate and I enjoyed it before I even knew what it was. The chicken heart was pretty greasy though- I probably won´t revisit that delicacy. I saved cow udder and cow heart for the next visit!!
This week also marked my first visit to the Christ statue in Cochabamba, competing with a Christ statue in Brazil to be the tallest and highest one in the world! Allison (my co-host and roommmate) and I had high hopes of running the 1423 stairs to the top of the statue, but after about 5 minutes of running in that altitude, we realized that we were crazy for thinking it was possible. Maybe in July... But the view of the city from the top is incredible. I wish I could download pictures now! The mountains, the city, everything. You could see it all.
Finally, I am getting over my first bout of sickness... I did not come prepared for a winter like this!! It´s pretty brutal, but hopefully I´ll get used to it eventually.
I´m still loving getting to know the boys. We had an afternoon of volleyball yesterday, which was great. I don´t think there was a single possession where we used 3 hits, but we all had a wonderful time. Most of the boys got haircuts yesterdat, so I´m working hard to keep them all straight. I love playing with them, even if they call me Amanda la vaca gorda (the fat cow). We don´t have a team this week, so I am selfishly looking forward to some legit face time! Last night, Allison and I took on 4 of the grandes in a pillow fight! That´s the kind of stuff my heart beats for.
Such a great week. Love yall! Missing you!!
I can´t believe a full week has gone by!! This week was a week full of firsts for me. The first church team has come and gone. They were a lot of fun, but it was a week chock full of activities. we started work projects around the orphanage this week. 4 of the most macho, most excited team members joined me in cutting the grass and weeds in an overgrown field at the center... with machetes. That was my first time using a machete, and the first time I didn´t cut grass with some sort of machine. The machete´s were pretty cool though... they made a fun schwing sounds when you used it right! It took three days, but it payed off the moment we saw Monica and the other cow run into their new pasture to graze.
Another first for me this week was making me first connection with the grandes, the oldest kids. All the kids 4 - 12 are pretty accessible and open, but the grandes take more time to warm up to the gringos. This week, during the bonfire, I made my first connection with the grandes. How? Through none other than our shared love for High School Musical!! Haha. A group of them approached me during the bonfire and asked if i knew the songs, and as soon as I said yes, they sat down in a circle around me and asked me to sing song after song. It was a riot. So, for all you HSM critics wondering why I like it even though I´m 21 years old, it has helped me big time here in Bolivia!!
Another first: eating chicken heart and cow tongue!! We go to this restaurant with the teams that serves 37 different kinds of meat! I tried some pretty wacky food! The cow tongue I ate and I enjoyed it before I even knew what it was. The chicken heart was pretty greasy though- I probably won´t revisit that delicacy. I saved cow udder and cow heart for the next visit!!
This week also marked my first visit to the Christ statue in Cochabamba, competing with a Christ statue in Brazil to be the tallest and highest one in the world! Allison (my co-host and roommmate) and I had high hopes of running the 1423 stairs to the top of the statue, but after about 5 minutes of running in that altitude, we realized that we were crazy for thinking it was possible. Maybe in July... But the view of the city from the top is incredible. I wish I could download pictures now! The mountains, the city, everything. You could see it all.
Finally, I am getting over my first bout of sickness... I did not come prepared for a winter like this!! It´s pretty brutal, but hopefully I´ll get used to it eventually.
I´m still loving getting to know the boys. We had an afternoon of volleyball yesterday, which was great. I don´t think there was a single possession where we used 3 hits, but we all had a wonderful time. Most of the boys got haircuts yesterdat, so I´m working hard to keep them all straight. I love playing with them, even if they call me Amanda la vaca gorda (the fat cow). We don´t have a team this week, so I am selfishly looking forward to some legit face time! Last night, Allison and I took on 4 of the grandes in a pillow fight! That´s the kind of stuff my heart beats for.
Such a great week. Love yall! Missing you!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
HOLA!
Hola, for the first time from Sipe Sipe, Bolivia! After 5 days, I could write a decent sized novel about everything I´m experiencing. First off, in Bolivia, schedules are definitely "ish". Example: Our plane, going ¨direct to Cochabamba¨, stopped in Columbia first, then in Santa Cruz. Our flight, scheduled to land at 7am, got in at 930, no big deal.
The airport is where we met Jearsen, the director of the centro, and he took us there! the drive is 24km but took about 45 minutes. There is one Bolivian traffic rule- don´t get hit. There is only a center line on the paved roads, and the cars can make as many lanes as they think can fit. Along the roads, we passed trash-filled streets, farm animals and street dogs, as well as many unfinished buildings. We pulled off the road about 40 minutes into the trip, down a dirt road. This led us to the centro. (For those of you requesting a physical address for the centro, our street doesn´t have a name, and the centro doesn´t recieve mail directly- they pick it up at the Church they attend).
