The past few weeks have literally felt like a month crunched
up in one day. A lot has been going on, mostly in my work, as well as in my
personal life.
First off, we had a performance of Batukada, the Brazilian
percussion that I play and learn along with 10 kids from Plataforma. We loaded
all the instruments into a bus, then all the kids, and played with about 100
other people in the center. It was an amazing experience. In the evening I
invited my group to eat ice cream, using the money I collected in the US.
A week or so later, I went visit my boyfriend for about a
week; a very needed vacation because I hadn´t seen him for a month and missed
him a lot.
On top of everything, the world cup started and I was
totally into it. I went to see a few games at the plaza de estudiantes, with a
big screen and many people. What an experience!!! The first game I saw was
Germany-Ghana and I almost died of a heartattack because I was so nervous!! The
next game I saw was Germany-US and it started pouring in the middle of the game
so that I had to go hide with my friend. After that, I watched Germany-Brasil
and waaaaaa....what a party!!!!!!!!! After goal 4 I couldn´t believe my
eyes!!!!!!!! And then......I watched the final with my boyfriend and another
friend..........and was competing with my boyfriend the whole game because he
was rooting for Argentina :D......What an amazing world cup. VIVA ALEMANIA!!!!!!!!!
About three weeks ago, one of the churches in the area welcomed a group of about 30
high-schoolers and a team of doctors from New York to spend two weeks in Santa
Cruz and do various activities. Since I have a friend who plays guitar at the
church from time to time, he invited me to perform at the welcoming mass for
the Americans. For me, that meant practicing a song to perform. I wasn't too
excited to sing for a big group of people, but after practicing the song a few
times I felt more comfortable. Fact is I enjoyed performing at the mass. I sang
"Blackbird" by the Beatles, adding my own touch to the song. My
friend recorded me, but sadly my voice fades a bit. Since there was still a bit
of open time after performing my song, I told the Americans a bit about my
experience in Bolivia and gave them some advice about how to enjoy their time
at full. It seems like they liked what I said, because some of them came up to
me after to thank me. I felt accomplished. :)
The week after, the kids were on vacation, we had about
double the work in Plataforma since the kids had all day to play, goof around,
and enjoy themselves. The first week, we had different workshop planned; I was
going to teach photography, art, and do various fun projects with the kids. But
life wanted other things from me.
The week of the workshops I ended up translating for and
working with Dave, a New York dentist who came to Santa Cruz with the team of
doctors. He attended patience in the small office we have in Plataforma. Sadly,
Dave hardly spoke Spanish and I had to stay with him most of the day to
translate and help out with the consultations and treating the patients. At
first, it was rather hard for me to keep calm in the tiny room as Dave was
pulling out molars and filling cavities that had not yet progressed to the
roots of the teeth. At the beginning I almost fainted once from seeing so much
blood, but I caught myself in time to go out to take a breath of fresh air and
lie down a second.
Even though orthodontology is not my thing, I enjoyed
helping out the dentist and his team. With the kids that were in part super
scared of what was going to happen, it was interesting to see how psychology
plays a role in everything we do. Fear literally can paralyze one's thoughts
and actions. Even though it broke my heart to see the kids in pain, it was
crazy to see some kids super frightened and hysterical, where as others were
calm and took the examination with ease. There was one girl that was so
convinced that taking out her molar would hurt that she hardly let the dentist
touch her. In fact, it probably did hurt a bit when the dentist eventually
pulled out her tooth, but her panic made her pain much worse. In the end, I'm
afraid that the majority of the patients we had will have a phobia of dentists
for the rest of their lives. For me, it was something new to experience, and
definitely one of those things that I will remember in the future.
The next weekend I spent with my family. The
"south" came, meaning that the wind changed and the cold air blew
from Argentina to Bolivia making the temperature drop and bringing rain clouds
along. Sunday we celebrated my host mom's birthday. We went out to lunch even
though it was raining and cold. As a special treat we went to eat at a Chinese
restaurant, in decoration very similar to the restaurants in the US. In menu,
however, the style differed largely. It is interesting to note that, even
though Chinese food supposedly is Chinese food, the menu is adapted completely
to the Bolivian culture. Even the names of the dishes were the same as in any
Bolivian restaurant. Despite the cold, we had a good time and ate a lot. At
this point, I should note that I have changed my lifestyle a bit. For everyone
who knows me well, you know that I hardly ate meat (Chicken and red meat) in
the US. Arriving in Bolivia, however, I didn't want to be picky and started to
eat meat. In the past month, I have come to the conclusion, that I have eaten
enough meat and now do not eat meat when I can avoid it. What does that mean?
Well, I can't call myself vegetarian because in my work there are days where
they mix ground beef with, let's say, the rice. Since I have to eat something,
I have to eat the rice and it's impossible to separate the meat from the rice.
