Leaving for Concepcion

I realize I haven´t updated my blog in a while and so I apologize for this. I will work on trying to write more frequently in the future. This is my last weekend in Santa Cruz because I plan on leaving for Concepcion this Sunday afternoon. I have greatly enjoyed my time here in Santa Cruz, it has been very beneficial. I have had the opportunity to adapt to a new environment, study Spanish and connect with my host family. I have really appreciated having a safe environment where I could practice my Spanish. Even though my family would laugh occasionally at my misconstrued sentences, they were very considerate and corrected my mistakes; street vendors have been less sympathetic. I am especially thankful for Doña Nati because she would talk slowly and would always make sure I understood what was said at the dinner table. I will also miss our conversations on the way home from work every day and all the wonderful food she she has prepared for me. I was truly blessed to have such a wonderful home stay and will look forward and visiting them when I return to the city every month (unless there are bloqueos).

I am very anxious to be leaving even though I have enjoyed my time here in Santa Cruz. They city is nice, but after spending time in Santiago this past weekend (remote town south east of Santa Cruz), I am ready to live in the country; I hope I still hold this opinion for the remainder of the year. I am very anxious to meet my new host family, yet also a little nervous. I have become comfortable with the customs of my current host family and they have adopted me as part of the family. I realize it will be an adjustment moving in with another family and learning to abide by their expectations. It will take some time to build trust and become comfortable with one another, yet hopefully that won´t take too long and I will have as good, if not better, of a relationship as I do with Doña Nati and her family.

Most of all I am anxious to begin my job which starts this Monday the 29. I am excited to meet the people I will be working with and to begin working with the youth in the community. Besides helping the youth with reading, I might have the opportunity to also address other aspects such as teaching proper research and paraphrasing skills. Please pray for my patience though because at times I desire to see immediate and explicit results, which is obviously not always possible. I must remember not to focus solely on being effective. Also, despite my best efforts, I will most likely be effective in a way I originally did not intend.

I would also like to reinforce that I am doing fine here in Bolivia and feel perfectly safe. Currently there is a festival going on in Santa Cruz and the violence has resided. All the bloqueos have been lifted as well, thus Gas and other goods can be distributed and sold. Talks will then resume between the opposing parties on October 15. Depending on how those turn out, things could flare up again. I pray a compromise is reached and the situation isn´t reduced to violence. I will do my best on trying to keep all of you informed.

I want to stress again that I appreciate all the prayers, they are very comforting. God Bless.

An Unfortunate Week

This weekend our SALT team was supposed to be traveling to Moro Moro to visit one of the MCC locations. However our travel plans have been postponed due to the current situation. It is a rather interesting time to be living in Santa Cruz, especially this past week. Road blocks are scattered throughout the country inhibiting travel in and out of the Santa Cruz, unrest between classes because of attempts to redistribute land and money, and the city of Santa Cruz is facing uprisings and much vandalism. Many places, such as the national phone company Entel, the immigration office, the bus station, land distribution offices and more have been victim to mobs within the past few days. The whole situation here is escalating rather quickly and many Bolivians have commented that things are the worst they have seen. Also, if you have been following the news lately you will have read that the United States ambassador was kicked out of Bolivia and recently the same has happened in Venezuela. The United States has answered by removing the Bolivian and Venezuelan ambassadors from the United States. I have also been told Evo Morales has sent the military to Santa Cruz today to "help" sort things out given there is much vandalism and deaths have started to occur. Obviously there is much to be sorted out.

I am still learning more about the history of why events have unfolded in this manner and why there is so much tension and unrest. I would love to be able to provide a detailed response to why the problems exist, but I feel rather inept at the moment because I am still figuring out a lot for myself. However, one of the other SALTers serving here in Bolivia has a wealth of knowledge in the history of Bolivia and being fluent in Spanish, has been able to dialogue with many of the locals. I have enjoyed talking with him about the present situation and have learned much. However there is no use in me writing about the topic when he has already done such a nice job. If you have interest in finding out more about the present situation and why there is so much tension within Bolivia, I encourage you to check out his blog at http://wiggipe.wordpress.com/. He has three posts which are quite interesting and worth your time.

I will do my best in the future to keep persons updated on the situation at hand. I do not feel threatened and the other the volunteers have commented they feel very safe as well. It is just sad to witness the recent events and to see, what are normally very peaceful people, resort to such behavior. Blessings.

Host Stay in Santa Cruz

On the left is a picture of my host mom Doña Nati. I hope to get a picture of my two brothers when they are both around.

(Above picture) The door on the far left opens to my room and one of my brothers has the room on the far right. The other brother generously moved out of his room and shares with Doña Nati so I could have my own room. They are very hospitable and I am very thankful.

The picture above is of our dining room and through the door is the kitchen. My host mother is an excellent cook and I have been spoiled with delicious food for the past couple of weeks.



The pictures below depict the courtyard and were taken from the door of my room. This is where we do our laundry and where they raise their chickens. I am so thankful for my host family here in Santa Cruz. They have been so hospitable and have made my transition into the Bolivian culture much easier. They are truely a blessing to me.

Three Weeks Come Tomorrow

Tomorrow will complete three weeks since my arrival on August 17. The first week seemed to drag on given I was extremely overwhelmed with language and the whole shock of a new situation. The following weekend seemed to last just as long, if not longer than the first week because for the first time in my life I was fairly isolated. This was a new experience for me because at college and back home, friends were always right down the hall or a phone call away. A year was beginning to seem like a very long time. However this previous week was much better for me. I feel more adjusted to the culture and my Spanish has improved since my arrival which I am appreciative of. It is also very helpful to have other SALTers for a support group and the persons prayers from back home. Yet three weeks will soon pass quickly and I will be on my way to Concepcion where new challenges and experiences await.
I am anticipating this move because even though I really enjoy my host family and the MCC support group, I am anxious to be in a smaller setting. Maybe my perception of the campo (country) is a little idealistic, but I believe I will enjoy it a little more. I will let you know if my opinion changes after a couple of months. I do like the city and all, but it is very busy and like I have previously shared, you can feel very isolated. Primarily though I am quite ready to start my job even though I have enjoyed this period of adjustment in Santa Cruz.
Nothing has really changed thus far in my schedule. I have language study two hours every morning and spend the afternoons with my tutors for a couple of hours. This past Thursday we went and saw a movie dubbed in Spanish: The Mummy. I then spend the evenings with my host family. However this weekend we will be hopefully be heading to Moro Moro, it all depends if there are bloqueos (acts of civil disobedience in which citizens block all travel on different roads throughout the country) or not. They are quite annoying and have caused a diesel shortage in the city which means there are less micros driving around and people have to wait longer to get home.
I will hopefully be posting some pictures soon showing where I live and who my host family is. Blessings and thank you for all your prayers.