Wednesday
Time to head home! It was a hard day for me, for sure. Got up early to go to the CDIs with everyone so that we could go straight to the airport from there. It was nice to get to say goodbye to all of them... although I forgot to say goodbye one last time to the Wisconsin group who stayed back and went to the hospital. But, they got set up and then I said my goodbyes to everyone at the CDI. Then Iris & Ester came to see me off at the airport. Tomas had called to explain to me that my flight in Santa Cruz went to a different airport, but he would meet us at the airport. I was surprised that he was coming, but excited to get to say goodbye to them!
On the drive to the airport, Iris told me that they had a surprise for me. But then she stopped and said she wouldn't tell me anymore. I definitely fought tears on the ride there and tried to avoid thinking about leaving so we could have some good pictures. :-) We got there and had over an hour to spare, so we wandered around a bit after I got my ticket. We went over to the gift shop and I got a couple things to snack on and some gum for Ester. Tomas called and was unable to get a taxi--it never came. So Iris told me that they had gotten some of my pictures (I left some on their computer for them) and put them in some sort of collage or something for me, as a gift. Just knowing that they had been so thoughtful was so meaningful to me!
When we realized that I needed to go through security to make sure I was ready in time, we took a picture together. I gave them both hugs and Iris sent me off with a Bible verse, which I confess, I only understood half of because I was so distracted by the fact that I was leaving and I would miss their family so very much. I gave Ester a hug and told her I would miss her a lot and she responded "Me too." (in her adorable 4 year old Spanish, of course).
I made it through security and as I stood in line waiting to have my ticket checked and heading onto the plane to find my seat, the tears came little by little...one by one. They continued streaming down and I gave up fighting it. They came pretty uncontrollably anyway. I'm pretty sure the little girl next to me wondered what the heck was wrong with the white girl who kept crying. haha I decided to sleep on the flight so I didn't have to think about how much I would miss their family. Even as I write this, it brings tears to my eyes. That was a really hard day.
I feel like everything that I did that day after that flight deserves a separate post because it is entirely different. So this is the end...for now.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Day 34
Tuesday
Tuesday was my last day in the hospital! We tried to get everyone arranged and situated. Linda helped get some of that organized. I followed the pediatrician again, who also was a wonderful person to learn from. She was good at explaining things so that I understood, so I actually didn't have a translator that day. There weren't very many patients, so we went through a book and she was teaching me about Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. It was pretty cool.
I needed to fill out an evaluation but Linda had forgotten them, so we started doing it verbally. But there was a lot going on, so I ended up just getting paper from her and heading back to the guesthouse to pack. It was rather depressing and one of my hardest things to do while I was there. It seemed like I had just arrived and made the bed... and now I had to get it ready to leave for someone else. It's amazing how 5 weeks flew by!
I got enough stuff together after lunch that I decided to go one last time to the baby orphanage! I got to go there 4 or 5 times while I was there and it was hard to see them all again, knowing it was the last time. This one little girl looks like Dora the Explorer incarnate, so I have no idea what her name is but I call her Dora. Rudy wasn't very happy while I was there, but he's still one of my favorites. And of course, we all loved taking care of the little babies! They are just precious!
We headed back and had devotions, once again, around the campfire. We did praise & worship, had a little presentation from Jeff & Matt about Spiritual Health and how to address it with our patients, and then we had s'mores. We sang a little more and then headed back inside. It was a lovely night and didn't last too late since we had to get up early the next morning.
Tuesday was my last day in the hospital! We tried to get everyone arranged and situated. Linda helped get some of that organized. I followed the pediatrician again, who also was a wonderful person to learn from. She was good at explaining things so that I understood, so I actually didn't have a translator that day. There weren't very many patients, so we went through a book and she was teaching me about Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. It was pretty cool.
I needed to fill out an evaluation but Linda had forgotten them, so we started doing it verbally. But there was a lot going on, so I ended up just getting paper from her and heading back to the guesthouse to pack. It was rather depressing and one of my hardest things to do while I was there. It seemed like I had just arrived and made the bed... and now I had to get it ready to leave for someone else. It's amazing how 5 weeks flew by!
I got enough stuff together after lunch that I decided to go one last time to the baby orphanage! I got to go there 4 or 5 times while I was there and it was hard to see them all again, knowing it was the last time. This one little girl looks like Dora the Explorer incarnate, so I have no idea what her name is but I call her Dora. Rudy wasn't very happy while I was there, but he's still one of my favorites. And of course, we all loved taking care of the little babies! They are just precious!
We headed back and had devotions, once again, around the campfire. We did praise & worship, had a little presentation from Jeff & Matt about Spiritual Health and how to address it with our patients, and then we had s'mores. We sang a little more and then headed back inside. It was a lovely night and didn't last too late since we had to get up early the next morning.