But, I don't eat the chicken, nor the typical "churrasco" (BBQ). It's
weird not to eat meat. I don't particularly miss it, but the social pressure is
immense. Especially at work and at my boyfriend's house they worry that I will
get sick or that I will get weak if I don't eat meat. For now I've been keeping up pretty well. I
am eating more vegetables, more salad, and more fruit.
The end of the weekend I got pretty sick with the stomach
flu or something; I am not quite sure. But I can tell you that the next week
was a crazy, crazy week. After spending all of Monday in my friend and colleague's
bed (I was smart enough to go to work in the morning because I thought I was
OK) and getting over my stomach problems the next day, I discovered that I had
head lice. Not to scare you, I work in a children's daycare center, and most of
them have lice. So it's normal that I got lice, since I have very close contact
with the kids. It was funny, though, how I found out that I have lice. Other
than that my head was itching had been itching for a while, I was fine. I
thought the head itching came from the change in temperature and humidity. But,
after literally pulling a full grown louse out of my hair that night and
freaking out until my boyfriend's sister told me that it was a lice, I didn't
even think about lice. Well, from then on started the war against lice. Since
the beasts had made a home out of my lovely, curly, cursed hair, I had to first
wash my hair and then brush it a million times with one of those special lice
brushes. Since the temperatures were still low and there is neither warm water
nor heating system (like everywhere in Bolivia) at my boyfriend's house, I got
a cold about 10 mins after washing my hair.
*For clarification: I was staying at my boyfriend's house
because the camp at my work started in the morning and ended at night so that I
didn't have much time to go back to my house and return in the morning, each a
trip of an hour.
Next step in winning the war?? Wash my hair with special
anti-lice shampoo that not only killed the lice, but at the same time my hair.
Lastly, my boyfriend's mom searched my head to make sure that I didn't have
lice anymore.
War won!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I just had to cure my cold, and with the low
temperatures that was easier said than done.
At the same time, I
had a lot to do with the camp going on at work. We split the kids into
different groups, all lead by one of the "big ones", the teens older
than 13. In total we had five groups that all had to perform their slogan and
original group names. Apart from the daily good-morning-speech and singing of
our camp song (the song from the jungle book), we had different activities each
day. One day, we had a group from the church lead the activities, another day
we had a partner organization lead the activities.
On Thursday, a group of Spanish volunteer arrived at
Plataforma. In order to greet them and to welcome them to the group, Julian
planned an activity to
create an atmosphere of trust and intimacy between the group leaders and the
volunteers. Throughout a period of two and a half hours we first did warm up
games to get to know each other, and then discussed personal questions in
pairs. I worked with the teens to make the number even, and it was amazing to
see how they opened up and talked about their past and their memories. The
first question asked for the favorite memory of our childhood. I had to think a
while, but in the end I decided to tell my partner Emma about the time that I
went camping with my family in Main and we had just set up the tent when it
started to rain so hard that we couldn't possibly stay inside the tent without
getting wet. My mom, dad, brother and I rushed to the old Volvo with the red
leather seats and a smell of adventures long forgotten, a smell of a life lived
long before. With the rain beating on the flat roof, we sat inside, lost in
what to do. Luckily, we had brought the book that we had been reading -
Tintenblut, by Cornelia Funke - and when Mom started to read, the images
created by the words flowed smoothly like silk in front of my eyes creating a
landscape of colors and a sea of light and shadow. I remember the situation as
something magical, something sacred. My mom's voice narrating a story so far
from our own, and at the same time so intertwined in our lives. In my memory,
we sat captured by the story for much longer than the rain lasted.
The other three questions were of similar depth. The second question
asked about the most important person in our lives, the third about the most
inspiring voyage, and the fourth about the most beautiful day in the recent
past, and, going even deeper, about our first love.
Without hesitation, I chose both my mom and my dad as the
most important people in my life. I know without doubt that they will always
have my back, that they will always be there for me, and that they love me just
as much as I love them. My mom has always been there to pull me back on my
feet; when I was smaller, literally, and as I grew older by giving me her best
advice and by helping me find who I am. My mom knows me better than anyone else
ever will, and I am glad for the strong bond we have. Especially now that I am
far away from my family, I acknowledge how much they mean to me. I miss my
mom's encouraging words and comforting hugs. My relationship with my dad is
just as beautiful, even though different. I know that my dad will always be
there to give me a hand, to give me advice in what to do, and that he
understands my ways. He will always be there to make things work and to help me
understand the world in all its complexity. I remember when I and my brother
had to get shots in Boston when I was maybe 8, and my dad drove to the doctor
with us. I remember that he dropped us off at school in the mornings and was
there in the afternoon to pick us up and to then help with the homework. I
remember that he helped me and my brother build an igloo. I miss having
photography adventures and getting up at ridiculous hours to see the sunrise or
driving into a storm to take just one picture.
