Thursday, November 15, 2007
I Sat on a Wasp.
So I experienced my first wasp/bee sting tonight. I was getting ready for bed ready to crawl into my little travel mosquito net and I opened up the side and sat down on the bed when I felt a sharp pain in my right buttcheek. Yes, that was because I sat on a wasp like creature that stung me…I have no idea how it got INTO my mosquito net but I definitely crushed it (although not to death) when I sat down and was getting ready to swing my legs into the net. When I got up I saw a little wasp like creature squirming inside of the net (at least it’s what I thought a wasp would look like but not that yellowjackets that take over decks in the U.S.)…I assume I’m okay since it’s not a vinchuca that could give me a deadly disease like Chagas and I don’t feel my airway closing up yet so I’m not allergic (although are people only allergic to bee stings and not wasp stings?) So after I got up and noticed a characteristic sting mark with puffy surrounding not unlike other bug bites except more painful…and then I proceeded to take my copy of Life of Pi that was on the nightstand and smother the wasp to smithereens for the next 5 minutes between the book and mattress. But it wouldn’t die. Surprisingly…since I thought the mattress was pretty darn hard, this is not even close to my lovely pillowtop mattress that everyone I know that has slept in it loves so much. So I took my copy of CultureShock! Bolivia and put that on top and smothered it a bit more. And then jumped up and down on it for a bit. Still not dead. Finally I gave up and uncovered the wasp and took the edge of my book and applied all the pressure to the little point where he was squirming and killed the little sucker. Too much excitement for one night I think. Tomorrow I’m off to the Cancha (which means field in Spanish but it’s also the name of the big open market in Cochabamba) to buy a new mattress since the one I currently have is rock hard and smells like dog breath since the volunteer that left it to me let her dog sleep in bed with her. At one point I was considering getting a pet…but after I lost the cat that I was asked to cat-sit for this week (just by putting food out in a bowl for it…unsuccessfully the dog ended up eating all the food I put out) and then I can’t stand animal fur and smell…I’ve decided that the Dog in my middle name is all for show and I really don’t like pets. That and small children too. I think we’re in trouble here. Not sure how this life plan to have kids is going to work. Anyways, if anyone wants to send me a pillowtop mattress that is wasp free and some say…1000 count Egyptian cotton sheets (or flannel does just fine for me too), a down pillow and down comforter…it would be much appreciated. Thanks. And if not, just freaking…umm…yeah. Okay, I’m outtie. Night night!
Random Ramblings…
Sometimes it’s more interesting to read things that aren’t a daily account of what I’ve been doing everyday and right now it’s 1:30 am and I woke up from the crazy barking dogs outside and snorting pigs so I figured I’d do a little writing to keep you guys busy since I haven’t been very good about keeping you updated since I went on my site visit several weeks ago.
Things I miss in Bolivia…was just reading, yes, I said reading, my cookbook that my lovely mother sent me. You know the one, Better Homes and Gardens, red checked cover, lots of practical recipes and tips. And I miss food! The food here isn’t bad actually and I can find stuff that is appetizing to me always, but I miss the grand old days of the dinner parties…fondue parties…the successful recipes, and the attempts at not so successful recipes (tiramisu Evie?) I was just telling my site mate, Pat, today about how I used to scavenge in the clearance home goods section of Macy’s and buy random platters to serve my spinach dip and steaks on. I miss the fondue of gruyere, swiss and emmenthaler, the brie in puffed pastry with walnuts and honey on top served with granny smith apples, the simplicity of the Toll House chocolate chip cookie. I crave sugar snap peas straight out of the bag (might I mention ridiculously overpriced at Stop & Shop at I believe $3.69 for a teeny little bag) served with Hidden Valley ranch dressing, Vlassic bread and butter pickles by the jar, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, microwave bacon (microwaved Evie!), and even Stouffer’s frozen dinners (chicken a la king is my favorite). I yearn for Pio Pio (full out dinner Steph – all the way with maduras, salchipapas, avocado salad, chicken, and sangria – please, let’s eat it in the restaurant and not set off any smoke alarms), dim sum, seafood (any kind! maybe shrimp cocktail though…), and some of that tasty Stamford food like Kit’s Thai Kitchen (drunken noodle!), Hope Street Pizza, and of course Grand’s cheeseburgers with fries. Enough though. Before I curl up in my bed and cry myself to sleep. Only consolation is that I bought 3 regular sized avocados in the market for 1 bs (about $0.13) the other day…the pits are much larger in these avocados but that means guacamole any day I want it!
