La Vida En Hardeman

Lately the most notable thing in Hárdeman has been the weather. It is technically the dry season, which I thought would mean that it would not rain at all, like it was in Cochabamba last year. But the dry season in Santa Cruz just means that it no longer rains for 4 or 5 days at a time. It still rains and it is always accompanied by a “surazo” which is a strong, cold wind from the south that blows up from Argentina and Antarctica. Around here people just call it a “sur” and one can arrive without warning, blowing dust all over town and dropping the temperature 20 or 25 degrees without blinking an eye. Since it’s usually in the 80s or something down here, one might think that some 50 or 60 degree weather would be welcome. Well, yes and no…imagine it being 55 degrees, terribly windy and cloudy. And then imagine that you are essentially camping in that weather, since pretty much all of the houses here are just random rooms without hallways or connecting walkways. It’s kind of like living in a college dorm except as soon as you walk out of your bedroom, you are outside. You have to walk outside to eat, go to the bathroom, everything. My bathroom here in Hárdeman is actually farther from my room than the bathroom was in Bradley Hall my freshman year. Ok, so you’re always outside and even when you are inside, the windows are not exactly well sealed and there is no heat. It can get a little uncomfortable. Now imagine taking a shower with cold water. Needless to say, bathing was not high on my list during those chilly days. Throw some water on the face, toss on my stocking cap and I was ready for the day. It got cold enough in the office that I even lit a candle to keep warm in my little corner:

Note how my hair is nice and confined under the hat. Here’s what happens when the hat comes off:

They say it’s been colder this year than in years past and I frankly am ready for it to be warm all the time now. Drilling wells in chilly, windy weather with only a cold shower awaiting me at the end of the day is not my idea of a good time. Here are some random shots of people and places around town.


I was totally pumped to see this girl wearing an OSU sweatshirt, especially one depicting the 1997 Rose Bowl, where Joe Germaine led the Bucks past Arizona State in a glorious come-from-behind victory. Great memories of watching that game in Scott’s basement with Skyline dip and Mary Jane’s Oreo Goop. Mmmmm.


How’s that for a pig? This thing was so huge I could not resist a picture. People in my town just have these pigs living in their yards like dogs (not so much as pets but just roaming freely). Mom, remember when you used to say you’d rather have a pig than a dog? Care to reconsider?

On top of the water tank on the day I got inside and helped our plumber Francisco clean the tank. This was a pretty fun time cause it was actually hot outside and it was nice and refreshing to be playing around in the water inside the tank.


The cutest kid in town, my host-niece Tahira, goofing around with some costume glasses sent down from Aunt Joyce in a Halloween package. This little girl makes some of the crappy days a lot better.

Like I said, the cutest kid in town…seen here on her first birthday. Fun fact, she was born on my dad’s birthday, June 14th. Get those flags out!

Those of you who know me well know that I don’t give up any chance to write on whiteboards and use them to make all kinds of seemingly important lists. This is a rough sketch of a redesign of the water system in town I did on our whiteboard in the office…I had lots of fun with all the colors and stuff, but it turns out we don’t have money to do the redesign, so sadly I had to erase it. But at least I have this awesome picture. And I also bought a tiny whiteboard for my room in my house, so now I can rest easy with all of my tasks noted and color-coded.


This was a wedding I attended back in June in Hárdeman. The nice lady who washes my clothes, Doña Nena, invited me to her parents’ wedding, who are an elderly couple but finally decided to get married. Here’s how the conversation went down:

Nena: Hello Benjamín, how are you?
Me: Fine Doña Nena, how are you?
Nena: No complaints here. It’s hot isn’t it?
Me: Yeah it is hot. Dusty too, huh?
Nena: Yeah damn this dust. When are they going to finish the stinking asphalt road?
(My brain): So much for no complaints.
Nena: Anyway, I would like to invite you to my parents’ wedding on Saturday, they are finally getting married after all of these years. We would be honored with your presence.
Me: Wow Doña Nena, that’s very nice of you, of course I can come.
Nena: Oh, and you’re going to bring your camera, right?
(My brain): Ah. The truth comes out.
Me: Sure, I can take some pictures for you, thanks for thinking of me.
Nena: Great, see you then!
Me: Good-bye!

The truth is, since I know these folks and they are my friends, I don’t mind taking pictures for them. Anymore, I consider it part of my service. So, that’s how I found myself in this tiny chapel in the nuns’ house attending this wedding. About 10 close family members and some poofy haired gringo taking pictures. And that’s not even the best part of the story. That would be the priest. After arriving over an hour late to start the ceremony, he was a little rusty on how it all went down, so Sister Ana (the nun you see in photo) had to coach him. She obviously knew what was up, but since women can’t perform Mass or weddings in the Catholic Church, they had to bring in this obviously extremely inexperienced priest from out of town who didn’t even know these people. How do I know he didn’t know them? Well, about 2/3 of the way through the ceremony after referring to the bride as “Don Manuel’s woman,” he finally broke down and asked her name, and then promptly forgot it. I was appalled. Some days I just don’t get how people here can call themselves religious and keep a straight face. But, that’s a whole different conversation for another place and time, best after a couple of drinks.


I was lucky enough to have Carlos come and visit in Hárdeman to help me drill a well, and here he is preparing some yummy macaroni and cheese in the kitchen at my house. During one of the days it was too cold to drill, Carlos and I went to the plaza to shoot the bull about possibly putting together a huge-scale long-term well drilling project in my municipality. It was a great discussion, something I think I’ve been lacking down here in Bolivia…an opportunity to bounce ideas off of someone and also listen to their ideas. We started out on benches but after a few minutes I needed to stand up because I think better on my feet, as some of you may remember from a Steering meeting long ago in the basement of the Ohio Union. Carlos loves to sneak candid pictures, and here is one of me surely coming up with an amazing idea.




Another photo Carlos snuck in. This is me explaining to my good friend Pedro how we can try to improve his well that we drilled for him…perhaps by putting a windmill on it. Carlos has quite the artistic eye.


This is what we would refer to as a bad-hair-day. After a few days of no bathing (because of the cold) and being stuck under my hat, here’s what escaped from underneath. I can hear my mom gasping right now…”Oh my GOD, Ben!” Another quote from my mom regarding my hair from when I was in the states…”uh, if you’re looking for opinions…I think you should cut it.”


This is my attempt at being artistic. I threw my OSU hat on top of my dresser after a long day of muddy drilling and I thought it looked cool set in front of the Dark Side of the Moon backdrop.


This is my host cousin Inés and her boyfriend Fernando…we were celebrating Fernando’s birthday with some yummy food and a few vasos de cerveza. This was definitely a fun night.


This one’s for you, Joe Ranz. So my family is having a new kitchen built, which makes me happy because the current kitchen is pretty disgusting. Surprisingly, drywall has not made it to Hárdeman yet, so I was delighted to see them plastering the ceiling. Certainly reminded me of working back home, except they mix in an old half-tire and don’t really use moulding or hawks as far as I can tell, which means nothing to most of you. I was going to offer my services but the scaffolding looked pretty sketchy, plus I’m sure they would look at me funny when I asked them why we weren’t checking it with a light.