I would apologize for my lack of blogging, but you may as well get used to it...I currently have access to the internet with only going through a little bit of effort to get to town...chances are in a couple of months it will be a few hour busride to the nearest locale with access. However, truth be told, I haven’t even written anything at home to be uploaded later for over a week. The fact of the matter is, they keep us pretty busy here. Our days are pretty filled with training and I enjoy spending time with my family in the evenings. Toss in homework and a usual bedtime of no later than midnight and it’s tough to find time to blog or even journal. While I thoroughly enjoy keeping all you folks at home updated on my travels, it doesn’t make too much sense to me to put so much time into recounting things that I don’t have any time to experience anything. Before I came here I received some sage advice from a person into who’s opinion I place great amount of trust: “Don’t not experience it in exchange for remembering it.” I have taken some photos, but I’m not here so I can tell people about it. Hopefully you’ll be able to see why I’m here when I get back and have perhaps changed a bit. Until then, I’ll write when I can.
I am also doing my best to reply to emails, which I love receiving. Please keep them coming. However, you can probably expect about a two week average response time. Rock and Roll.
I am certainly finding a niche here in Bolivia. I think comfort is relative and while living here isn’t really like anything I’ve ever done before, it’s my life now and I can either embrace it and roll on or pick apart all the things I miss about home and be miserable. Yeah I hate not being able to reach in my pocket and call friends I haven’t talked to in a while, but I also really enjoy having a cup of hot chocolate and fresh bread for breakfast every morning. I miss laughing with my parents but I really love cracking a joke in Spanish at the dinner table and having everyone erupt in laughter. I decided a while ago that I needed to stop viewing this as something I need to “get through” and embrace it as my life. If I’m here to just “get through” it then I may as well come home now.
Hiking at a Place Called Pairumani...getting away on the weekends like this with my friends helps keep me saneMy Spanish is improving every day and we’ve started to learn common slang phrases and there is even talk of digging into Quechua, which is one of the indigenous languages here, which is pretty exciting for me. Granted it won’t do me too much good later in life to know the language of the ancient Incas, but in my mind I’ll still feel like a badass. The beard is also looking pretty good. I trimmed it up a bit and got rid of the whiskers that were creeping down the front of my throat as well as the ones that are near my eyes and I even got an unsolicited compliment from one of our training directors named Sue today. “That beard really looks good on you, Ben!” she said. And since she’s from New Zealand, everything sounds cool coming out of her mouth.
I have spent a whole lot of time hanging out with my little sisters (Shirley & Jesica) and the cousins that live next door (Jeni & Liz). Their mom is currently in Spain working, so they spend a lot of time here, having meals, playing and what not. I started in on teaching the four of them the numbers in English on Friday night and we continued last night. It’s tough because vowel sounds in English are essentially impossible to teach to children who have been speaking Spanish their entire lives. But it’s an excellent practice in patience and really rewarding too. They walk around the house counting everything in English now and get really excited while I’m teaching them. I am going to try and get some materials from the Peace Corps that I can use to move them along as much as I have time for while I’m here...after all, knowing the colors and numbers in English is not going to get you very far. The coolest part is they really WANT to learn and are always asking to have more “classes.” I taught them how to say “teacher” in English and now when Liz comes over for breakfast she says “Buenos Dias, teacher,” and everyone gets a good laugh out of it. But, it kind of makes me feel like I’m the teacher from the Da Vinci Code since all they say is “teacher.”
We also play soccer with the neighborhood kids and my brother when I get a chance and I’ve learned a few of their games they play here which have different names but are essentially all the same as the games I played when I was a kid. Tag, hide & seek, Spud and even a different version of duck duck goose. They laugh at me when I screw up speaking Spanish but also help me when I need it. I’ve always had a knack for finding playmates, regardless of age. They crack me up all the time and I think they enjoy being laughed at as much as I enjoy laughing at them.
Three of my four english students having an evening coffee between lessonsI think training is treating me better. We have had more interaction with current volunteers telling us about their actual service and the problems they’ve run into and their projects, which has proved to be most effective for me personally. Instead of going around in a circle and having everyone say what they are expecting, we have a community discussion about it and actually get into some meaty conversations. Next Wednesday the 21st we leave for Tech Week, where we actually get to build a Cement tank to catch rainwater and build a drainage system for grey water. During that week we also interview with all of our training people and our project director and upon our return home, we all find out where we’ll be working for the next two years. So, 3 weeks from right now, I’ll be able to give you a new address that will be good for a longer time than any other address I’ve had since high school.
That being said, pretty much the biggest topic of discussion amongst us volunteers is where we all want to go. There are 15 sites and 15 of us, so they have to work hard to see who fits where. Santa Cruz has a hot beach like climate, Oruro is in the mountains and is said to be “cold” but I don’t think it’s going to be any colder than Ohio. Cochabamba and Sucre have fairly temperate climates...there are lots of options. I’m kind of torn between wanting to do some type of construction-oriented work like drilling wells or building dry latrines or working more on the soft side being more of an education/organizational worker. Ideally, I’d like a combination of the two, but since I have skills in both types of fields, I think I’ll have a lot of options, which is always a good thing. They say we have a pretty large voice in where we go, so I’m not worried about not getting a place I don’t want. The reality of it is, regardless of what you are sent somewhere to do, your service will be defined by you and there is always more to do or changes to be made. I would really enjoy, however, to be in a fairly close proximity to a good friend. Some places are so far out there that it would just be a pain to see people or have people come and visit. So we shall see. More to come on that.
This was the first morning I saw clouds in Bolivia...made for a nice sunriseLife is good. Keep the emails and letters coming, they really do keep me going.
Peace And All Good Things, (sign off stolen from a very wise woman, thank you)
Ben
P.S. I added some good photos to my previous post, so if you have a chance, check it out.
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