There are Bolivia moments that make me laugh everyday though…the other day Pat had her dog stolen by a 4 year old girl. No, I’m not kidding. Apparently she went to one of the preschool centers that she is working at and this little girl that she had bought the puppy from (actually bought it from the girl’s mother) took her dog and wouldn’t give it back. So when Pat was getting ready to leave she asked the girl for the dog and tried to take it…but the girl started to cry so she tried to bribe her with ice cream from a tienda. Yeah, that didn’t work so well…so she left the dog and figured she would go back to get it later. So later she enlisted my help and we hiked back over to get her dog…and we asked the girl for it, and she still wouldn’t give it back so we went to find her mother…and finally the girl went into the house and got the puppy out and gave it back to Pat (but she definitely was not happy about it). Only in Bolivia would a young child steal your dog and make a grown woman angry about it. Okay, maybe you had to be there. But in the market the other day Pat and I were buying some veggies and the woman was like, is she your mother? This is conclusive evidence that all gringos look alike. Whether or not they’re chinitos (I guess their version of Chinese/Asian gringos? Or maybe just Chinese people) or the regular everyday white gringo. Let me remind you that Pat is a short, blond, white woman. I asked the vegetable selling woman if we looked alike…then she got it. Just have to look a little closer I guess…hehe. Then again, during training I was mistaken for Tammy (the only other Asian girl volunteer in our group) on occasion (who just happens to be literally 8 inches shorter than me and with long hair). Another thing that I’m enjoying about Bolivia is that fact that you’re not expected to go outside when it’s raining. Which is pretty freaking awesome since I hate rain. And right outside my door turns into a mud wrestling pit when it rains. Please, can someone send me those rubber rain boots? Yeah, like those cute J.Crew ones that everyone wears, with little critters on them…I actually have a practical purpose for those around here. Anyways, the expectation when it rains is that every event is canceled so you can just sit inside and stay dry…although my roof in my house is soooo loud when it rains, even sprinkles, since it’s corrugated tin. I think the game plan during rainy season (which is quickly approaching) is that Pat and I are going to sit inside all day long at my house in front of my fireplace or at her place at her lovely kitchen table that’s well stocked with snacks and drink coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. And of course we’re using powdered milk in those beverages because that’s what we do around here! Fortifying our diets with vitamins. Did you know that Pil brand milk down here even makes a lactose free version? I thought that was pretty nifty…and they sell all their beverages in plastic sacks down here…juice in a sack, milk in a sack, yogurt in a sack.
Oh yeah, and any newspaper in English rocks when we get it down here. I recently discovered a stash of NY Times that a friend of another volunteer brought down here and whoever took the rest of them (late October editions) apparently did not like reading the business section so I have the business section of the Times for like a week along with one day of the WSJ too. I’m pretty happy about this because it’s probably one of my favorite sections anyways. I don’t think the majority of PC volunteers are too concerned about NYC business dealings…but I find the fact that they just opened a new Tiffany’s store down by Wall Street very exciting. That along with seeing where the price of oil is going…and if it will ever stop. Must be very exciting times in the energy industry right now.
In other news I just scored myself my own English class today! That begins tomorrow actually…I kind of stole a few of Pat’s students that wanted an earlier class so I told them I had free time to teach. I have absolutely no materials on hand, which sucks in comparison to the massive library of resources I had when teaching for Literacy Volunteers, so I’m going to wing it tomorrow and see if I can print out a bunch of stuff in Coch over the weekend for upcoming classes. That and ordering some books to get sent down here…where are my Easy True Stories? And Beginning Stories from the Heart? Haha, those were some great books that required virtually no preparation for class. Stand Out series not so much my thing, but oh did I love those books with short stories. If anyone wants to give me a hand with that just let me know.
And I wouldn’t mind if people start planning their vacations down here to visit me either! Friendly reminder…I am ready to receive visitors starting in February and if you make it down here I’ll take a few days to travel or we can just hang out in my site and go into Coch (first come, first served since I can only use vacation as I accumulate it so in February I’ll have 6 days).
Things I miss in Bolivia…was just reading, yes, I said reading, my cookbook that my lovely mother sent me. You know the one, Better Homes and Gardens, red checked cover, lots of practical recipes and tips. And I miss food! The food here isn’t bad actually and I can find stuff that is appetizing to me always, but I miss the grand old days of the dinner parties…fondue parties…the successful recipes, and the attempts at not so successful recipes (tiramisu Evie?) I was just telling my site mate, Pat, today about how I used to scavenge in the clearance home goods section of Macy’s and buy random platters to serve my spinach dip and steaks on. I miss the fondue of gruyere, swiss and emmenthaler, the brie in puffed pastry with walnuts and honey on top served with granny smith apples, the simplicity of the Toll House chocolate chip cookie. I crave sugar snap peas straight out of the bag (might I mention ridiculously overpriced at Stop & Shop at I believe $3.69 for a teeny little bag) served with Hidden Valley ranch dressing, Vlassic bread and butter pickles by the jar, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, microwave bacon (microwaved Evie!), and even Stouffer’s frozen dinners (chicken a la king is my favorite). I yearn for Pio Pio (full out dinner Steph – all the way with maduras, salchipapas, avocado salad, chicken, and sangria – please, let’s eat it in the restaurant and not set off any smoke alarms), dim sum, seafood (any kind! maybe shrimp cocktail though…), and some of that tasty Stamford food like Kit’s Thai Kitchen (drunken noodle!), Hope Street Pizza, and of course Grand’s cheeseburgers with fries. Enough though. Before I curl up in my bed and cry myself to sleep. Only consolation is that I bought 3 regular sized avocados in the market for 1 bs (about $0.13) the other day…the pits are much larger in these avocados but that means guacamole any day I want it!
