Well it’s been a while since I wrote a blog post, I hope people are still checking this out. It will soon be three months since I arrived in Bolivia. I’ve gotten quite used to living here, but I still find new things that surprise me and things that I miss about the States. I’ve gotten used to seeing flocks of green parrots fly by as I’m riding my motorcycle, but their beauty never ceases to amaze me. There are many interesting birds here, but I still haven’t been able to find a bird book for the region of Bolivia that I live in. For the most part I like the food here, it’s usually not to different from things we eat in the U.S. There’s lots of soup, potatoes, meat, and the occasional salad. Occasionally I’m served something that I’m really not interested in eating like “Patasca” for example. Patasca is a soup made for breakfast out of various parts of the cow’s head. When I was still sick with something flu-like I was served Patasca for breakfast and I just didn’t feel like eating it. I ate the corn and some broth, but left the ominous unknown piece of something that resembled meat. Most of the soups they make here are quite delicious. One of my favorites is “Lagua.” Its made with cornmeal in the broth and has potatoes, carrots, onions, rice, and a piece of chicken or really tough beef. The soups are usually really good until you get to the meat whose only purpose should be flavoring the soup, but it’s rude to leave food behind so I usually eat the meat and spend the next half hour picking meat from my teeth. You don’t have a meal without eating potatoes. Potatoes are present in every soup and are served with every dish. The foods I miss eating most are sandwiches made with soft sliced bread (there is almost no sliced bread here, and if you find sliced bread, it’s almost always super hard in order to survive shipping), dishes made with fresh vegetables.
Two weeks ago we had an all MCC Bolivia retreat in Buena Vista which is a gorgeous small town on the Northeast side of Amboro Nation Park. The resort we stayed at had a pool where I spent a lot of time and a toucan in a cage which I took numerous pictures of. We had a speaker from the Catholic missionary association Mary Knoll who spoke about walking with Jesus in the midst of diversity. Even though he was a Catholic priest he didn’t seem to say anything that was specifically Catholic and I really enjoyed his insights. We had a talent show in which I was involved in three acts. The first was with the group of MCCers from the East Coast of the U.S. which happened to include people from only two neighboring counties in PA, Berks and Lancaster. We danced to the song Cotton-eyed Joe and called it the traditional dance from our area. Next I did a solo number singing and playing guitar. The song is called “the one semester of Spanish love song” and you can look it up on youtube. The show ended with the SALTers doing the skit where you have someone sitting behind you being your hands. The theme was a kindergarten class, so we played with glue (which got in my beard), sang a song with motions, ate a snack (which I choked on), and brushed our teeth (needless to say toothpaste got everywhere). I really enjoy every time I get to see my fellow SALTers because in Moro Moro there are very few people my age. They’ve either left for a bigger city or have settled down and have their own families now. While in Santa Cruz for the retreat, Lynn and Laurie Longenecker had me over for lunch and I became quite excited when I found out they have the game Settlers of Catan. Now every time I come into Santa Cruz I’m going to beg to play Settlers with them.
The day I left to come back to Moro Moro I came down with a nasty cold which turned into something like the flu. It kept me in bed reading for several days. A few days ago I found this scorpion in my room. I caught it and preserved it in alcohol. Work in Moro Moro is going well. Andy and I finished fixing the poorly made latrines in Potorillos and now I’m starting my own project of fixing the latrines in Buena Vista (a different Buena Vista). We’ve done numerous workshops on themes like the importance of clean water, how to use dry latrines, how to more safely use pesticides (although we say it’s better not to use any pesticides), and how to make organic fertilizers. One of the highlights of working is getting to ride motorcycle. I’m getting more and more confident of my motorcycle abilities. Things I’m looking forward to include the Dec. 10 MCC Christmas party in Santa Cruz, and a visit from Steve and Josh in late December.
Today in Vallegrande I went to see the Che Guevara museum. It was semi-interesting, but rather lackluster as I'm finding most museums in Bolivia to be.
