So you want to know what it’s like to go Horse Hunting ?
I understand – who hasn’t dreamed of having their own horse? Ok, so you might be thinking Mom and I watched too many John Wayne movies while I was growing up – and you’d be right, but the Duke sure made life away from civilization look pretty awesome . . . and well, here I am in the Peace Corps:).
Lest most of you think I don’t know the first thing about horses and thus what am I doing horse hunting – I know enough to befriend a five time jumping and dressage champion who lives a few towns away from me !! Hah, I say to you doubting Thomas, Hah. Elke Smid is a wonderful German lady who has lived here in Bolivia for 30 some odd years. She’s married to a Bolivian (Arend) whose parents were both German and they’ve retired down here to lovely Tarija. Elke & Arend own a beautiful alfalfa farm (read: caviar for horses) about 40 minutes drive from San Lorenzo and 15 minutes from the city of Tarija.
Elke is no longer competing and is moving into breeding and training her horses. Luckily for yours truly Elke is either lonely or finds me amusing because she’s agreed to teach me dressage and jumping for free!! Anywayz, Elke was nice enough to help me horse hunt – and she couldn’t have been more of a sweetheart !!
We went from farm to farm, Elke found some gorgeous Paso Peruano horses – which are highly valued down here for their special gate. As you know most horses walk on a diagonal, the left foreleg and right hind leg moving forward at the same time and so on, moving with two legs in the air at any given time – literally giving them the ‘amble’ we’re so used to seeing. Paso horses however, are genetically predisposed to move forward with each side at once – that is right foreleg and right hind leg at the same time. What is this truly amazing is that only one leg is ever off the ground at one time – creating a ‘softer’ ride.
In any case, after Elke found some Paso’s that she was looking for – off we went to find my dream boy. After 3 days, 5 farms, and some VERY sore legs – we found him. He was originally named Para Atacar which means For Attacking… rather foreboding no? He’s been re-christened Sweet Dreams. He is a stunning dark chocolate brown with a black mane and a white diamond on his forehead. He’s only 5, but incredibly well trained and he’s castrado (castrated) – if only all men were so well trained, ahhhh. Well Sweet Dreams is amazing. He is a pureblood quarter horse. His mother was a racehorse and his father was a famous stallion. He runs like the wind, loves to jump, and is very smart – he’s infamous for opening every door he comes across.
The trip was a resounding success – I really have always dreamed of having my own horse & riding off into the sunset with John . . . and now at least Sweet Dreams and I can ride off into the sunset together.
On a side note – I’ve been visiting outlying communities with the Nunnettes. It’s been extremely sad, I haven’t met a single adult who can read - the mothers aren’t sure how their kids are doing in school because they can’t read the reports – let alone help them with their homework. But hopefully, Sweet Dreams can help me get to these places a little more frequently and I can read them newspapers and have mini-health education sessions – a few families at a time.
We’ll see.
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I’m writing this on the Wednesday beforehand. I am extremely grateful to have all of you in my life – I’m sorry that I can’t write to you each personally – but please know that I am thinking of you and praying for all of you.
All my love,
Sarah (Catherine, Kate, SC, SP. . . the works)
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
These Marvelous Nuns
So, the other night these marvelous nuns and their accompanying Nunnettes brought me to Tarija’s ExpoSur – a county fair – type of event. All sorts of businesses and organizations come to chow off their projects/products – from Argentina or Paraguay to Bolivia. There doesn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to who or why one sets up a tent – few are actually selling their products – but it certainly makes for a lively ½ mile walk!!
Dona Hilda, one of my English students and the head of the vocational school. She has a stand (check out the picture) where she promotes the products her students & folks from a community over the rainbow and if she’s lucky – sells a bit. And on the other hand, few of you will be surprised that my beloved Mob is involved.
Petero, the youngest Antelo son (my amazing host family), has clearly inherited his share of the family’s impressive entrepreneurial spirit. Oh yes, that’s right, Petoro and a few of his friends have set up a Discotheque at ExpoSur. This festival continues for about 3 weeks and is the best thing going in town; the young, the old, and the even the Nuns don’t want to miss out. If you want to dance & drink you only have to pay Petoro and his friends to into their tent and party!!
And why on earth not? Unfortunately, the creative industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit we take so for granted at home is truly a diamond in the rough down here. It’s actually pretty refreshing to see people trying to creatively make some money – that’s extremely rare down here. I’m afraid that’s one of the many setbacks of this crawling economy. Sure in principle this economy is based on capitalism – but the incentives we’re all used to – namely monetary – don’t really work the way we’re used to. The majority of folks that become affluent do so through political corruption – it’s not really a pretty sight.
In anycase, one of the biggest “draws” to Expo Sur is the music. All sorts of famous Bolivian artists are invited. As the nun-wagon pulled up last night, we were greeted by none other than the eternal classic “I want to rock you all night long” by ______.
Oh, & just so you know, you’ve really never truly partied if you’ve never lived it up with Bolivian Nuns!! They were still dancing and clapping away at 2:30 in the morning!! The Nun-wagon dropped us off in San Lorenzo about 3AM and I was honestly all partied out – so much for all that training in college!! . . . You know it’s bad when you can’t even keep up with the Nuns!
Obviously partying with the nuns is NOT an experience you should be passing up – but luckily for you – I’m here for another 20 months to offer you just such an exclusive opportunity!
Only for a limited time !! Hurry !!
Besos,
La Sarita
Dona Hilda, one of my English students and the head of the vocational school. She has a stand (check out the picture) where she promotes the products her students & folks from a community over the rainbow and if she’s lucky – sells a bit. And on the other hand, few of you will be surprised that my beloved Mob is involved.
Petero, the youngest Antelo son (my amazing host family), has clearly inherited his share of the family’s impressive entrepreneurial spirit. Oh yes, that’s right, Petoro and a few of his friends have set up a Discotheque at ExpoSur. This festival continues for about 3 weeks and is the best thing going in town; the young, the old, and the even the Nuns don’t want to miss out. If you want to dance & drink you only have to pay Petoro and his friends to into their tent and party!!
And why on earth not? Unfortunately, the creative industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit we take so for granted at home is truly a diamond in the rough down here. It’s actually pretty refreshing to see people trying to creatively make some money – that’s extremely rare down here. I’m afraid that’s one of the many setbacks of this crawling economy. Sure in principle this economy is based on capitalism – but the incentives we’re all used to – namely monetary – don’t really work the way we’re used to. The majority of folks that become affluent do so through political corruption – it’s not really a pretty sight.
In anycase, one of the biggest “draws” to Expo Sur is the music. All sorts of famous Bolivian artists are invited. As the nun-wagon pulled up last night, we were greeted by none other than the eternal classic “I want to rock you all night long” by ______.
Oh, & just so you know, you’ve really never truly partied if you’ve never lived it up with Bolivian Nuns!! They were still dancing and clapping away at 2:30 in the morning!! The Nun-wagon dropped us off in San Lorenzo about 3AM and I was honestly all partied out – so much for all that training in college!! . . . You know it’s bad when you can’t even keep up with the Nuns!