There are Bolivia moments that make me laugh everyday though…the other day Pat had her dog stolen by a 4 year old girl. No, I’m not kidding. Apparently she went to one of the preschool centers that she is working at and this little girl that she had bought the puppy from (actually bought it from the girl’s mother) took her dog and wouldn’t give it back. So when Pat was getting ready to leave she asked the girl for the dog and tried to take it…but the girl started to cry so she tried to bribe her with ice cream from a tienda. Yeah, that didn’t work so well…so she left the dog and figured she would go back to get it later. So later she enlisted my help and we hiked back over to get her dog…and we asked the girl for it, and she still wouldn’t give it back so we went to find her mother…and finally the girl went into the house and got the puppy out and gave it back to Pat (but she definitely was not happy about it). Only in Bolivia would a young child steal your dog and make a grown woman angry about it. Okay, maybe you had to be there. But in the market the other day Pat and I were buying some veggies and the woman was like, is she your mother? This is conclusive evidence that all gringos look alike. Whether or not they’re chinitos (I guess their version of Chinese/Asian gringos? Or maybe just Chinese people) or the regular everyday white gringo. Let me remind you that Pat is a short, blond, white woman. I asked the vegetable selling woman if we looked alike…then she got it. Just have to look a little closer I guess…hehe. Then again, during training I was mistaken for Tammy (the only other Asian girl volunteer in our group) on occasion (who just happens to be literally 8 inches shorter than me and with long hair). Another thing that I’m enjoying about Bolivia is that fact that you’re not expected to go outside when it’s raining. Which is pretty freaking awesome since I hate rain. And right outside my door turns into a mud wrestling pit when it rains. Please, can someone send me those rubber rain boots? Yeah, like those cute J.Crew ones that everyone wears, with little critters on them…I actually have a practical purpose for those around here. Anyways, the expectation when it rains is that every event is canceled so you can just sit inside and stay dry…although my roof in my house is soooo loud when it rains, even sprinkles, since it’s corrugated tin. I think the game plan during rainy season (which is quickly approaching) is that Pat and I are going to sit inside all day long at my house in front of my fireplace or at her place at her lovely kitchen table that’s well stocked with snacks and drink coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. And of course we’re using powdered milk in those beverages because that’s what we do around here! Fortifying our diets with vitamins. Did you know that Pil brand milk down here even makes a lactose free version? I thought that was pretty nifty…and they sell all their beverages in plastic sacks down here…juice in a sack, milk in a sack, yogurt in a sack.
Oh yeah, and any newspaper in English rocks when we get it down here. I recently discovered a stash of NY Times that a friend of another volunteer brought down here and whoever took the rest of them (late October editions) apparently did not like reading the business section so I have the business section of the Times for like a week along with one day of the WSJ too. I’m pretty happy about this because it’s probably one of my favorite sections anyways. I don’t think the majority of PC volunteers are too concerned about NYC business dealings…but I find the fact that they just opened a new Tiffany’s store down by Wall Street very exciting. That along with seeing where the price of oil is going…and if it will ever stop. Must be very exciting times in the energy industry right now.
In other news I just scored myself my own English class today! That begins tomorrow actually…I kind of stole a few of Pat’s students that wanted an earlier class so I told them I had free time to teach. I have absolutely no materials on hand, which sucks in comparison to the massive library of resources I had when teaching for Literacy Volunteers, so I’m going to wing it tomorrow and see if I can print out a bunch of stuff in Coch over the weekend for upcoming classes. That and ordering some books to get sent down here…where are my Easy True Stories? And Beginning Stories from the Heart? Haha, those were some great books that required virtually no preparation for class. Stand Out series not so much my thing, but oh did I love those books with short stories. If anyone wants to give me a hand with that just let me know.
And I wouldn’t mind if people start planning their vacations down here to visit me either! Friendly reminder…I am ready to receive visitors starting in February and if you make it down here I’ll take a few days to travel or we can just hang out in my site and go into Coch (first come, first served since I can only use vacation as I accumulate it so in February I’ll have 6 days).
