Since Thanksgiving passed as an ordinary day here in Bolivia, I was looking forward for Christmas and the holiday season. I was very excited to see how a different culture celebrates the birth of Jesus. This would also be the first time I would celebrate Christmas in 90 degree weather, along with rain instead of snow. Not something I particularly appreciate because I miss the cold weather and snow, but I do realize others would gladly spend Christmas in a warmer environment. However location should not make a difference since or focus is on something more.
Christmas Eve started like any other day, but soon evolved into a food extravaganza. The MCC couple and myself planned dinner with another MCC couple because we had yet to be invited to another celebration. The other family are also new to Bolivia and have yet to establish many relationships. However later that day someone did finally invite us, well actually two families extended an invitation. Not wanting to cancel plans with anyone, we went ahead and ate dinner at 6:00 with the MCC couple even though we would have more food later that evening. We then went to mass at San Silvestre where the MCC couple (Chris and Lindsay) and my host family attend.
The Christmas Eve service resembled a typical mass. There were literary readings, music and communion. However, at the end of the service everyone lined up to have the baby Jesus from their nativity scenes blessed. They would later be added to the nativity scenes after midnight, when it was officially Christmas. Infant baptisms then took place after the whole service was done. All in all it was a very nice service and I was thankful I could attend a Christmas Eve service. Had I been part of an Evangelical church here in Bolivia, I would not have attended one because they don´t have Christmas Eve services since they want to be distinctly different from the Catholic Church. I might also mention that we got invited to another meal after the service. That meant we had to fit in three more meals before going to bed. For one that is difficult because two of the meals needed to be completed within 2 hours and secondly our guts were in for some serious torment.
We managed to attend two of the invitations within an hour and a half. Pork, yucca (similar to a potato, very filling), rice, potato salads and pop were served at both and we had the joy of looking forward to the same meal at the next house. I was stuffed after my second meal and the third was just painful. The other two volunteers were feeling the same. However denying the next family´s hospitality would have been rude so after finishing our third meal we painfully jogged to our final invitation because we were running late. We arrived just as they started to serve one another.
I don´t know where I put my final meal, but it was definitely not enjoyable. I never thought I would have to say that. I was just glad they didn´t offer me seconds. Anyways after the meal we were then entertained with two hours of fireworks. A Bolivian tradition is to light off a hoard of fireworks during celebrations, thus it felt more like the fourth of July than Christmas. Finally at two in the morning we hobbled home and went to bed, only to look forward to a large Christmas meal the next day.
Christmas day is very relaxed here in Bolivia and everyone sleeps and rests from the previous nights festivities. So we ended up having a delicious meal at the MCC center. We then returned in the afternoon because we were supposed to practice for a dance, but that ended up getting postponed to Saturday.(I felt privileged to participate in a native dance despite my lack of grace and smooth, rhythmic movement) Instead we relaxed in the afternoon and opened a couple of presents in the evening. All in all it was a very good Christmas and I am very interested in seeing how the New Year celebration will proceed.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Moving
Tomorrow I will be moving in with two MCC volunteers who live in the Plan 3000 while we wait for the husband of the projected host family to approve the living situation, but he has been absent for the past couple of weeks due to his work. I will also be attending a meeting tomorrow in the evening with persons from the community and MCC to finalize the logistics of my job, which is very exciting. Christmas and the New Year celebrations will also allow me to establish new relationships and beomce more familiar with the new setting. This will be helpful as I plan for the coming year. Thank you for your prayers, Dios les bendiga. ¡Feliz Navidad!
Another thing, I appologize if you have left a comment and are waiting for me to respond. For some reason I have had difficulty receiving comments and whenever I check it says I don´t have any which I assumed to be true. But a friend recently told me I have receieved some, but I couldn´t find them. I don´t understand that, but please feel free to send me an email if you have any questions.
Another thing, I appologize if you have left a comment and are waiting for me to respond. For some reason I have had difficulty receiving comments and whenever I check it says I don´t have any which I assumed to be true. But a friend recently told me I have receieved some, but I couldn´t find them. I don´t understand that, but please feel free to send me an email if you have any questions.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Change in Location
Many changes have taken place since my last blog entry. Our SALT group traveled to Moro Moro, a remote city in the Mountains, for a re-scheduled orientation trip due to the conflicts back in September. A MCC team lives there, along with another SALTer, working at providing clean, running water to the people. They utilize natural springs and through a system of tanks and piping, fresh drinking water is available for families. The SALTer living there, along with another volunteer, also help construct dry latrines which not only provide bathroom services, but fertilization for their gardens as well. All in all it was a good escape and break for us SALTers and a chance to experience a 10 hour bus ride on less than desirable dirt roads. More often than not we would pass very close to the edge of cliff allowing the window-seat passengers to feel a little uncomfortable. During the rainy season the passage is quite dangerous and one of the volunteers entertained us with stories of close calls while making the trip during the rainy months. The cold weather was also a wonderful break from the heat here in Concepcion and hiking through the mountains provided much needed exercise.