Obviously partying with the nuns is NOT an experience you should be passing up – but luckily for you – I’m here for another 20 months to offer you just such an exclusive opportunity!
Only for a limited time !! Hurry !!
Besos,
La Sarita
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Rules of the Road
Hello all ... I´m sorry I´ve been so MIA - I wish I had a decent excuse, but alas... none is forthcoming so I won´t try to make one up.
I would however like to update you ALL on the Rules of the Road here in Bolivia should you choose to brave the thousands of miles, chaotic plane schedules, and various altitude adjustments to visit your dear friend south of the border.
Please, do not be alarmed - this is all perfectly normal.
There are generally 4 forms of public transportation in this beautiful but rather physically harsh host country of mine. There are ¨flotas¨... or Greyhound like bus vehicles which can vary from relatively nice and odorless to... well... let´s just say it´s not that rare to find yourself sitting next to chickens, pigs, goats, flea infested dogs or possibly folks who aren´t quite as obsessive about personal hygiene as we Americans might deem normal (yes this is where all you 2-a-day shower takers must fess up !). These flotas are the main form of transportation for locals all over the country.
Indeed trains exist here, though I have yet to see one... kind of like Puff the Magic Dragon- you hear rumors of existance but you´re not really sure whether you want to see the truth. A flota from Tarija in the South to La Paz in the north would cost about 80 Bs (roughly $10 USD) and take about 24 hrs; the trip would be similar heading Northeast from Tarija to Santa Cruz. Possibly the local devaluation of time and schedules is partially based in the reality that it takes literally days to travel from one part of the country to another(this can´t possibly be the whole reason, but who knows).
The next smallest travel excitement can be found in the form of ¨Trufis¨- these are pretty small mini buses which travel specific routes - just read the slightly vision imparing stickers all over the front windshield to see where the trufi is heading and feel free to jump on or jump off at any time - just make sure to get good handholds becuase you have a window of just over 4 seconds to embark or disembark before the lumbering 1972 machine starts it´s whiplash like acceleration to it´s next patron. Leave your fear of claustrophobia at the door please. Legal capacity (if there were such a thing here), is only about 20 people for 15 seats or so, but worry not, surely travelling in this shaking machine, often held together with various exposed wires and paper clips (I kid you not), with a little over 30 people inside and huge bags of potatoes and live chickens on the roof is not only a comforting way to travel but relatively secure as well.
My personal favorite form of transportation are the taxi trufis or taxis. Taxi trufis run the same routes that trufis run but are just ´normal´cars - usually they´re a lot faster (and just as cheap as regular trufis 2 Bs. 50 Centavos) but the same oralfactory and physical delights await the trusting traveller here as well. A huge number of said taxis are tossed off cars from Japan... they land in Bolivia and their steering wheels are ripped out and put on the left hand side ... no need to reconnect the wires to the speed or gas guages... when you run out of gas... literally propane off your bbq grill, the driver just pops to the trunk to reconnect his spare propane tank. Oh and don´t be alarmed if your confident taxi driver chooses to pass an overladden trufi going up hill around a sharp bend crossing the double yellow lines we seem to take so for granted up North - it´s all in a day´s drive.
Have you ever noticed the relative feeling of safety that´s created when we all follow the same driving rules¿ I´ve come to think of it as a certain peace of mind, un tranquilidad if you will, it´s the feeling that let´s me honk my horn on 495 when someone cuts me off without using a turning signal, or allows me a few unladylike comments about that person´s origins who didn´t give me the right of way at that stop sign... oh, and you know the list goes on.
Driving ... or rather being driven here in Bolivia, is somewhat akin to the crazy and seemingly irrational society created by William Golding in his classic The Lord of the Flies. You see, certain elemental facts govern the rights to the road here.
Pedestrians walk the roads at their own risk (i´ve only been swiped once so far), when approaching a cross street - whether there´s a stop sign, traffic light, or often nothing at all - the driver with the faster reflexes has the right of way for he´s honked his horn BEFORE you and accelerated into the cross street before you could beat him to it. Bolivians aren´t ´into´ the straffing traffic practices often found in Rome or other parts of Italy, Red and Yellow lights aren´t EVEN suggestions here... they just add to the color of the streets. All the better, one might argue, to get used to driving without such guidance, as the traffic lights are turned off at dark in order to save on the electicity bill. Much like I imagine traffic arguements are avoided in the Jungle amongst panthers, snakes, monkeys, elephants, gorillas and the like - the most basic rule of the road here is the biggest get to go first - no matter what - pedestrians, dogs, small children, grandmothers - pregnant women suddenly in labor - all must accept that the right of way goes to whosever vehicle is more likely to do the greatest dammage.
We PCVs tend to take the C´est la vie approach to transportation here. If the wheels aren´t shaking loose of the wheel wells, all the doors close most of the way, and there´s a full steering wheel in place somewhere in the front of the transportation´device´ (we´ll call it)... we get in and laugh about which wheel might come off first if we hurtle downhill too fast.
Not to worry, if you DO manage to visit, we know a few reliable taxi drivers whose cars only harken back to the late ´90s !!
Don´t forget - you´re ALL Cordially invited !! (Besides, a Bolivian trufi ride will be much more culturally satisfying than your fall trip to Six Flags Great Adventures!!)
I promise to write more soon !
Besos,
SC, Sarah, Sarita de la Jungla
I would however like to update you ALL on the Rules of the Road here in Bolivia should you choose to brave the thousands of miles, chaotic plane schedules, and various altitude adjustments to visit your dear friend south of the border.
Please, do not be alarmed - this is all perfectly normal.
There are generally 4 forms of public transportation in this beautiful but rather physically harsh host country of mine. There are ¨flotas¨... or Greyhound like bus vehicles which can vary from relatively nice and odorless to... well... let´s just say it´s not that rare to find yourself sitting next to chickens, pigs, goats, flea infested dogs or possibly folks who aren´t quite as obsessive about personal hygiene as we Americans might deem normal (yes this is where all you 2-a-day shower takers must fess up !). These flotas are the main form of transportation for locals all over the country.
Indeed trains exist here, though I have yet to see one... kind of like Puff the Magic Dragon- you hear rumors of existance but you´re not really sure whether you want to see the truth. A flota from Tarija in the South to La Paz in the north would cost about 80 Bs (roughly $10 USD) and take about 24 hrs; the trip would be similar heading Northeast from Tarija to Santa Cruz. Possibly the local devaluation of time and schedules is partially based in the reality that it takes literally days to travel from one part of the country to another(this can´t possibly be the whole reason, but who knows).
The next smallest travel excitement can be found in the form of ¨Trufis¨- these are pretty small mini buses which travel specific routes - just read the slightly vision imparing stickers all over the front windshield to see where the trufi is heading and feel free to jump on or jump off at any time - just make sure to get good handholds becuase you have a window of just over 4 seconds to embark or disembark before the lumbering 1972 machine starts it´s whiplash like acceleration to it´s next patron. Leave your fear of claustrophobia at the door please. Legal capacity (if there were such a thing here), is only about 20 people for 15 seats or so, but worry not, surely travelling in this shaking machine, often held together with various exposed wires and paper clips (I kid you not), with a little over 30 people inside and huge bags of potatoes and live chickens on the roof is not only a comforting way to travel but relatively secure as well.
