Jan 12 2010

Just another day in paradise. Reflections at 8:40 with the rest of the morning spent preparing for the day’s craft. Mary and I sat on our floor folding and tying wire for 2 hours. My finger started to bleed and we both formed blisters, but it was worth it. Lunch was in Semilla de Amor where we were introduced to the most flavorful food yet. We had spiced chicken and rice! Semilla is the most disciplined house. They are all very polite and reserved. It is kind of awkward trying to have a fun meal conversation but we did our best. After lunch we finished up our craft prep work and set up shop in Casa San Francisco. Their mama kindly allowed us to use their house. The project was a HUGE success. The kids were all quite and didn’t make a huge mess with the beads. Mary and I learned from our last attempt at an art project that we needed structure and limits. So we gave each child a certain number of beads and one piece of wire to do with what they please. Mary and I along with Chris and Leila (our boss) were very impressed with the turnout and the end result. Each kid went home with one bracelet and, if they were super resourceful, a ring. Later that day we saw that a few gave their bracelets to their mamas which made us very happy. We also got many requests for more arts and crafts. We are slowly figuring out what works and what doesn’t. After cleaning up we headed back home and had some free time to read and take a nap. This kind of time is rare lately and I take my naps very seriously. I do not tolerate interruptions. We finally cracked the Semilla family. Mary and I decided to play the favorites game and ask random questions about the children’s favorite things- colors, animals, sweets. This loosened them up a little but they were still hesitant to answer our questions. They would look to their mama before answering. But when the mama started trying to teach Mary and I an indigenous language spoken in parts of Bolivia called Cetchuan (I am not so sure I spelled that right), we had the kids rolling with laughter. Our accents stood in the way when trying to make the clicking noises and we could never remember the words we learned. We constantly provide entertainment. Since dinner wasn’t too filling we headed home to cook some of the pasta we had packed. Mary and I both ate a box. We found that we have grown accustomed to the light meals we are served here and that the amount of sodium and sheer flavor that we found in our PastaRoni made us sick. After recovering from dinner we hung with the girls and watched a foreign love film from Japan. The people in Bolivia are very into Asian and Indian culture. When it started to storm, we headed back to the apartment where I sit and drink hot cocoa like I do every night. There is this amazing invention that we have here. It is a pitcher that boils water in seconds. Something I don’t think I can live without when I come home. Super tired and gonna hit the sheets. Talk to you tomorrow!