Officially a Volunteer!
So after a fun week of B-46 bonding in the hotel in Coch and finishing up training along with several crazy consecutive party days for Halloween, Swear-In, and just because we were together in the city…all 20 of us B-46ers made it! Unlike many prior groups who have had people ET (early termination) during training, every single one of us made it to Swear-In and became official Peace Corps volunteers. Funny to think that we’ve been here…hmm…months now, and just now we’re becoming volunteers. One of the special parts before we swore in was Commitment Day where we each had to read something, whether it be a poem, essay, or pledge, that expressed why we were here and why we should be sworn in as volunteers that would carry out our service for the entire two years (until November 2009! Yikesaroni!) It was nice hearing what everyone had to say and it really did help to remind us of how we felt through the whole application process and when we first arrived in Bolivia…the hopes that we had and the true reasons we’re here, all the stuff that was kind of lost along the way once we got into training and were having 8 hours of class a day and barely time to think about what was going on, much less the big picture of why we’re here and how each of us fits into the mission of the Peace Corps.
After swear-in we spent a few lovely days tying up loose ends and saying goodbye to our group (we’ll be back in Coch for a reconnect meeting where we present what we’ve been doing for the past three months in our sites at the end of January), we all headed off! I actually had a meeting with Sonia, the artisan woman that I’m going to be working with, and Patti, the volunteer that I’m going to be replacing in the PC office to speak to some of the women that work there that are familiar with La Paz and the market for alpaca products there. Sonia makes these awesome 100% alpaca scarves, shawls, ponchos, and blankets and we’re trying to expand her business and find her new markets. Anyone thinking about lovely Christmas presents for their family and friends that would like to place some kind of order? Cool part is that there’s a fair in La Paz with people from the embassy that people within the mission get to sell their products at the end of November that has potential to sell a lot of product since it’s right before Christmas so it seems like I’m going to get to travel with her to La Paz for it! I’m pretty psyched for this opportunity to do actual work in my primary project (usually the first three months in site are used for getting to know the community and project planning for the rest of your service along with some minor secondary projects) and a chance to go see La Paz! But it also means that I really have to get my butt in gear in terms of improving my Spanish and really getting some work done with Sonia in terms of cost and price analysis of her product and preparing materials for the fair (what type of product she is going to bring, making sure she’s all set with business cards and pamphlets, etc.), and other activities in La Paz for scoping out other markets for her products. I’m also going to be working with tourism but will probably use the first three months to discuss with my official counterpart (the director of tourism in Tarata) what she would like to see in terms of what projects she would like me to work on. I know there’s potential for working with the newly formed tour guide association (anyone want to help me remember what we did in oral communications so I can duplicate the class for the guides?), improving the museum in the Cultural House, working with businesses on the plaza (think postcards, souvenirs, restaurants), working with the tourism office in Coch to promote tourism in Tarata…and the list goes on and on.
The possibilities seem pretty fun, if not scary as well. Being here makes me realize how structured my school and work environment has been for the past…well…all my life? Peace Corps service is really what you make of it and my biggest fear now is being able to structure my work and be motivated to get things done everyday. As a Volunteer you don’t have a boss that you see everyday and it’s pretty easy to be lazy and realize it’s nighttime and you haven’t done anything really all that productive but that’s also the beauty of being a PC volunteer. You basically set your own work schedule, schedule your own meetings, and figure out along the way how things work. Unfortunately since I don’t have much experience with that (umm…where’s my 12:30 gas scheduling deadline?) that will probably be my biggest challenge. I was talking with my site mate, Pat, who is working with Integrated Education in the preschools in Tarata, and she was saying that she retired just two weeks before coming to Bolivia so the lack of a full day drives her nuts, but then again…I quit work just a week before coming…and so far am having no problem (in the past two days) adjusting to not really having lots of stuff to do. Haha, I think it’s just my overall perezosa-ness (laziness) and I’m a little worried that it might be my downfall in Bolivia. After all, if you know me, you know I have no problem with sleeping 12+ hours in a day, napping when I’m bored, or wasting time on non-productive matters. Another volunteer did say, and I quote, “well if you are sleeping 12 hours a day you only end up serving one year in PC instead of two.” Interesting thought, but I read somewhere that I’m supposed to be spending 20-40 hours working on my primary project (which is tourism and with Sonia’s business) so I figured I’d better make a little schedule for myself to stick to (and put on my refrigerator next to all my pretty little pictures of you folk!). Probably will read something like…
7 – 8 am: Get up and have breakfast (use my gas stove that runs on a canister of gas that I have to light with a match to make tea or instant coffee!)
8 – 9 am: Study Spanish or read some kind of material in Spanish to get my brain functioning
9 am – noon: Do PC work like reading over tourism manuals, planning for stuff with Sonia, meetings, etc.