My personal favorite form of transportation are the taxi trufis or taxis. Taxi trufis run the same routes that trufis run but are just ´normal´cars - usually they´re a lot faster (and just as cheap as regular trufis 2 Bs. 50 Centavos) but the same oralfactory and physical delights await the trusting traveller here as well. A huge number of said taxis are tossed off cars from Japan... they land in Bolivia and their steering wheels are ripped out and put on the left hand side ... no need to reconnect the wires to the speed or gas guages... when you run out of gas... literally propane off your bbq grill, the driver just pops to the trunk to reconnect his spare propane tank. Oh and don´t be alarmed if your confident taxi driver chooses to pass an overladden trufi going up hill around a sharp bend crossing the double yellow lines we seem to take so for granted up North - it´s all in a day´s drive.
Have you ever noticed the relative feeling of safety that´s created when we all follow the same driving rules¿ I´ve come to think of it as a certain peace of mind, un tranquilidad if you will, it´s the feeling that let´s me honk my horn on 495 when someone cuts me off without using a turning signal, or allows me a few unladylike comments about that person´s origins who didn´t give me the right of way at that stop sign... oh, and you know the list goes on.
Driving ... or rather being driven here in Bolivia, is somewhat akin to the crazy and seemingly irrational society created by William Golding in his classic The Lord of the Flies. You see, certain elemental facts govern the rights to the road here.
Pedestrians walk the roads at their own risk (i´ve only been swiped once so far), when approaching a cross street - whether there´s a stop sign, traffic light, or often nothing at all - the driver with the faster reflexes has the right of way for he´s honked his horn BEFORE you and accelerated into the cross street before you could beat him to it. Bolivians aren´t ´into´ the straffing traffic practices often found in Rome or other parts of Italy, Red and Yellow lights aren´t EVEN suggestions here... they just add to the color of the streets. All the better, one might argue, to get used to driving without such guidance, as the traffic lights are turned off at dark in order to save on the electicity bill. Much like I imagine traffic arguements are avoided in the Jungle amongst panthers, snakes, monkeys, elephants, gorillas and the like - the most basic rule of the road here is the biggest get to go first - no matter what - pedestrians, dogs, small children, grandmothers - pregnant women suddenly in labor - all must accept that the right of way goes to whosever vehicle is more likely to do the greatest dammage.
We PCVs tend to take the C´est la vie approach to transportation here. If the wheels aren´t shaking loose of the wheel wells, all the doors close most of the way, and there´s a full steering wheel in place somewhere in the front of the transportation´device´ (we´ll call it)... we get in and laugh about which wheel might come off first if we hurtle downhill too fast.
Not to worry, if you DO manage to visit, we know a few reliable taxi drivers whose cars only harken back to the late ´90s !!
Don´t forget - you´re ALL Cordially invited !! (Besides, a Bolivian trufi ride will be much more culturally satisfying than your fall trip to Six Flags Great Adventures!!)
I promise to write more soon !
Besos,
SC, Sarah, Sarita de la Jungla
Thursday, August 24, 2006
I Dream of Turkey
I know some of you dream of Genie . . .
. . .I dream of Turkey. . . .
No no, I´m really not joking. I woke up this morning just having ordered the turkey sandwhich of my dreams!! And then. . . well. . . I woke up.
So sad.
There are plenty of wild turkey´s down here. . . but for some inexplicable reason the locals prefer tamales made of pig heads (mostly fat) to the amazingness of that other flightless bird.
. . . This dream got me thinking, you know, Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey to be the symbolic bird of our country. And why not? It´s tasty, good for you, and makes phenomenal leftovers for any occasion ! ! !
Alas, there is no turkey to be had - so I made pizza at 9:45 this AM for breakfast. Not really the substitute of my dreams . . . but yummy anyway.
Although- I should add - the ´vocational teacher´for the adult school generously offered to teach me how to strangle, gut, pluck, and bleed my very own chicken for dinner ! What a GREAT IDEA. . . why didn´t I think of that.
Dad likes to tell this great story about one of our first Family outings to the marché in Switzerland. Mom was trying to buy a chicken and the man behind the counter brought out a dead, but wholly unplucked chicken for her to inspect . . . Dad made it across the store just in time as she started to faint towards the floor . . . maybe the family honor needs to push the envelope a little farther . . . if my own ´chicken killing trade´class does actually happen - I´ll be sure to take pictures.
In other news this week I got bit by the family cat (I call her la Diabla- the devil). I duly followed the advice of our Peace Corps doctor - who is lovingly referred to as Doctor Death, as he never fails to foresee our deaths in all manner of Bolivian activities and food.
So I followed Dr. Death´s advice - I asked Doña Esperanza (my host mom) if the cat had rabies (she said no) and am now observing the cat for 10 days as directed.
If it lives, so do I.
If not, I should have gone straight to the hospital to get 3 more booster shots (we´ve already been vaccinated).
I guess we´ll just have to see. So far there´s been no foaming at the mouth. . .keep your fingers crossed.
Besos,
Sarah
PS. I FINALLY finished painting the new room & am still fighting with the internet cafés to let me upload pix !!
. . .I dream of Turkey. . . .
No no, I´m really not joking. I woke up this morning just having ordered the turkey sandwhich of my dreams!! And then. . . well. . . I woke up.
So sad.
There are plenty of wild turkey´s down here. . . but for some inexplicable reason the locals prefer tamales made of pig heads (mostly fat) to the amazingness of that other flightless bird.
. . . This dream got me thinking, you know, Benjamin Franklin wanted the Turkey to be the symbolic bird of our country. And why not? It´s tasty, good for you, and makes phenomenal leftovers for any occasion ! ! !
Alas, there is no turkey to be had - so I made pizza at 9:45 this AM for breakfast. Not really the substitute of my dreams . . . but yummy anyway.
Although- I should add - the ´vocational teacher´for the adult school generously offered to teach me how to strangle, gut, pluck, and bleed my very own chicken for dinner ! What a GREAT IDEA. . . why didn´t I think of that.
Dad likes to tell this great story about one of our first Family outings to the marché in Switzerland. Mom was trying to buy a chicken and the man behind the counter brought out a dead, but wholly unplucked chicken for her to inspect . . . Dad made it across the store just in time as she started to faint towards the floor . . . maybe the family honor needs to push the envelope a little farther . . . if my own ´chicken killing trade´class does actually happen - I´ll be sure to take pictures.
In other news this week I got bit by the family cat (I call her la Diabla- the devil). I duly followed the advice of our Peace Corps doctor - who is lovingly referred to as Doctor Death, as he never fails to foresee our deaths in all manner of Bolivian activities and food.
So I followed Dr. Death´s advice - I asked Doña Esperanza (my host mom) if the cat had rabies (she said no) and am now observing the cat for 10 days as directed.
