Jan 14 2010

Bit by some kinda spider last night. It crawled into my pants… of course. I’m fine though. Typical morning with the kids. It was very rainy. We had reflections at 8:45. It is fun to see the children’s faces light up when Mary and I walk into the chapel. We get tons of requests to sit next to people and many little ones fight over who gets to sit in our laps. Afterwards we had a laundry day. Not great timing because our clothes our still out on the line… soaked from the day of rain. But as I said before, there is no rush: they will be dry soon enough. While our clothes were hanging we decided to get in another workout. After some ab work in the gym Mary did yoga while I attempted a run. I almost died. It’s really embarrassing when little 5 year olds run with you and laugh when you have to take a break because your lungs are about to collapse after only 4 mins. It’s nearly impossible to explain that it is not because I am in terrible shape, but because we are over 8000ft above sea level here and the air is extremely thin. I am going to try and run every day and see if I can improve. After breaking a sweat we had lunch at Casa Copacabana. Their mama had her day off so a Tia was in charge for the day. She was only 23 which amazed Mary and me. Mary decided she would make a great Tia while I would be absolutely terrible. I would have to agree. Fun fact: this Tia and I also have the same birthday!! We started our craft, watercolors, early and it was great. Everyone had a good time and I loved seeing what the kids came up with. One girl painted a picture of two green snails kissing with a baby snail in between them. There were lots of houses and flowers and trees and even an American flag. All ages enjoyed our project and we surprisingly had lots of the boys show up. It’s because I am just so popular here!! Joke. After scrubbing up paint off the floor, we headed back to the house and took a long siesta. We woke up right when we needed to head to dinner. Our meal was Mary and I’s least favorite since we’ve been here, besides the beets. We had very gristly beef atop arroz con queso. The rice was mixed with goat cheese and had a terrible texture. They children on the other hand couldn’t get enough! Just another one of those cultural differences. The rest of the night was uneventful. We danced a little with the Copacabana family and then headed to spend a few mins with the San Miguel girls. Despite the fact that Mary and I got home early tonight we still avoid showering and journaling. It is now 12:20 and I am finally finishing. We have not had hot water since the first week but tonight’s shower was particularly cold. O well. It’s really not something I mind. I am getting used to living with less. Here we are surrounded by people who were born and raised without a decent bed, hot water, or steady meals. They have the beautiful scenery that surrounds the city of Cochabamba, the love of the makeshift family, and their health. What else do you need to be happy? These children are an inspiration to everyone who meets them. They have taught me so much more than I could ever explain in this internet blog.