Reunion

Well I am not a fan of working a Sunday but for a good cause I am glad to oblige... (just wish I hadn´t gone to bed at 2am that morning!)

But here´s why. They shared their stories, they fellowshiped, they were authentic and they were beatuiful. I was humbled, moved to tears, honoured to be there and made friends. I know God´s treasure is stunning but I just hadn´t realised how much.

Leo - She was lovely. We became friends.

Discovering the beauty and my first baptism.

Went to a Jazz festival that is currently running and heard some amazing musicians and live Jazz. Whata way to start getting to know the city. They seem to like a lot of jazz so i think I will enjoy being in Cochabamba (CBBA.) One highlight was this young boy. He´s around 10 years old but he could play incredibly well. He outstripped his seniors who were three times his age in his ability ro play jazz piano.  Why was this so incredible? He´s blind. But from such a disability comes this incredible gift of playing so skillfully and he had an energy for life which was so inspiring. One of God´s wonders.

Incredibly gifted young boy

After sampling the nightlife of CBBA, Sarah, Carolin and I decided to go for a walk into the mountains. Through the dusty roads and windying hillside we walked into this remote village and then came across the most beautiful views and countryside and this.

We decided to head back and then stumbled across this group of people and then witnessed this great moment. Yay Jesus!

There were ten in the taxi and the little one said... this hurts! Bolivia 2: England 1

So after a month there are a few things to note:

Transport comes in a few interesting forms.:

Bolivia 1: England 0

Micro

1. Micro buses:   colourfully decorated and operate like our buses and are about the size of a mini van. The micro tally so far is 37 people -It's almost like the London Underground all squished in except you pretty much have people hanging out the door and holding on to the wing mirror. Literally hanging on,. They drive with the door open so you sometimes have to do a bit of a running jump into the bus while it still moves to get on. Kind of like being in the movies pretending to be James Bond and doing running dives...I've been close to missing the door and nearly lost my shoe. On the plus side though youcan falg them down anywhere you want and make them stop anywhere en route as they dont have designated bus stops... ie. outside my front door to right outside the door of my project.= v.helpful!
2. And then there is a 'Trufi'. -  You flag these down like you would a taxi cab in NYC by frantiacally waving your hand in the air to get the drivers attention. But unlike most cabs you share it will the public so it's more like a bus in the form of a car - and they pack you in. You can normally fit in about 8 to 9 people into one trufi. It's a pretty cosy ride to work! But it costs 1.70Bs which is about 25p so you cant really complain though they dont really do ´small change´ so if you pay with 2Bs you get 20c back so they make a little profit each time....Also folded arms helps for supporting the top half over the many bumps and potholes - gets a bit uncomfortable otherwise!
3. And then the taxis. - in England the standard is four passengers plus the driver...  well in Bolivia it's a little different. you can fit 10 - driver + 2 in the front and then 3 at the back... and then another person sitting on each passengers lap. Put´s a new spin on the concept of car sharing.  They like to live on the edge a little!

Though on the plus side it`s definitely more ecnomical and the shool run proves very interesting watching the whole family (2 adults, 2 children) all on one motorcycle with the parents sandwiching the kids as the protection barriers.  Still, its not uncommon to see chicks driving motorcycles so that makes me happy...


Bolivia 2: England 1

public toilet

Toliets - They have padded toilet seats in the houses. So soft on the Behind - England, you're missing out!
However, has to be said the whole system of toilet paper takes a bit of getting used to. When one has finished relieving themselves, one does not discard toilet paper in the toilet but rather in the bin next to the toilet. Makes public toilets an expereience. Enough said. Though surprising how one adapts fairly quickly to new systems...



Key stats:

Number of times getting lost: 1 (yay me!)
Number of times of lonliness: 2
Stung by wasp : 1 - (with scar to prove it)
Number of times being sick: 10  (4 alititude sickness, 6 from food poisoning)
Number of days altitude sickness: 3

...so not quite the cultural expereince I was anticipating....

Charades, French, German and Spanglish... and bonding with Scott

So its been an incredible and full on 3 weeks so far:

Most of the entertainment comes at dinner time when the conversation is a mixture of charades and acting out what we mean putting our theatre skills to good use. At the same time, I am teaching German in Bolivia, speaking French whilst learning Spanish. The children in my family keep asking me to teach them phrases in German and French which is great fun as well as in English. So i spend my time speaking what little Spanish I know and they speak in English and we muddle through! It's hard to switch off the automatic reflex to reply in French (as I am so used to this being the main foreign langauge I speak) so replying in French and then looking at  confused faces only to realise I am using the wrong language!

Still despite this after 18 hours of lessons I can communitcate the basics and have been told by my teacher that I am moving towards intermediate level already and can undersatnd about 70% of what most people are saying to me... except I still can't speak very well! Today I have just started to attack the past tense of the language... and now my head hurts.

So Scott has taken to spending his time chilling here... makes going for a pee an expereince. Seeing as he is determined not to move it seems we spend a bit of bonding time when i´m on the loo... 

Proyecto en Bolivia donde yo trabajo...

This is where I will be working for the next 12 months. I am working in two projects that are linked together. Helpfully they are next door to each other so it makes switching between the two very easy. 

Anderson

In the mornings I am working with the children in the Montessori school which opened this Feb. It has come a long way already and is constantly developing and adapting its methods. In the afternoon I am based at the women´s house where they do amazing work. They have workshops in body combat, theatre, psychology therapy, workshops in the community, a bakery where the women can learn how to make things to sell to provide their income as well as helping them find housing to move into when they finish at the women´s house. 

The first two weeks will be getting to know the structure and the team and observing them but they have already opened their doors to me to be able to help and give suggestions and bringing me on board with the team to run projects and classes. Feel very honoured. 

Matias

Here are some of the Father´s treasure I get to spend my time with every day. They are beautiful. It´s so incredible to feel His pleasure over them and how much He loves them. 

                               

Leo - He´s one of our youngest. He doesn´t speak. just makes noise. But he is gentle and you can tel he is very intelligent. His only word is ´mama´ when he wants to communicate. 

This is Rafael. He and I are friends. Rafa is a little naughty but actually his heart shows a longing for affection. we´ve become buddies now, so much so that when I walk into the room he comes to me and hugs me everyday.

Daisy - she´s a great teacher and knows the children so well. Manuel is one of the happiest babies ever!

Lunch time = meesy time!

The class room.