If it lives, so do I.
If not, I should have gone straight to the hospital to get 3 more booster shots (we´ve already been vaccinated).
I guess we´ll just have to see. So far there´s been no foaming at the mouth. . .keep your fingers crossed.
Besos,
Sarah
PS. I FINALLY finished painting the new room & am still fighting with the internet cafés to let me upload pix !!
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Head Angel in Heaven
I think Mom is the Head Angel in Heaven.
My new life is so absolutely wonderful she MUST be pulling strings!
I am extremely blessed.I´m living with the marvelous Antelo family who are native Tarijañans. They´re very well off as situations go down here - in fact Dón Freddy (the Dad) was Mayor of San Lorenzo for years, and Freddy jr. is now the 2nd in command of the town and engaged to a former PCV. The entire family is awesome - well educated, friendly, and unbelievably welcoming. The first time I met Heidy (one of the married daughters) she and her younger brother Petero pushed me really hard to play Texas hold ´em with the fam that night. . . I thought it might not have been a good idea to lose my shirt or steal theirs the first day we met - so I declined. However, they´ve since won about 20 Bolivianos (about $2.24) off me . . .so I need to practice to get it back !
Dón Freddy has been an avid rider all his life - and is extremely excited that I am so motivated to get a horse ! He and his wife have generously offered for me to live in their house for free, make any changes I want to the house, to stable my horse on their land 5 minutes walk away from the house, have their cousins help me with the daily care of the horse, AND drive me NINE hours down to Salta Argentina to help me find the horse of my dreams!!! I´m sorry this is such a laundry list . . .but it´s a bit overwhelming. They treat me like a special member of the family and graciously fold me into everything they do - while still insisting I keep my independence as much as I want.
Clearly Mom has been working overtime upstairs. I have more freedom of movement than I ever thought I would - being only 25 minutes or so from Tarija city on paved roads ! The nuns have been equally as welcoming and I´m thoroughly enjoying getting to know them and the kids I´ll be working with. I´m definitely not cut out to be a nunnette (what I call the postulates) - I still can´t remember all of the Nuns´names - but I´m working on it.
I spent the day cleaning out my new rectangular/hallway shaped room - note to self - manual labor is NOT for me:) I washed/scrubbed the floor 3 times and it´s still dirty . . .dunno how that works, and I scrubbed and scrubbed the random set of stairs in this room that go from the floor into one of the walls . . . at this point I think paint is going to be my best friend ! Where are my fashionistas when I need them ?? (Steph...Sal...Anouk ?? where are you people?!!)
Below you´ll see part of an email a fellow B42er who´s serving in Santa Cruz (another department in Bolivia) - I was actually writing something almost verbatim to another friend - I think Naya speaks for all of us :
¨The funny thing is, my friends and I were talking about this over the weekend in the city, we have never worked so little in our lives as in a job, but we have never been more exhausted. The Peace Corps is more about the emotional adjustment that one needs to make and how difficult just life is, not the job that we will be doing for the next 2 years. The real challenge will be, being by ourselves and trying to integrate into a community that doesn´t really understand American culture and we ourselves having to become comfortable in a foreign culture. Our new motto is ¨How far will you go?¨and I think that means how far out of your comfort zone are you willing to go, because it is definitely not normal to feel the way one feels being in the PC. But what a great experience this is...
-Naya¨
It´s awesome to be able to write and hear from friends at home - but it´s such a unique learning experience to be so ¨not busy¨ the way we think of it at home and yet be working all the time. Just today I found myself trying to explain in Spanish why I ¨chose¨not to be Catholic and why the doctrinal differences between Catholicism and Anglicanism are important (footnote: although most Bolivians are Catholic - they tend to be ¨shopping cart catholics¨- i.e. they pick and choose what they like about the faith, and they are rarely sure of Catholic doctrine on various subjects . . .which makes debate highly frustrating) - in essence, on of the most interseting things to get used to is ¨working¨ just by interacting with people all day long. It goes against my Bernie-given proclivity to accomplish ¨tasks¨or get things ¨done¨ . . . but nonetheless is a big part of what PC service is.
Everyone keep your fingers crossed !!! I should be off to Horse Hunt in Argentina within the next week or so !!! All name suggestions will be extremely welcome !
Lots of Love,
Sarita la Tarijaña!!
My new life is so absolutely wonderful she MUST be pulling strings!
I am extremely blessed.I´m living with the marvelous Antelo family who are native Tarijañans. They´re very well off as situations go down here - in fact Dón Freddy (the Dad) was Mayor of San Lorenzo for years, and Freddy jr. is now the 2nd in command of the town and engaged to a former PCV. The entire family is awesome - well educated, friendly, and unbelievably welcoming. The first time I met Heidy (one of the married daughters) she and her younger brother Petero pushed me really hard to play Texas hold ´em with the fam that night. . . I thought it might not have been a good idea to lose my shirt or steal theirs the first day we met - so I declined. However, they´ve since won about 20 Bolivianos (about $2.24) off me . . .so I need to practice to get it back !
Dón Freddy has been an avid rider all his life - and is extremely excited that I am so motivated to get a horse ! He and his wife have generously offered for me to live in their house for free, make any changes I want to the house, to stable my horse on their land 5 minutes walk away from the house, have their cousins help me with the daily care of the horse, AND drive me NINE hours down to Salta Argentina to help me find the horse of my dreams!!! I´m sorry this is such a laundry list . . .but it´s a bit overwhelming. They treat me like a special member of the family and graciously fold me into everything they do - while still insisting I keep my independence as much as I want.
Clearly Mom has been working overtime upstairs. I have more freedom of movement than I ever thought I would - being only 25 minutes or so from Tarija city on paved roads ! The nuns have been equally as welcoming and I´m thoroughly enjoying getting to know them and the kids I´ll be working with. I´m definitely not cut out to be a nunnette (what I call the postulates) - I still can´t remember all of the Nuns´names - but I´m working on it.
I spent the day cleaning out my new rectangular/hallway shaped room - note to self - manual labor is NOT for me:) I washed/scrubbed the floor 3 times and it´s still dirty . . .dunno how that works, and I scrubbed and scrubbed the random set of stairs in this room that go from the floor into one of the walls . . . at this point I think paint is going to be my best friend ! Where are my fashionistas when I need them ?? (Steph...Sal...Anouk ?? where are you people?!!)
Below you´ll see part of an email a fellow B42er who´s serving in Santa Cruz (another department in Bolivia) - I was actually writing something almost verbatim to another friend - I think Naya speaks for all of us :
¨The funny thing is, my friends and I were talking about this over the weekend in the city, we have never worked so little in our lives as in a job, but we have never been more exhausted. The Peace Corps is more about the emotional adjustment that one needs to make and how difficult just life is, not the job that we will be doing for the next 2 years. The real challenge will be, being by ourselves and trying to integrate into a community that doesn´t really understand American culture and we ourselves having to become comfortable in a foreign culture. Our new motto is ¨How far will you go?¨and I think that means how far out of your comfort zone are you willing to go, because it is definitely not normal to feel the way one feels being in the PC. But what a great experience this is...