Noon – 1 pm: Lunch! Big Lunch! (I’m planning on eating big meals at noon time and then just snacking for dinner) and of course the obligatory 20 minute power nap
1 – 5 pm: Working again…if I can find stuff to do, includes getting little errands done and hopefully finding a Spanish tutor that I can practice with for an hour each day, doing laundry since it freaking takes forever to do it by hand
5 – 10 pm: Miscellaneous stuff…dance practice, reading in English and relaxing, dinner or whatever…playing with the kids in my host family
Okay, so that doesn’t sound all that scheduled…but at least the thought of an hour when I will get up and have my first few hours of my day planned will make me get out of bed (which is clearly the hardest part for me). Also, I’ll try to work some working out and running into the schedule once I’m totally settled into my place…I did go to the gym in Coch with Claire, our new PCVL who’s a third-year volunteer that is our Tech Specialist that will help support us on the finer points of what the heck we should be doing when we’re clueless…and it felt sooo good to work out. First time I’ve used weights since I’ve been here and let me tell you, the gym is a bit ridiculous. We went to this super-nice one that actually uses fingerprint identification for access into the different rooms for classes, cardio, weights, etc! I mean, come on, sometimes you forget you’re in Bolivia when you’re in a place like that…it was like 20 bs (around $2.75) for a day pass but it was totally worth it and I could see myself getting into a little weekly (if I’m treating myself) or bi-weekly routine of heading into Coch for a few hours to go to the gym and do a little grocery shopping. Also, for whoever is coming to visit me, there are some pretty nice restaurants that were discovered this past weekend…this really swanky place called Suiza and then we went to this wine bar (that looked like they had some pretty tasty cheese plates and tapas) called Vinoppolis…also I heard rumors that there’s a tasty Indian food restaurant somewhere along with another Asian café that I would like to try. Not to mention that I went back to this Chinese restaurant that we went to on Orientation Day with our work counterparts and it was quite yummy as well (if not MSG and sodium filled). Oh yeah, and for swear-in we had Brazilian BBQ! Similar as in Shanghai, you can get Brazilian BBQ for around $6 here…not a bad deal…and may I recommend the turkey wrapped bacon.
As for my house here in Tarata, I have a ridiculous amount of space that I need to work on filling up with stuff. Luckily Patti, the volunteer that I’m replacing, left the major items that I would need to buy with my settling-in allowance such as a stove and refrigerator and bed so I’m okay with that…but I could use some new things and definitely need to pick up things such as dish towels, a few more cooking utensils and pans, and sheets and blankets. As of now I’m using my travel mosquito net to ward of the vinchucas that could give me Chagas’ disease and sleeping in my sleeping bag. Also, I have a fireplace! Haha, not that it’s really necessary in Bolivia since it doesn’t get that cold, but I guess it’s more for the ambiance…I’m actually living with Patti’s fiancee’s family…yes, she’s marrying a Bolivian and bringing him back to the States in like…a week, and he built the house for her when she moved in a few months ago and she wanted a fireplace so she got a fireplace. Overall I’m pretty happy with the situation but it definitely has some issues that I need to deal with. Number one being that I have this ridiculous fly problem. It’s actually pretty gross…at any given point (especially in the morning when I wake up), I probably have at least 50 flies in my house, buzzing around my table, windows, food, everything. Kind of gross when you think about it because the neighbors have pigs and my host family has chickens and other birds…ewww. I need to work on sealing up the roof in my house (which is corrugated tin and has gaps and is ridiculously loud when it rains) and probably the fireplace so the freaking flies can’t get in. If anyone has any suggestions for getting rid of flies please let me know. Oh yeah, and I think that fly paper would have to be replaced everyday in my case and I haven’t seen any venus fly traps around so that’s out of the question as well. I figure once I seal up the roof and whatnot it will also help my dust problem which accumulates on everything in my house and makes me need to sweep several times a day. Also, another thing that sucks is that my bathroom is WAY far away from my house. Of course in Bolivia you always have to walk outside to get to the bathroom, but I have to hike across the dirt lawn that has all the animals, probably about 100 m, to get to my bathroom. I am most definitely buying a bucket to use as a chamber pot in the event that I have gastrointestinal problems and don’t feel like I can make it all the way there. Also it’s not too fun walking there in the pitch black when it’s nighttime since the pathway is still in progress that Huber (Patti’s fiancée) is building so I don’t have to trudge through mud when the rainy season really gets here in a few weeks since the current situation is that it’s just dirt in between the patio of the main house (where my bathroom is) and my house in the back of the compound. In terms of who I’m going to be living with, it’s going to be Huber’s mom and dad, two of the grandkids (Aron and Maya), Huber’s sister Johanna that’s in high school, and then two renters who are students at the local music school (and at least one of them plays the accordion from what I’ve heard). My house is nice because it’s at the back of the compound so I have my own space (way different than my homestay during training which was a teeny tiny little place but a house with much better construction) but there are definitely things that I could work on to make it more comfortable here. I guess that will come in time though and I should probably start investigating how to get my door fixed and my roof patched up before anything else.
