Week 4

I’m falling behind on sleep.  I get to bed around 12am every night and am up around 5-6am everyday.  Including all of the walking and sweating from giving Bible studies, I need more rest.  I just slept in a couple times and that felt amazing!  I love sleep!  Haha  Food is good, but I am starting to feel like I am lacking something all the time.  But then, I believe that I am just craving junk food.  ;) 

December 4^th marks a few major events.  First, we’re moving to Quebrada Leon.  Second, Lucia is leaving!  It’s a very very busy day to pack and move, but also a sad one since hermaninga is leaving.  I’m going to miss her a lot.  The red truck was having some issues with the brakes.  We loaded the trailer, yellow and white trucks up and took 2 trips (to and from Quebrada).  One round trip takes approximately an hour and a half.  Me, Greg, and Edward hung off the back of the truck.  Fun but very dusty.  Greg and I HAD to wear white shirts that day.  -________-;;;  The trucks were stuffed and piled high with mattresses, chairs, tables, kitchen supplies, food, luggage, and etc…  Because of the car problems, several of us had to take public transportation back to the school.  We rode the city bus.  In a bus that seats 23, we had about 37 people in it at one point.  And the way that people squeeze in, I’m sure they could have fit in another dozen or so persons.  Oh, and since everyone is so short in Bolivia, I need to make sure to stoop or duck down to avoid hitting my head on objects.  The bus allowed me to stand, just barely.  The fare from La Guardia to El Torno was 2.50 bs (~40 cents).  I bought a bunch of bananas for supper.  5.50 bs for 11 bananas.  I think I got a good deal.  :D  The red truck showed up and was going to Quebrada!  So we didn’t have to get on and pay for a ride in.  Yay!  I rode outside the truck… I’m already dirty so.  ^^  It’s really fun, but you’ll have aching arms. 

I did my first load of laundry by HAND!  It was actually kind of relaxing and I definitely got to know my clothes better.  I wish I brought more sweat-wicking and non-iron shirts.  I bought a laundry bar soap for about 40 cents.  It should last me a while.  I realized how difficult it can be to get out mango stains and just dirt stains.  You hear troops of monkeys screaming and howling in the distance.  There aren’t as many bugs here!!  Thank you!! 

I got to work in the chaco.  It’s basically a garden from a section of jungle that has been slashed and burned.  It’s about a 15 minute walk from the school and over a few small streams and through jungle paths.  There are rice plants, corn, banana trees, and even papaya trees!  Anyways, weeding with large hoes and cutting bushes with machetes was kind of fun!  Very difficult and tiring though.  There are many plants that have large, and I mean large thorns.  Cuidado!  I killed a few rice plants… Oops!  I worked ALL DAY!  Okay, its ridiculously hot and humid.  I used my handkerchief for 30 mins before moving on to my sleeves.   Then used the whole front of my shirt.  And we have to wear long pants and boots too to avoid getting cut or bit.  I was given a pair of work gloves, but you still have to be careful.  Bolivian thorns are ridiculous.  Gah!  The chaco is very pretty but the work is very demanding.  Thankfully, I did not see any jumping vipers or tarantulas.  There was a large termite mound near the end of my work area.  It was covered in termites and I found that there are different sizes amongst the workers.  The joys of a biology major.  :D  I went through more than 4L of water. 

Ryan Kim has a few books of classical music for piano!  I am learning the wedding march and a few others.  It seems like everyone knows Fur Elise.  They don’t know who wrote it, but know the tune.  Anyways, it’s fun even though I’m playing on a keyboard.  The Kim’s will be leaving at the end of the month (December) and then Greg and I will be the only pianists here.  ^^

The school year…for countries below the equator?  (I’m assuming they are all the same) Schools start in March and end in November.  Graduation at Quebrada Leon was originally planned for December 15^th, but last minute changes called for the 7^th.  There were only 4 graduates present; some of them left before grad.  Greg worked on a slideshow for the school year for a couple days.  Everyone worked on decorations, cleaning, cooking, and getting dressed up for the event.  I was in charge of taking photographs as well as videography.  Ryan and Greg helped me a little bit, but I took videos the entire time.  I took a few group shots of the graduates, teachers, and the whole group.  The food was AMAZING: vegan that is.  The Kim’s have kimchi from time to time and that is a treat.  Only problem being that the Bolivians really like kimchi as well!  Who thought of that.. XD

Saturday, it rained ALL DAY.  It had also rained during the night.  We usually go to the San Jose and La Guardia church but with the amount of rain, the rivers swell to a point where you cannot cross.  It was nice to stay and have service at Quebrada.  The only major downfall was that we didn’t get to visit our bible study contacts.  We’ll have to wait until Wednesday.   When it rains here, it gets chilly.  Especially with the strong winds and humidity. 

December 2-8