Jan 5 2010

Fiesta in manana! The villa celebrated Three Kings Day or Epiphany this morning. Everyone gathered for a small service led by the children and a breakfast of deep fried bread and some kinda grain drink that we were told not to drink. It was a fun to see all of the children in the best dresses and tucked in button downs. After the service they put on a Christmas movie and Mary and I went to our apartment to prepare for our day. We planned to make “God’s Eyes”, a simple craft created using popsicle sticks and yarn. We went ahead and started glued the sticks together and precut some pieces of yarn, grossly underestimating the popularity of our activity. After our little preparation we went outside to find that a few older children were playing more dodgeball. We joined in an intense game of chicos contra chicas. A few boys from the youth house in the city had come for the service and were playing too which made the game all the more challenging. I think I have a few bruises. Again it was super hot outside. I am really gonna need to get accustomed to the heat. We finally had lunch with the girls from San Miguel which was nice. Conversation was really easy. After lunch we got a little time on the internet before going to our craft project. Like I said, we grossly underestimated the popularity of this activity. Every child including the boys from San Martin (the boys equivalent of San Miguel) joined in. It was probably the most hectic hour of my life. I have never had so many kids yelling and me and throwing stuff in my face at one time. Because they refused to listen to one demonstration, I had to teach the process to each child individually. By the end each had almost 4 finished works. Luckily, Johnny, the Judo teacher, showed up as I was beginnings to lose it. After cleaning up the scraps of yarn and extra sticks, Mary and I decided to participate in Judo. Their warm ups and stretching made me feel great and Martin, a 16 year old boy, taught me the basics of the martial art. After Judo class Chris, Mary, and I went into town to the market for groceries. Again, it was nice to see more of Bolivia. Although it is a little awkward to be whistled at, I really love seeing the many different people of the city. There are so many smells, pleasant and unpleasant, and so much to see. It is no New York but there is just so much to see and experience. We also went to the ATM to exchange some of our money into Bolivianos. The rate of exchange is amazing- 1 US dollar: 7 Bolivianos. After our trip to the city we returned to San Miguel to have dinner and because we had to walk a long way home from the market, Mary and I are so tired! This trip has been absolutely amazing so far. I wouldn’t change anything!! I miss everyone from home. Hope Nashville warms up a bit. Hasta Luego!