Thus began my journey to the centro!
5 days after that first car ride, there are so many things that have moved me.
-the kids. i was so nervous as I got out of the trufi and saw a dozen boys ready to help haul up our suitcases up three flights of stairs. This is my first memory of them, and the moment I knew I needed to be here this summer-- the sight of these 7-11 year old boys trying to carry suitcases twice their size and weight up the stairs was pretty amazing. Since then, the nerves have vanioshed, and the pure bliss of playing with these boys has set in. It´s the little things they do that continue to touch my heart. For example, on day 2, one mediano, Isaias, gave me a drawing addressed to tia amanda (tia=aunt, and Amanda is easier for them), and he wrote a note saying ¨¨you are a flower that God has placed in my garden.¨Honestly, how can they not capture my heart!!
¨- tiempo de cosquillas- we get to go rile up the little ones before they go to bed, tickling them, chasing them, playing games with them. Then, we get to try to calm them down and tuck them into bed, pray with them, and let them know that they are worthy and loved. We have also been able to take a few hours a day to play outside with the boys. Basically, all the highlights include these kids. They´re so wonderful.
- The food is amazing. My favorite dish thus far is called pique, a traditional bolivian dish full of delicious goodness. I am working on liking tomatoes, because they love their tomatos here- i no longer remove them from my meals. =) so far so good!
- I am understanding probably 85% of what´s going on here. The Bolivians love it that we try, so I´ve been trying to speak as much as possible.
- Bolivia has declared itself 100% literate as a country. They join the likes of Columbia and Cuba... Hmmm.
- Yesterday was a celebration of all the orphanages in CBBA. We took the kids to the stadium where there was music, and afterwards we walked in a parade with them. Imagine trying to keep track of 76 kids in a place like that- ay ay ay!!
- The centro has two cows: Monica and the other has yet to be named.... Some of the kids tease me and tell me it will be named Amanda. Monica is pregnant, and MIGHT deliver while I´m here. THAT will be a new experience!!!
Okay, well I´m going to wrap it up-- know that I am absolutely wonderful, and enjoying each and every day of this Bolivian winter!!
con mucho amor,
Mandy
-
The airport is where we met Jearsen, the director of the centro, and he took us there! the drive is 24km but took about 45 minutes. There is one Bolivian traffic rule- don´t get hit. There is only a center line on the paved roads, and the cars can make as many lanes as they think can fit. Along the roads, we passed trash-filled streets, farm animals and street dogs, as well as many unfinished buildings. We pulled off the road about 40 minutes into the trip, down a dirt road. This led us to the centro. (For those of you requesting a physical address for the centro, our street doesn´t have a name, and the centro doesn´t recieve mail directly- they pick it up at the Church they attend).
Thus began my journey to the centro!
5 days after that first car ride, there are so many things that have moved me.
-the kids. i was so nervous as I got out of the trufi and saw a dozen boys ready to help haul up our suitcases up three flights of stairs. This is my first memory of them, and the moment I knew I needed to be here this summer-- the sight of these 7-11 year old boys trying to carry suitcases twice their size and weight up the stairs was pretty amazing. Since then, the nerves have vanioshed, and the pure bliss of playing with these boys has set in. It´s the little things they do that continue to touch my heart. For example, on day 2, one mediano, Isaias, gave me a drawing addressed to tia amanda (tia=aunt, and Amanda is easier for them), and he wrote a note saying ¨¨you are a flower that God has placed in my garden.¨Honestly, how can they not capture my heart!!
¨- tiempo de cosquillas- we get to go rile up the little ones before they go to bed, tickling them, chasing them, playing games with them. Then, we get to try to calm them down and tuck them into bed, pray with them, and let them know that they are worthy and loved. We have also been able to take a few hours a day to play outside with the boys. Basically, all the highlights include these kids. They´re so wonderful.
- The food is amazing. My favorite dish thus far is called pique, a traditional bolivian dish full of delicious goodness. I am working on liking tomatoes, because they love their tomatos here- i no longer remove them from my meals. =) so far so good!
- I am understanding probably 85% of what´s going on here. The Bolivians love it that we try, so I´ve been trying to speak as much as possible.
- Bolivia has declared itself 100% literate as a country. They join the likes of Columbia and Cuba... Hmmm.
- Yesterday was a celebration of all the orphanages in CBBA. We took the kids to the stadium where there was music, and afterwards we walked in a parade with them. Imagine trying to keep track of 76 kids in a place like that- ay ay ay!!
- The centro has two cows: Monica and the other has yet to be named.... Some of the kids tease me and tell me it will be named Amanda. Monica is pregnant, and MIGHT deliver while I´m here. THAT will be a new experience!!!
Okay, well I´m going to wrap it up-- know that I am absolutely wonderful, and enjoying each and every day of this Bolivian winter!!
con mucho amor,
Mandy
-
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