-Naya¨
It´s awesome to be able to write and hear from friends at home - but it´s such a unique learning experience to be so ¨not busy¨ the way we think of it at home and yet be working all the time. Just today I found myself trying to explain in Spanish why I ¨chose¨not to be Catholic and why the doctrinal differences between Catholicism and Anglicanism are important (footnote: although most Bolivians are Catholic - they tend to be ¨shopping cart catholics¨- i.e. they pick and choose what they like about the faith, and they are rarely sure of Catholic doctrine on various subjects . . .which makes debate highly frustrating) - in essence, on of the most interseting things to get used to is ¨working¨ just by interacting with people all day long. It goes against my Bernie-given proclivity to accomplish ¨tasks¨or get things ¨done¨ . . . but nonetheless is a big part of what PC service is.
Everyone keep your fingers crossed !!! I should be off to Horse Hunt in Argentina within the next week or so !!! All name suggestions will be extremely welcome !
Lots of Love,
Sarita la Tarijaña!!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
A Real Live Peace Corps Volunteer
It´s official ! I´m a real LIVE US Peace Corps Volunteer !! You should all be seriously concerned that I am now YOUR face and representative here in this country !
This past Friday afternoon I swore my first oath ever (Dad reminded me that the Brownie pledge doesn´t really count) ! ! I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the values and mission of the US Peace Corps. FYI - the three goals of the Peace Corps are to provide professional help to developing countries who have asked for it, to increase foreign understanding of Americans and our ways of life, and to bring back to the States a greater understanding of foreign cultures and values.
The realities of a 3rd world ¨Formal¨event were quite interesting. We were sworn in in our best PC clothes (a spattering of skirts and bergen stocks sp?, khakis and polos) in a crowded hotel conference room - brightened with flourescent lighting and peeling mustard yellow paint ! Javier Garza (our country director) and a man from the US Embassy in La Paz both gave ´go get ´em¨speaches - but the best part came after the oath when a large contingent of current volunteers gave us a standing ovation - and came by to shake each of our hands and welcome us to the corps. A little hokey - but pretty great all the same.
An unofficial PC tradition is to have a themed party the evening of swearing in. Our theme was 80s Rockers !! oh yes oh yes, I kid you not. AND one of the most endearing parts of the city of Cochabamba is La Cancha - a one square mile labrynth of hawkers and dealers of anything and everything that is made by the hands of man . . . including used clothing from the States. Let your imagination run wild . . . and perhaps you might have the idea !
. . . Well, we came to the party prepared . . . I´ll post pictures when I can . . . I was sporting a ripped black and neon shirt with the words ¨You Can´t Touch This¨, blue and white striped nylon pants, and a puke green blazer from 1979, with two crooked side pony tales . . . what a night !
I am writing this update from the city of Tarija where I´ll be serving for the next 2 years. San Lorenzo (my actual site) is about 30 minutes away from the city on a paved road ! Thankfully the Nuns of San Lorenzo are no longer under the impression that I´ll be living with them in the convent and I´m spending this week and next trying to find a place to live and settle in a bit.
I hope this finds you all happy and not sweltering too much (it´s freezing down here) !
All my love !,
Sarah Catherine
aka La Sarita !
This past Friday afternoon I swore my first oath ever (Dad reminded me that the Brownie pledge doesn´t really count) ! ! I swore to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the values and mission of the US Peace Corps. FYI - the three goals of the Peace Corps are to provide professional help to developing countries who have asked for it, to increase foreign understanding of Americans and our ways of life, and to bring back to the States a greater understanding of foreign cultures and values.
The realities of a 3rd world ¨Formal¨event were quite interesting. We were sworn in in our best PC clothes (a spattering of skirts and bergen stocks sp?, khakis and polos) in a crowded hotel conference room - brightened with flourescent lighting and peeling mustard yellow paint ! Javier Garza (our country director) and a man from the US Embassy in La Paz both gave ´go get ´em¨speaches - but the best part came after the oath when a large contingent of current volunteers gave us a standing ovation - and came by to shake each of our hands and welcome us to the corps. A little hokey - but pretty great all the same.
An unofficial PC tradition is to have a themed party the evening of swearing in. Our theme was 80s Rockers !! oh yes oh yes, I kid you not. AND one of the most endearing parts of the city of Cochabamba is La Cancha - a one square mile labrynth of hawkers and dealers of anything and everything that is made by the hands of man . . . including used clothing from the States. Let your imagination run wild . . . and perhaps you might have the idea !
. . . Well, we came to the party prepared . . . I´ll post pictures when I can . . . I was sporting a ripped black and neon shirt with the words ¨You Can´t Touch This¨, blue and white striped nylon pants, and a puke green blazer from 1979, with two crooked side pony tales . . . what a night !
I am writing this update from the city of Tarija where I´ll be serving for the next 2 years. San Lorenzo (my actual site) is about 30 minutes away from the city on a paved road ! Thankfully the Nuns of San Lorenzo are no longer under the impression that I´ll be living with them in the convent and I´m spending this week and next trying to find a place to live and settle in a bit.
I hope this finds you all happy and not sweltering too much (it´s freezing down here) !
All my love !,
Sarah Catherine
aka La Sarita !
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Peace Corps Technical Week
Hey all,
I know you´ll all be so happy to know that showers are still the things of dreams, and the highlight of July 4th was eating real cheeseburgers. . .yes yes, with REAL burger meat and REAL cheese (both rare commodities down here) but life in general is going extremely well !
We just got back from our ¨Technical Week¨. . . a 10 day period where we visited 3 different current volunteer sites and ¨practiced¨being real volunteers. At the first site (Tortora, in the Department of Cochabamba, estimated pop: 1,200) we spent the first day running various workshops for 1st to 6th graders. I was in a Nutrition group . . . in Bolivia there are only 3 food groups - and nutrition is extremely poor throughout the country - it is common practice to serve some combination of rice / pasta / and potatoes in the same dish - often without any veggies (and you thought I had poor nutrition ! ha). And the following day we worked with Ashley´s (our host PC Volunteer, or PCV) English club. We played games in English and made Papaya marmalade . . . in an effort to be helpful a few of us clumsily tried to help peel the Papayas . . . we lasted mere minutes before the girls of the group laughed us away from anything with a sharp edge.
In all seriousness, if you do get the chance to visit - note to self - do NOT get into a knife fight with a Bolivian . . .especially the women . . . they must come out of the womb weilding knives and peeling potatoes . . . no joke.
Our second visit was to Matt´s site : Alquile (Department of Santa Cruz, est pop: 5,000 . . .i.e. one of the bigger sites). Here we worked at an orphanage/boarding school type of place. Most of the kids are not orphans, rather they live so far away in the campo (countryside) that this internado is one of the only ways they can get education. On our first day we ran self-esteem workshops for both the kids and the teachers, followed by an afternoon ´field day´of sorts. My integrated education tech specialist, Jillian, and I ran the water-balloon toss . . . too bad Shimkus wasn´t here to put us all to shame (Jills did get soaked . . . I however, never spilled a drop :). Jillian (or Jills) is a 3rd year volunteer who applied to extend her stay here as an administrative asst. to my APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) Wendy Van Damme. Wendy runs the integrated education program - of which I am a part. Anyway, self esteem is of immeasurable importance to the development of all kids and people, perhaps not as shocking as it may seem - the entire concept is lacking in this society. To a certain degree, even the ideas of child rights are relatively new.
