¡Hola compañeros!
Yesterday was full of surprises. I slept in because we had
stayed up so late the night before. I ate breakfast and discovered oatmeal in
the kitchen!! My mornings are saved :) (And today, Yoyi told me that there's
coffee...my mornings are getting better and better!)
I was supposed to meet Chicoly in the city to tune my
Charango, but we canceled that plan because we tuned my Charango the night
before.
Instead of going to the city, I decided to decorate my room.
After about an hour or so, I stood in a very Lena-y room -- ˃ i.e. the picture
below.
Around noon Daniela and Ricardo started preparing Lunch.
Daniela was making Arabian meatballs of some kind. I made tomato salad and then
watched as she deep fried the little balls. Yoyi joined us just as the "Kive"
was ready. The food was really good. I spent my afternoon relaxing in the sun
and writing. I still have to find a good bookstore so I can read some Spanish
literature :)
Later in the day I went to a birthdayparty of a family
friend's daughter with Dani, Ricardo, and Sofia, and Dani's nieces Anita and
Tati. I had a hard time following the conversations, so I mostly kept quiet and
tried to understand what everyone was saying. Throughout the evening, the party
hosts organized games for kids. Anita and Tati dragged me to play Limbo with
them, and I survived (more or less :D).
We came home around nine. I was going to go to an open air
concert in the city with the other volunteers, but they told me as I got on the
bus that they had changed their minds and were going to a bar instead. Eduardo,
a family friend, had asked me whether he could join me and I agreed, so we
walked around in the city for a while, giving me a very different view of Santa
Cruz. I enjoyed walking around in the streets with a "cruceño" (a
person from Santa Cruz). I also enjoyed to get away from the other
volunteers--not that I don't like them, they are all really nice and fun to be
around. But I want to experience Santa Cruz and the Bolivian culture; in order
to do so, I have to communicate and mix with people other than the volunteers.
Eduardo brought me home around 12am and guess who was sitting
at the table? Chicoly!! We joined him, Daniela, and Ricardo in a few (many)
games of "nova". I had to understand and learn so I wasn't too good
at first. The game consists of nine cards, two decks of cards in total that are
dealt to each player. One card from the deck is placed openly onto the table
and the first player either uses the card or takes one from the deck. He then
tries to put down an esquilera with the same symbol of +3 cards or three cards
of the same face but different symbol. At the end of his turn he puts down the
card that serves him the least and the next player uses this card or picks up
one from the deck and so on. The objective is to get rid of your cards as fast
as possible. Once one player finishes, the others count the value of their
cards. The player that reaches 100 pts first looses.
A very fun card game
Sunday I relaxed and went to a game of the local soccer team
"Bloomings" wth Chicoly and Ricardo. Sadly the team lost, but we still
had a good time. Today the weather changed and it was pretty cold. I survived
my first hours of work; cleaning and organizing the workspace and discussing the
plan for an upcoming party. I hardly have a structured workday, the hours are
very loose, and I think it will be an act to find something to do day for day.
But I feel welcome and intigrated in the team, that's the most important thing.
Right now I am lying in bed with my hot water bottle (Danke Oma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and 4
thin blankets because it is so cold. I almost regret not having taken my winter
jacket, because if it's this cold (it probably just feels cold to me......) in
the spring, how is it going to be in the winter??? But that's a question I
don't have to think about yet :D
Un beso
grandisimo,
Lena
P.S.: fun fact -- ticklish in Spanish means cosquilloso/a :D
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