Before leaving for Moro Moro though, I had a meeting about my job here in Concepcion. My original job did not turn out as anticipated and basically there is only enough work for one person instead of two. In the coming months the library will also not be funded by Plan International who MCC works which raises some questions about the future. Instead the city government will provide funding. Therefore the new job was presented and left up for me to decide. A very difficult decision for me to contemplate given the relationships I have established with my host family and others in the community. This also means I will basically have to "start over" again, getting accustomed to a new location, host family and work environment. However I will possibily return to the libary for one week in February when they plan on having activities.
I will be living about an hour away from the MCC center in the Plan 3000 with a host family. This suburb (I use this term for lack of a better word. The Plan 3000 is not an escape from the poorer parts of the city) was constructed to accommodate for the rapid growth of the city. It is a poorer neighborhood and where a considerable amount of violence took place back in September. The library in the Plan 3000 is supported by the Catholic Church and a 16 year old male (Maurico, who will also be my host brother) works part time in the library while also attending school. Thus the library is not consistently open while he is away which does not provide a consistent opportunity for people to utilize its resources. Therefore I will be supporting Maurico, attending to the library while he is at school. Living closer to the MCC office also allows me to support Sandra who is in charge of the library program for MCC. The volunteer who was previously working with her finished their three year term which will not be filled by another volunteer. This leaves Sandra rather busy and she would appreciate my support.
Due to the violence back in September, there is also the possibility of me supporting and working with the Catholic Church on a peace commission. The church desires to provide a safe place where dialogue can take place and the idea is that the library could provide such an opportunity. I do not know all of the specifics, but this sounds like an exciting opportunity. We will just have to patiently wait and see what can possibly develop.
The MCC office will be celebrating Christmas December 19 which means I will move from Concepcion the 18th and move in with my new host family within the next week. I am learning to adapt to the unexpected during my time here in Boliva, something Bolivians are experts at. I have appreciated all your prayers and God Bless.
Before leaving for Moro Moro though, I had a meeting about my job here in Concepcion. My original job did not turn out as anticipated and basically there is only enough work for one person instead of two. In the coming months the library will also not be funded by Plan International who MCC works which raises some questions about the future. Instead the city government will provide funding. Therefore the new job was presented and left up for me to decide. A very difficult decision for me to contemplate given the relationships I have established with my host family and others in the community. This also means I will basically have to "start over" again, getting accustomed to a new location, host family and work environment. However I will possibily return to the libary for one week in February when they plan on having activities.
I will be living about an hour away from the MCC center in the Plan 3000 with a host family. This suburb (I use this term for lack of a better word. The Plan 3000 is not an escape from the poorer parts of the city) was constructed to accommodate for the rapid growth of the city. It is a poorer neighborhood and where a considerable amount of violence took place back in September. The library in the Plan 3000 is supported by the Catholic Church and a 16 year old male (Maurico, who will also be my host brother) works part time in the library while also attending school. Thus the library is not consistently open while he is away which does not provide a consistent opportunity for people to utilize its resources. Therefore I will be supporting Maurico, attending to the library while he is at school. Living closer to the MCC office also allows me to support Sandra who is in charge of the library program for MCC. The volunteer who was previously working with her finished their three year term which will not be filled by another volunteer. This leaves Sandra rather busy and she would appreciate my support.
Due to the violence back in September, there is also the possibility of me supporting and working with the Catholic Church on a peace commission. The church desires to provide a safe place where dialogue can take place and the idea is that the library could provide such an opportunity. I do not know all of the specifics, but this sounds like an exciting opportunity. We will just have to patiently wait and see what can possibly develop.
The MCC office will be celebrating Christmas December 19 which means I will move from Concepcion the 18th and move in with my new host family within the next week. I am learning to adapt to the unexpected during my time here in Boliva, something Bolivians are experts at. I have appreciated all your prayers and God Bless.
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