Our following 2 days were spent running a Teacher ¨Taller¨(pronounced Thai-er) or workshop. We covered all sorts of things - from classroom management (it´s still common practice for teachers to hit the kids) to the fact that different ppl have different learning styles. At one point during the learning style section of one day - a few teachers went on at lenght that a child that likes to learn on their own has problems. That this child is probably having issues at home, likes to act out, doesn´t like to socialize, or has some other type of issue or problem. It was an interesting challenge, as a 20 something non-teacher, to try and engage these teaching ¨professionals¨in a way that they might consider what we were discussing might have validity. In anycase, true to form, I took the to the whole ¨Taller¨thing like a fish to water. As Jills said, ¨Clearly you have no shame when you´re talking to them . . . and that´s good . . . you´re spanish will eventually get better¨:) thanks.
Our third and final site was La Laja with a PCV named Katie (Department of Santa Cruz, est pop: 300), way way up in the mountains. Turns out a great deal of Bolivia is covered with gorgeous rolling mountains - the further East & towards Brazil you go - the more green and vibrant they become - even in the dry season (now). We stayed in La Laja and literally had to snuggle for warmth at night (which was fine, one of my favorite activities:) but during the day we built a greenhouse in another village out of Adobe bricks. Adobe is a combination of mud, straw, and sand - all dried out. Adobe bricks are held together only by mud . . . but adobe buildings are surprisingly stable (not that I´d like to spend my life in one).
All in all I loved it, found out i was really good at some stuff. . .can do other stuff . . .but I´m less than enthused about certain activities (read: umm, manual labor is NOT at the top of my wish list. . . ). I also figured out (rather agonized over) what kind of site I wanted to be placed in. It was relatively hard . . . I´ve wanted to do this for such a long time . . . and I´ve done all this research and thus have had all these preconcieved notions about what I wanted out of PC service . . . or what ¨pc service REALLY is¨. . . I´ve really had to try and come to terms with the fact that all the ideas I´ve had in my head aren´t necessarily connected to realities on the ground. As Jills said to me over Tech week - ¨The difference between PC Bolivia and PC Africa is that in PC Africa you work to live, and in PC Bolivia you live to work¨. This statement becomes more true all the time. Sure there are amenities we´re missing, and of course there are numerous health and physical risks, but for the most part we don´t have to walk 3 hours to get water.
Basically I´ve come to terms with the fact that any ´romantic´notions I had of PC service need to go right out the windo. I believe I´ll be a MUCH better volunteer in a more populated site where I´ll have at least a semblance of support / structure . . . only really to the point where I´ll have a ´place´to go to work. . . and a place where I´ll actually be busy ( i.e. not just sitting around ¨being¨a visible, but bored, American).
On Monday we finally recieved our site postings for the next two years !! I was extremely lucky and was placed at a site called ¨San Lorenzo¨ (which is actually in a few guide books) in the Department of Tarija, just a few hours North of Salta, Argentina. I´ll be working in an orphanage / boarding school of sorts where I will have the opportunity to teach people of all ages. This internado is run by Nuns who are apparantly VERY excited to get a PC volunteer to help them with all their educational endeavors; which include a soup kitchen for local needy children, a school, after school programs, a boarding house, and an adult school ! I´m most looking forward to being busy. Throughout training it has become clear that many volunteers must work through a labrynth of beauracracy full of political fiefdoms and most efforts result in extreme boredom and frustration :) Hopefully, my site will have less such hassles (although there are bound to be quite a few nonetheless).
I´ll only be 18 Km from the city of Tarija - maybe 30 / 40 minute drive on a PAVED road (very key). Tarija is heavily influenced by Argentinian culture - which thankfully means better beef, wine, and cuisine options in general!
I´ll be changing my mailing address shortly . . . thank you all so SO much for all the letters and care packages (you know who you are) ! All my fellow trainees want to know if any of you want to adopt them !
Missing you !,
La Sarita
(literally, THE little Sarah. . . much better than La Gordita . . .I won´t translate)
I know you´ll all be so happy to know that showers are still the things of dreams, and the highlight of July 4th was eating real cheeseburgers. . .yes yes, with REAL burger meat and REAL cheese (both rare commodities down here) but life in general is going extremely well !
We just got back from our ¨Technical Week¨. . . a 10 day period where we visited 3 different current volunteer sites and ¨practiced¨being real volunteers. At the first site (Tortora, in the Department of Cochabamba, estimated pop: 1,200) we spent the first day running various workshops for 1st to 6th graders. I was in a Nutrition group . . . in Bolivia there are only 3 food groups - and nutrition is extremely poor throughout the country - it is common practice to serve some combination of rice / pasta / and potatoes in the same dish - often without any veggies (and you thought I had poor nutrition ! ha). And the following day we worked with Ashley´s (our host PC Volunteer, or PCV) English club. We played games in English and made Papaya marmalade . . . in an effort to be helpful a few of us clumsily tried to help peel the Papayas . . . we lasted mere minutes before the girls of the group laughed us away from anything with a sharp edge.
In all seriousness, if you do get the chance to visit - note to self - do NOT get into a knife fight with a Bolivian . . .especially the women . . . they must come out of the womb weilding knives and peeling potatoes . . . no joke.
Our second visit was to Matt´s site : Alquile (Department of Santa Cruz, est pop: 5,000 . . .i.e. one of the bigger sites). Here we worked at an orphanage/boarding school type of place. Most of the kids are not orphans, rather they live so far away in the campo (countryside) that this internado is one of the only ways they can get education. On our first day we ran self-esteem workshops for both the kids and the teachers, followed by an afternoon ´field day´of sorts. My integrated education tech specialist, Jillian, and I ran the water-balloon toss . . . too bad Shimkus wasn´t here to put us all to shame (Jills did get soaked . . . I however, never spilled a drop :). Jillian (or Jills) is a 3rd year volunteer who applied to extend her stay here as an administrative asst. to my APCD (Assistant Peace Corps Director) Wendy Van Damme. Wendy runs the integrated education program - of which I am a part. Anyway, self esteem is of immeasurable importance to the development of all kids and people, perhaps not as shocking as it may seem - the entire concept is lacking in this society. To a certain degree, even the ideas of child rights are relatively new.