In other news, last night I had my first practice for the morenada, this dance that I’m doing in the festival of San Severino at the end of November. I’m going to be wearing this ridiculously sparkly and skimpy outfit (think dance recitals when you were a kid but worse) and these platform boots that come up to your thighs and dancing through the cobblestone streets of Tarata with a group of ladies and gentlemen in the biggest festival for this town. Apparently, similar to the llamerada during training, we will be having practice every single night from now until the festival. Also, what worries me is that this dance actually requires a certain Bolivian rhythm which I am finding difficult to find so I’m going to be looking quite awkward in my outfit and platform boots and just praying that I don’t fall over since I’m already a head taller than the other two girls in my mini-group within the dance group that I’m going to be dancing with.
After swear-in we spent a few lovely days tying up loose ends and saying goodbye to our group (we’ll be back in Coch for a reconnect meeting where we present what we’ve been doing for the past three months in our sites at the end of January), we all headed off! I actually had a meeting with Sonia, the artisan woman that I’m going to be working with, and Patti, the volunteer that I’m going to be replacing in the PC office to speak to some of the women that work there that are familiar with La Paz and the market for alpaca products there. Sonia makes these awesome 100% alpaca scarves, shawls, ponchos, and blankets and we’re trying to expand her business and find her new markets. Anyone thinking about lovely Christmas presents for their family and friends that would like to place some kind of order? Cool part is that there’s a fair in La Paz with people from the embassy that people within the mission get to sell their products at the end of November that has potential to sell a lot of product since it’s right before Christmas so it seems like I’m going to get to travel with her to La Paz for it! I’m pretty psyched for this opportunity to do actual work in my primary project (usually the first three months in site are used for getting to know the community and project planning for the rest of your service along with some minor secondary projects) and a chance to go see La Paz! But it also means that I really have to get my butt in gear in terms of improving my Spanish and really getting some work done with Sonia in terms of cost and price analysis of her product and preparing materials for the fair (what type of product she is going to bring, making sure she’s all set with business cards and pamphlets, etc.), and other activities in La Paz for scoping out other markets for her products. I’m also going to be working with tourism but will probably use the first three months to discuss with my official counterpart (the director of tourism in Tarata) what she would like to see in terms of what projects she would like me to work on. I know there’s potential for working with the newly formed tour guide association (anyone want to help me remember what we did in oral communications so I can duplicate the class for the guides?), improving the museum in the Cultural House, working with businesses on the plaza (think postcards, souvenirs, restaurants), working with the tourism office in Coch to promote tourism in Tarata…and the list goes on and on.
The possibilities seem pretty fun, if not scary as well. Being here makes me realize how structured my school and work environment has been for the past…well…all my life? Peace Corps service is really what you make of it and my biggest fear now is being able to structure my work and be motivated to get things done everyday. As a Volunteer you don’t have a boss that you see everyday and it’s pretty easy to be lazy and realize it’s nighttime and you haven’t done anything really all that productive but that’s also the beauty of being a PC volunteer. You basically set your own work schedule, schedule your own meetings, and figure out along the way how things work. Unfortunately since I don’t have much experience with that (umm…where’s my 12:30 gas scheduling deadline?) that will probably be my biggest challenge. I was talking with my site mate, Pat, who is working with Integrated Education in the preschools in Tarata, and she was saying that she retired just two weeks before coming to Bolivia so the lack of a full day drives her nuts, but then again…I quit work just a week before coming…and so far am having no problem (in the past two days) adjusting to not really having lots of stuff to do. Haha, I think it’s just my overall perezosa-ness (laziness) and I’m a little worried that it might be my downfall in Bolivia. After all, if you know me, you know I have no problem with sleeping 12+ hours in a day, napping when I’m bored, or wasting time on non-productive matters. Another volunteer did say, and I quote, “well if you are sleeping 12 hours a day you only end up serving one year in PC instead of two.” Interesting thought, but I read somewhere that I’m supposed to be spending 20-40 hours working on my primary project (which is tourism and with Sonia’s business) so I figured I’d better make a little schedule for myself to stick to (and put on my refrigerator next to all my pretty little pictures of you folk!). Probably will read something like…
7 – 8 am: Get up and have breakfast (use my gas stove that runs on a canister of gas that I have to light with a match to make tea or instant coffee!)
8 – 9 am: Study Spanish or read some kind of material in Spanish to get my brain functioning
9 am – noon: Do PC work like reading over tourism manuals, planning for stuff with Sonia, meetings, etc.