One of the most beautiful days in the recent past was the
day I got together with my boyfriend. I never dreamed that anything would
happen even though I did like him a lot. Roly's sister invited me to come over
for a churrasco and "after celebration" of martigra on the 9th of
March. I accepted willingly - and did not yet know that Roly would be there.
They did say, that he might come to visit, but that it wasn't sure yet. I was
writing with him a day before the churrasco when he confirmed that he would
come to visit and spend a day in SCZ. More than anything, I was nervous to see
him again. I didn't quite know how to feel about the whole situation, also
because his family invited me to stay the night. Anyway, when I went to their
house and saw Roly, all my nervousness flew away and I was just happy to see
him. There are just those few people who have an immediate connection; one
minute is enough to laugh and trust in the same way as other people do after a
year. I feel that I have such a connection with Roly because truth is that I
did know him for a very short time. But I did know that he made me laugh that
day, more than is normal, that his family is incredibly nice and heartily, that
he is honest and good-hearted, funny and open. After lunch we started a water
fight, not only with his brother and sister, but with the whole family, later
we added paint to the water and all ended up with green faces (and I with green
hair) and I had such a good time...
At night we drank tea and ate some more. After dinner Roly
took me for a walk to show me the neighborhood. We left the house and he took
my hand without hesitation. We walked for maybe half an hour in the dark, with
only so many cars passing by now and then, and with just the yellow street
lights sparely illuminating the road. In my memory the climate was perfect -
not too warm, but not cold either. A perfect summer night. We talked about this
and that, until we started talking about the future. I remember that we talked
about the perfect age to get married, have kids, buy a house etc. and then,
without warning we stopped walking and talking at the side of the main road of
Los Lotes. We rested our foreheads against the other´s in silence, closed our
eyes, and after a moment, kissed. Then we walked back the way we had came from,
stopping by a little park where a horse was grazing lonely in the soft light of
the full moon. When we got to his house where his family was sitting outside
Roly did not let go of my hand.
Back to the camp, we spent the afternoon singing songs and
introducing the Spanish volunteers. I started learning how to play accordion, a
bit at least, so that I accompanied the song we sang. Afterwards, we had a
talent show.
The next morning there were two surprises waiting for me.
One, the sun FINALLY came out and two, Roly came for a surprise visit! He was going
to come the weekend but got out of classes a day early.....I was happy. At
work, I taught the kids how to make dream catchers and they turned out nicely.
At night, we made a bon fire and sang songs, told stories, and I got to be with
so many people that I care about. It was such a nice surprise that Roly came a
day early.
The past week (after the camp) I worked with the kids
teaching them to paint fruits, starting once again with my English lessons at
school where I changed my strategy of teaching and have been watching 101 Dalmatians
with the kids and now and then writing vocabs on the board.
***IF ANYONE HAS IDEAS TO TEACH ENGLISH IN A SPECIFIC, MORE
CREATIVE WAY PLEASE COMMENT!!!!!!***
I also helped paint a mural with the Spanish volunteers. Additionally,
I have been going to Yoga and focusing on my inner well-being.
Even though it is a personal challenge for me to keep
updated on what is going on in the world, I have been watching more news in the
past few days. I wish me hadn´t, because the news that are shown here are at
the level of Fox News. All that I saw in the news was death, violence,
rape...Especially the incident of the bombing of the plane in the Ukraine
impacted me. I fly a lot, my mom flies even more, and all of my family will be
flying to Europe in a matter of days. How is it that there is so much violence
in the world? If I´m not mistaken, Israel and Palestine are closer to war every
day, there are bombings of an airplane with close to 300 innocent people, in
Santa Cruz a 20 year old university student got raped and is now in a coma...
I talked with my host mom about all the incidents that are
happening and, since my boyfriend´s family is religious and I went to church
with them in the morning, asked my host mom how - if there is a God - there can
be so much evil in the world. My views on God and religion are clouded, I still
haven´t made my mind up whether to believe or not, nor do I know if that´s
really something to consciously chose. Anyway, Yoyi gave me a simple answer.
The world has lost its faith in God, because one, who believes in God, in his
or her religion, does not hurt his brother. Is that what is wrong with the
world? Have we lost the connection to our "brothers"? Have we lost
the connection with the greater good, the faith in being something more than we
are - not through power but through love? I work with children every day that
lack so much care, so much affection, that a simple hug can make their day much
better. There is a little girl that just started coming to Plataforma and that
comes up to me every day to give me a big hug and a kiss. There is a boy of
maybe five who fell because he was not listening and was fighting with another
kid. He banged his head and was crying. I hugged him and at first he was completely
irresponsive. When I wanted to let him go, he clung to me and would not stop
embracing me. Another boy stole money from one of the coaches in Plataforma
and, when we found out he had stolen, would only say that he had stolen it to
help his mom and that now she would hit him.
I ask
everyone who reads this to give a hug to the person closest to them, be it a
friend, relative, or stranger.
Oh. I forgot the best part of life: I am staying in Bolivia
until after Christmas :)