Our following 2 days were spent running a Teacher ¨Taller¨(pronounced Thai-er) or workshop. We covered all sorts of things - from classroom management (it´s still common practice for teachers to hit the kids) to the fact that different ppl have different learning styles. At one point during the learning style section of one day - a few teachers went on at lenght that a child that likes to learn on their own has problems. That this child is probably having issues at home, likes to act out, doesn´t like to socialize, or has some other type of issue or problem. It was an interesting challenge, as a 20 something non-teacher, to try and engage these teaching ¨professionals¨in a way that they might consider what we were discussing might have validity. In anycase, true to form, I took the to the whole ¨Taller¨thing like a fish to water. As Jills said, ¨Clearly you have no shame when you´re talking to them . . . and that´s good . . . you´re spanish will eventually get better¨:) thanks.
Our third and final site was La Laja with a PCV named Katie (Department of Santa Cruz, est pop: 300), way way up in the mountains. Turns out a great deal of Bolivia is covered with gorgeous rolling mountains - the further East & towards Brazil you go - the more green and vibrant they become - even in the dry season (now). We stayed in La Laja and literally had to snuggle for warmth at night (which was fine, one of my favorite activities:) but during the day we built a greenhouse in another village out of Adobe bricks. Adobe is a combination of mud, straw, and sand - all dried out. Adobe bricks are held together only by mud . . . but adobe buildings are surprisingly stable (not that I´d like to spend my life in one).
All in all I loved it, found out i was really good at some stuff. . .can do other stuff . . .but I´m less than enthused about certain activities (read: umm, manual labor is NOT at the top of my wish list. . . ). I also figured out (rather agonized over) what kind of site I wanted to be placed in. It was relatively hard . . . I´ve wanted to do this for such a long time . . . and I´ve done all this research and thus have had all these preconcieved notions about what I wanted out of PC service . . . or what ¨pc service REALLY is¨. . . I´ve really had to try and come to terms with the fact that all the ideas I´ve had in my head aren´t necessarily connected to realities on the ground. As Jills said to me over Tech week - ¨The difference between PC Bolivia and PC Africa is that in PC Africa you work to live, and in PC Bolivia you live to work¨. This statement becomes more true all the time. Sure there are amenities we´re missing, and of course there are numerous health and physical risks, but for the most part we don´t have to walk 3 hours to get water.
Basically I´ve come to terms with the fact that any ´romantic´notions I had of PC service need to go right out the windo. I believe I´ll be a MUCH better volunteer in a more populated site where I´ll have at least a semblance of support / structure . . . only really to the point where I´ll have a ´place´to go to work. . . and a place where I´ll actually be busy ( i.e. not just sitting around ¨being¨a visible, but bored, American).
On Monday we finally recieved our site postings for the next two years !! I was extremely lucky and was placed at a site called ¨San Lorenzo¨ (which is actually in a few guide books) in the Department of Tarija, just a few hours North of Salta, Argentina. I´ll be working in an orphanage / boarding school of sorts where I will have the opportunity to teach people of all ages. This internado is run by Nuns who are apparantly VERY excited to get a PC volunteer to help them with all their educational endeavors; which include a soup kitchen for local needy children, a school, after school programs, a boarding house, and an adult school ! I´m most looking forward to being busy. Throughout training it has become clear that many volunteers must work through a labrynth of beauracracy full of political fiefdoms and most efforts result in extreme boredom and frustration :) Hopefully, my site will have less such hassles (although there are bound to be quite a few nonetheless).
I´ll only be 18 Km from the city of Tarija - maybe 30 / 40 minute drive on a PAVED road (very key). Tarija is heavily influenced by Argentinian culture - which thankfully means better beef, wine, and cuisine options in general!
I´ll be changing my mailing address shortly . . . thank you all so SO much for all the letters and care packages (you know who you are) ! All my fellow trainees want to know if any of you want to adopt them !
Missing you !,
La Sarita
(literally, THE little Sarah. . . much better than La Gordita . . .I won´t translate)
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Carnival Water Balloon War Zone
Oh, soooooooo Carnival - let me explain the coolest thing I learned today. During Carnival the ENTIRE country turns into a Water Balloon WAR zone. I mean it´s ALL out guerilla warfare . . . ppl hang out of trufis & taxis (trufis are little vans that function as public transport) and do drive by´s . . . favorite targets include Gringos & women. . . so a few of us PC ladies are already strategizing. One pcv just told me how she and two friends made a 3 - man sling shot . . . and their balloons went over a block and a half . . . so yes, we will be prepared . . . we will be armed . . .and NO THE GENEVA CONVENTIONS WILL NOT APPLY !!!! ( and YES they do sell super soakers here. . . !!! the possibilities are endless) I´m soooooooo psyched !!! Apparantly it ¨really gets bad¨when women on the street sell big bags of filled water balloons for 1 boliviano (it´s $1 to the 8 Bolivianos). You MUST come visit during Carnival !!! There´s also a bunch of dancing, drinking, & eating . . . basically I must find a way to spend every carnival here !!!
I´m quite sure there are many more details about this CLEARLY amazing cultural practice of sharing LOVE and AFFECTION with all you see (it´s completely normal for pcv´s [peace corps volunteers . . . i´m only a trainnee at the moment] to recruit 13 yr olds to be on their team because Gringos are so immensely outnumbered) . . . so I´m sure I´ll be writing more about the subject in the future.
Miss you all !!!,
La Sarita
PS. Many thanks go out to my favorite big brother Armstrong, and our mutual Brazilean friend Miguel . . . without whom I doubt I would be ready for this water war of Mamouth proportions !!!
I´m quite sure there are many more details about this CLEARLY amazing cultural practice of sharing LOVE and AFFECTION with all you see (it´s completely normal for pcv´s [peace corps volunteers . . . i´m only a trainnee at the moment] to recruit 13 yr olds to be on their team because Gringos are so immensely outnumbered) . . . so I´m sure I´ll be writing more about the subject in the future.
Miss you all !!!,
La Sarita
PS. Many thanks go out to my favorite big brother Armstrong, and our mutual Brazilean friend Miguel . . . without whom I doubt I would be ready for this water war of Mamouth proportions !!!
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Chez Moi!!!
So we’ve been here a month and I’m sure you’re all just DYING to see how a REAL LIVE PEACE COPRS TRAINEE really lives!?!?!?!I know I know, the excitement may be too much to bear – but below you’ll find pix of my dwelling.
We have all sorts of containers for food – laundry baskets tend to be used for dried goods . . . and actually I’m very lucky – my ‘mother’ even washes her hands occasionally before she starts cooking !!
Never fear – if you brave the journey – I’ll cook for you myself (I hope that comes across as an incentive !)
The pic below taken from my second floor landing – down into the small courtyard where I live. Oh, and the random lines you see in the picture are clothes lines – where one is welcome to hang their unmentionables at any time ! And the small shack-like structure to the left of Lucy is our kitchen . . . turns out you don’t actually need a Viking stove to produce culinary brilliance !!!
The vista to the left was also taken from my room the house on the other side of the clearing is Susan’s house – we could probably pass a football if either of us could throw one . . . might be a good experiment . . . though the ball might land in cow manure . . . maybe we’ll save that one for later.
Alas, my personal space !!! 
I’m actually very lucky – and multiple other trainees are jealous – I have a TABLE, a STOOL, AND . . . I hope you’re sitting down as you read this . . . A CHAIR!!!!