Noon – 1 pm: Lunch! Big Lunch! (I’m planning on eating big meals at noon time and then just snacking for dinner) and of course the obligatory 20 minute power nap
1 – 5 pm: Working again…if I can find stuff to do, includes getting little errands done and hopefully finding a Spanish tutor that I can practice with for an hour each day, doing laundry since it freaking takes forever to do it by hand
5 – 10 pm: Miscellaneous stuff…dance practice, reading in English and relaxing, dinner or whatever…playing with the kids in my host family
Okay, so that doesn’t sound all that scheduled…but at least the thought of an hour when I will get up and have my first few hours of my day planned will make me get out of bed (which is clearly the hardest part for me). Also, I’ll try to work some working out and running into the schedule once I’m totally settled into my place…I did go to the gym in Coch with Claire, our new PCVL who’s a third-year volunteer that is our Tech Specialist that will help support us on the finer points of what the heck we should be doing when we’re clueless…and it felt sooo good to work out. First time I’ve used weights since I’ve been here and let me tell you, the gym is a bit ridiculous. We went to this super-nice one that actually uses fingerprint identification for access into the different rooms for classes, cardio, weights, etc! I mean, come on, sometimes you forget you’re in Bolivia when you’re in a place like that…it was like 20 bs (around $2.75) for a day pass but it was totally worth it and I could see myself getting into a little weekly (if I’m treating myself) or bi-weekly routine of heading into Coch for a few hours to go to the gym and do a little grocery shopping. Also, for whoever is coming to visit me, there are some pretty nice restaurants that were discovered this past weekend…this really swanky place called Suiza and then we went to this wine bar (that looked like they had some pretty tasty cheese plates and tapas) called Vinoppolis…also I heard rumors that there’s a tasty Indian food restaurant somewhere along with another Asian café that I would like to try. Not to mention that I went back to this Chinese restaurant that we went to on Orientation Day with our work counterparts and it was quite yummy as well (if not MSG and sodium filled). Oh yeah, and for swear-in we had Brazilian BBQ! Similar as in Shanghai, you can get Brazilian BBQ for around $6 here…not a bad deal…and may I recommend the turkey wrapped bacon.
As for my house here in Tarata, I have a ridiculous amount of space that I need to work on filling up with stuff. Luckily Patti, the volunteer that I’m replacing, left the major items that I would need to buy with my settling-in allowance such as a stove and refrigerator and bed so I’m okay with that…but I could use some new things and definitely need to pick up things such as dish towels, a few more cooking utensils and pans, and sheets and blankets. As of now I’m using my travel mosquito net to ward of the vinchucas that could give me Chagas’ disease and sleeping in my sleeping bag. Also, I have a fireplace! Haha, not that it’s really necessary in Bolivia since it doesn’t get that cold, but I guess it’s more for the ambiance…I’m actually living with Patti’s fiancee’s family…yes, she’s marrying a Bolivian and bringing him back to the States in like…a week, and he built the house for her when she moved in a few months ago and she wanted a fireplace so she got a fireplace. Overall I’m pretty happy with the situation but it definitely has some issues that I need to deal with. Number one being that I have this ridiculous fly problem. It’s actually pretty gross…at any given point (especially in the morning when I wake up), I probably have at least 50 flies in my house, buzzing around my table, windows, food, everything. Kind of gross when you think about it because the neighbors have pigs and my host family has chickens and other birds…ewww. I need to work on sealing up the roof in my house (which is corrugated tin and has gaps and is ridiculously loud when it rains) and probably the fireplace so the freaking flies can’t get in. If anyone has any suggestions for getting rid of flies please let me know. Oh yeah, and I think that fly paper would have to be replaced everyday in my case and I haven’t seen any venus fly traps around so that’s out of the question as well. I figure once I seal up the roof and whatnot it will also help my dust problem which accumulates on everything in my house and makes me need to sweep several times a day. Also, another thing that sucks is that my bathroom is WAY far away from my house. Of course in Bolivia you always have to walk outside to get to the bathroom, but I have to hike across the dirt lawn that has all the animals, probably about 100 m, to get to my bathroom. I am most definitely buying a bucket to use as a chamber pot in the event that I have gastrointestinal problems and don’t feel like I can make it all the way there. Also it’s not too fun walking there in the pitch black when it’s nighttime since the pathway is still in progress that Huber (Patti’s fiancée) is building so I don’t have to trudge through mud when the rainy season really gets here in a few weeks since the current situation is that it’s just dirt in between the patio of the main house (where my bathroom is) and my house in the back of the compound. In terms of who I’m going to be living with, it’s going to be Huber’s mom and dad, two of the grandkids (Aron and Maya), Huber’s sister Johanna that’s in high school, and then two renters who are students at the local music school (and at least one of them plays the accordion from what I’ve heard). My house is nice because it’s at the back of the compound so I have my own space (way different than my homestay during training which was a teeny tiny little place but a house with much better construction) but there are definitely things that I could work on to make it more comfortable here. I guess that will come in time though and I should probably start investigating how to get my door fixed and my roof patched up before anything else.