Contrary to popular belief I’m actually not being dramatic for effect – most everyone else has only the Peace Corps provided bed (see pic) and requisite mosquito net.
This is a picture of my ‘motivation’ / “People still love me” wall. Though it be small – it be mighty ! If you really want to be cool please send fun pictures/cards/collages or motivational quotes of any kind.
Oh, and an extra special shout out to Peggy White has contributed 4 out of the 6 cards on the wall !!! (Peggy I WILL find a way to get you a Kir when I get back!).
I hope this finds you all well – happy – and hopefully laughing a bit at my expense !
Miss you daily,
LOVE,
Hawaii 5 – 0 !!!
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Life is Wonderfulin Bolivia
Hola todos !!
Life is wonderful down here in Bolivia. I get a suntan during the day, and am sure my water bottle will be frozen when I wake up in the morning . . . but at least my trusty insect net keeps me safe - even if I do feel like I'm getting into a spaceship each time I get into bed :)
As always I'm a bit on the run . . . but the pix from top left to right are :
Fellow trainees Sarah Anderson & Noah (integrated ed) , Sydney McCall & Phil (also I.E.), my spanish class : Susan Grundstrom, Justin, & Maritza our teacher (also I.E.) outside of one of our classrooms ... Justin's house. A girl making one of the many awesome cakes they're so fond of here (really big for mother's day which was yesterday). Finally Ana (I.E.), Me, Rachel (Basic Sanitation), Susan, and Jen (I.E.).
I'm just figuring out how to upload pictures - so please have patience ... I'll try to make another post with more pix.
xo,
S
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Free Cell Phone Love Texts
WELLLLL, if anyone is interested in sending my cell phone LOVE texts for FREE follow these directions:
Go to:
www.entel.bo
Under "Nuestros servicios" click on SMS: and then 'Graffiti'
Where it says "Movil" scroll to 727 (that's my 'area code' kind of ) and in the empty box next to it enter 07750 (the rest of my number).
Where it says "Codigo" just write the letters/numbers that you see to the right - it's to verify that you're a human. OH, and it's REALLY important to sign your name b/c otherwise I have no idea who's being sweet enough to go through all this trouble!!
The larger empty space below is for your notes of admiration, love, laughter, and general sweet nothings ! Then hit "Enviar" to send !
I know this LOOKS complicated but when you try it you'll see it's all pretty simple (hence why I can explain it).
Can't wait to hear from all of you . . . and those of you on the internet all the time - I KNOW WHO YOU ARE !
Lvs,
Sarah Catherine / SC / Haunce ... y Sarita!
Go to:
www.entel.bo
Under "Nuestros servicios" click on SMS: and then 'Graffiti'
Where it says "Movil" scroll to 727 (that's my 'area code' kind of ) and in the empty box next to it enter 07750 (the rest of my number).
Where it says "Codigo" just write the letters/numbers that you see to the right - it's to verify that you're a human. OH, and it's REALLY important to sign your name b/c otherwise I have no idea who's being sweet enough to go through all this trouble!!
The larger empty space below is for your notes of admiration, love, laughter, and general sweet nothings ! Then hit "Enviar" to send !
I know this LOOKS complicated but when you try it you'll see it's all pretty simple (hence why I can explain it).
Can't wait to hear from all of you . . . and those of you on the internet all the time - I KNOW WHO YOU ARE !
Lvs,
Sarah Catherine / SC / Haunce ... y Sarita!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Contact Info For Sarah Robinson
HEy all,
Got to run - only 1 comp for 31 PCt's . .. just so you all know my address down here is :
Sarah Robinson
US Embassy (or US Peace Corps)
Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla #1603
Cochabamba, Bolivia
South America
If you'd like to call from the States : 00591 - 7 27 07750
AND if you'd like to send packages (very appreciated) please keep them under 4 lbs. and write "Hermana Sarah Robinson" - i.e. Sister Sarah Robinson . . . apparantly they take better care of the packages ?!? Go figure . . .me as a nun (monja) Ha!!!
LOVE and miss you ALL, (but I love the ones who write/call me more!),
Sarita
Got to run - only 1 comp for 31 PCt's . .. just so you all know my address down here is :
Sarah Robinson
US Embassy (or US Peace Corps)
Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla #1603
Cochabamba, Bolivia
South America
If you'd like to call from the States : 00591 - 7 27 07750
AND if you'd like to send packages (very appreciated) please keep them under 4 lbs. and write "Hermana Sarah Robinson" - i.e. Sister Sarah Robinson . . . apparantly they take better care of the packages ?!? Go figure . . .me as a nun (monja) Ha!!!
LOVE and miss you ALL, (but I love the ones who write/call me more!),
Sarita
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Buenas Dias from Cochabamba!!!
I´m here safe & sound - I´ve just spent the last 3 hrs sleeping off some of the trip and I feel much better. we were met in La Paz at 5:30 am by a bunch of the folks that are support staff & they helped get us through customs and the long layover there before flying with us the 30 mins to Cochabamba. It was amazing to get off the plane this morning in Cochabamba - as my new friend Sydney & I were walking off the plane, on the tarmac, towards the terminal - all of a sudden up comes this huge ROAR . . . from an elevated deck looking down to the tarmac . . . Sydney & I turn to see what movie star just got off the plane & then we look confusingly around . . . until we look carefully at these screaming strangers - turns out they´re our ´welcoming committee´ - fellow PCVs who have travelled (many longer than 8 hrs) to come greet us. Wow what an entrance. After getting our baggage we literally jogged through a guantlet of screaming, clapping, laughing, smiling volunteers . . . I´ve sure gotten out of practice of having screaming fans greet me where I go (jk) - but really what an amazing foot to start off on.
So far my fellow volunteers seem to be pretty amazing people - the range of talents / personalities / and attitudes towars life etc is really interesting and is becoming quite fun to figure out :)
I´ll learn more about everything this afternoon. . . so we´ll see !!
I hope you´re all doing well
xoxo,
Sarah
PS. ´Nouks if you´re reading this . . . you can´t say I didn´t try to catch you !!
So far my fellow volunteers seem to be pretty amazing people - the range of talents / personalities / and attitudes towars life etc is really interesting and is becoming quite fun to figure out :)
I´ll learn more about everything this afternoon. . . so we´ll see !!
I hope you´re all doing well
xoxo,
Sarah
PS. ´Nouks if you´re reading this . . . you can´t say I didn´t try to catch you !!
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Off to Bolivia in T-Minus 48 hrs!!
Hey all !!
I'm off to Bolivia in T - minus 48 hrs !! Off we go . . . and where we'll land at the end of all this - NOBODY knows :)
My address during training will be : Sarah Robinson
Cuerpo de Paz
Casilla #1603
Cochabamba, Bolivia
South America
Love notes of all kinds are GREATLY appreciated!!
Please Note :
The comments and opinions posted on this website are of a personal nature and in no way reflect the opinion of the United States Peace Corps. Please do not publish anything that is written here, without the specific authorization from the USPC (or myself), as such an action could result in the termination of my service.
Thank you !!
Luvs,
S
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