In other news, last night I had my first practice for the morenada, this dance that I’m doing in the festival of San Severino at the end of November. I’m going to be wearing this ridiculously sparkly and skimpy outfit (think dance recitals when you were a kid but worse) and these platform boots that come up to your thighs and dancing through the cobblestone streets of Tarata with a group of ladies and gentlemen in the biggest festival for this town. Apparently, similar to the llamerada during training, we will be having practice every single night from now until the festival. Also, what worries me is that this dance actually requires a certain Bolivian rhythm which I am finding difficult to find so I’m going to be looking quite awkward in my outfit and platform boots and just praying that I don’t fall over since I’m already a head taller than the other two girls in my mini-group within the dance group that I’m going to be dancing with.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Oops.
Cell number is only one 7...011-591-7-228-3054. Thanks Mom!
And new address is on right hand side toolbar for letters and packages if needed :)
And new address is on right hand side toolbar for letters and packages if needed :)
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Moving into the 21st Century...Cell Phone!
Hi All - Long awaited...here´s my cell. Buy your phone cards or figure out a cheap way to call me and gimme a call and see if I pick up (service is questionable in my site, or if I am in my mosquito net like I was last night when my mom called, I might not get to the phone in time so you can try twice?) From the U.S. dial 011-591-7-722-83054. 011 intl, 591 bolivia, 7 cell in bolivia, the last 7 digits are my number. You can also try texting me...I tried texting you (that´s Helen, Steph, Evie) but I received no response so I guess that didn´t work. Show me some love! Okay, that is all. You can also call me on the landline at my house (I believe it doesn´t cost anything to receive calls either on my cell or the landline) which has the same 011-591...then 4-457-8219. Sorry I haven´t been updating blog lately...apparently Tarata with it´s turtle-slow internet does not have functioning USB ports so I will do that next time I get into the city. Hope to hear from you soon!
*And belated happy HAPPY birthday to my best buds Eviekins and Stepharoni!
xoxo, Joy
*And belated happy HAPPY birthday to my best buds Eviekins and Stepharoni!
xoxo, Joy
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Happy Halloween!
Hey All! Been awhile since my last entry...I spent all last week in Tarata (my site for the next two years) and then this is our last week of training in Coch! Really busy this week wrapping things up (and of course a little partying for Halloween and then Swear In where we actually become volunteers!) but will give you an update with pics of my site when I get it.
Big thank you to Blue Barry and Lau-ster! I got the Christmas card yesterday....haha, just two months early, don't worry about it. Was a really nice surprise to see a UBS envelope...hahaha, and filled with trashy mags (and a climbing mag!) plus a card from Bazza card designs! (although...I have to say the animal card still tops them all) Hehe...and of course the coolest carabiner picture frame...who knew they even sold things like that...ok, hope everyone is having an awesome Halloween! We're all dressed up here at the training center for our last day of training here (Swear In tomorrow!!!!) Will post some pics later...Sarah, Lindsay and I look reaaaaally amazingly hot in our potatoes of Bolivia costumes. Hehe, everyone thought they were pretty creative and I definitely am grateful to my host mom for sewing them up for us, she's definitely a professional.
Alrighty, talk to y'all later! xoxo, alegria (hehe...my little host brother in Tarata that's 4 yrs old already knows my name as alegria!)
Big thank you to Blue Barry and Lau-ster! I got the Christmas card yesterday....haha, just two months early, don't worry about it. Was a really nice surprise to see a UBS envelope...hahaha, and filled with trashy mags (and a climbing mag!) plus a card from Bazza card designs! (although...I have to say the animal card still tops them all) Hehe...and of course the coolest carabiner picture frame...who knew they even sold things like that...ok, hope everyone is having an awesome Halloween! We're all dressed up here at the training center for our last day of training here (Swear In tomorrow!!!!) Will post some pics later...Sarah, Lindsay and I look reaaaaally amazingly hot in our potatoes of Bolivia costumes. Hehe, everyone thought they were pretty creative and I definitely am grateful to my host mom for sewing them up for us, she's definitely a professional.
Alrighty, talk to y'all later! xoxo, alegria (hehe...my little host brother in Tarata that's 4 yrs old already knows my name as alegria!)
Sunday, October 21, 2007
New Pics!
Check them out...complete with descriptions...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83263910@N00/sets/72157601924749546/
XOXO, Joy
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83263910@N00/sets/72157601924749546/
XOXO, Joy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)