Day 33
Monday
Because it was my last week in Bolivia, I was to be in the hospital. I gave the new volunteers the grand tour of the hospital, and then we tried to figure out where everyone could go to observe patients. Unfortunately, the power was out in the hospital, so we had to wait around a little bit. It did come back on, and I was able to go into the ophthamologist's office again. He is excellent at teaching and I really enjoyed my time with him. He had me check blood pressure for one guy who had diabetes & high blood pressure. I was actually able to communicate with the physicians better than in an average conversation in Spanish, because I am familiar with the medical terms and they are basically the same in Spanish. So, that was an advantage to experiencing that.
Came back for lunch after the morning at the hospital. In the afternoon, we played Wallyball one more time, and my last time. When we got back, the rest of the group had a meeting about going to Tunari... the mountain nearby that can be climbed. Everyone was really excited about it and they went on the Friday after I left. I was sad to have missed it! The rest of the night was pretty relaxing.
Because it was my last week in Bolivia, I was to be in the hospital. I gave the new volunteers the grand tour of the hospital, and then we tried to figure out where everyone could go to observe patients. Unfortunately, the power was out in the hospital, so we had to wait around a little bit. It did come back on, and I was able to go into the ophthamologist's office again. He is excellent at teaching and I really enjoyed my time with him. He had me check blood pressure for one guy who had diabetes & high blood pressure. I was actually able to communicate with the physicians better than in an average conversation in Spanish, because I am familiar with the medical terms and they are basically the same in Spanish. So, that was an advantage to experiencing that.
Came back for lunch after the morning at the hospital. In the afternoon, we played Wallyball one more time, and my last time. When we got back, the rest of the group had a meeting about going to Tunari... the mountain nearby that can be climbed. Everyone was really excited about it and they went on the Friday after I left. I was sad to have missed it! The rest of the night was pretty relaxing.
Day 32
Sunday
Sunday morning we went to church as usual. Then we went to lunch at Sole mio, an Italian place that I had been told was good by Emily and Tim. Tim & his parents came along with us for lunch too! It was delicious! Ava & I split a big veggie pizza that had peppers, asparagus, eggplant, mushrooms and tomato. Mmmmmmmm. Then since we split the food, we had enough for dessert. We each got one, so I got chocolate pudding and she got tiramisu. They were both absolutely amazing. We were so content after eating there. It was a cute little place and fun!
After lunch we crossed the street to go shopping at the supermarket. We were invited to go back to the youth group again, and I thought I would since it was my last time there. A few others went too... the rest decided to work on the CDI stuff for Monday. So they finished shopping and went back to the house, as we left and went to drop of Ester, pick up Misael (spelling?) and head to the church. There weren't nearly as many kids at youth group this time. But we had so much fun! We played a ton of games that were all really fun and nothing I ever played when I was in youth group. The funniest game was definitely the one called "Kiss the doll" and we had to kiss this baby doll and pass the doll to the next person in the circle. We had to remember where we kissed it. Then once we finished doing that. We were told we had to kiss the person next to us in the place where we kissed the baby. All of us who are Americans were in shock, and couldn't believe this was a real youth group game! You could never do that in the States! But it was pretty funny.
After youth group, Matt, Abby & I talked to Raul, the missionary who helps run the youth group with Tomas & Iris. He has an amazing heart for missions and it was very inspiring to listen to him share what he has learned in the past year. He will be moving his family to Panama next year, God willing. It was wonderful to be challenged in such a way. The more he talked about it, the more I could see myself pursuing missions long-term once I am older. Only God knows!
I also got some pictures with some of the people from youth group who I got to know pretty well while I was there. After cleaning things up a bit we headed home.
Sunday morning we went to church as usual. Then we went to lunch at Sole mio, an Italian place that I had been told was good by Emily and Tim. Tim & his parents came along with us for lunch too! It was delicious! Ava & I split a big veggie pizza that had peppers, asparagus, eggplant, mushrooms and tomato. Mmmmmmmm. Then since we split the food, we had enough for dessert. We each got one, so I got chocolate pudding and she got tiramisu. They were both absolutely amazing. We were so content after eating there. It was a cute little place and fun!
After lunch we crossed the street to go shopping at the supermarket. We were invited to go back to the youth group again, and I thought I would since it was my last time there. A few others went too... the rest decided to work on the CDI stuff for Monday. So they finished shopping and went back to the house, as we left and went to drop of Ester, pick up Misael (spelling?) and head to the church. There weren't nearly as many kids at youth group this time. But we had so much fun! We played a ton of games that were all really fun and nothing I ever played when I was in youth group. The funniest game was definitely the one called "Kiss the doll" and we had to kiss this baby doll and pass the doll to the next person in the circle. We had to remember where we kissed it. Then once we finished doing that. We were told we had to kiss the person next to us in the place where we kissed the baby. All of us who are Americans were in shock, and couldn't believe this was a real youth group game! You could never do that in the States! But it was pretty funny.
After youth group, Matt, Abby & I talked to Raul, the missionary who helps run the youth group with Tomas & Iris. He has an amazing heart for missions and it was very inspiring to listen to him share what he has learned in the past year. He will be moving his family to Panama next year, God willing. It was wonderful to be challenged in such a way. The more he talked about it, the more I could see myself pursuing missions long-term once I am older. Only God knows!
I also got some pictures with some of the people from youth group who I got to know pretty well while I was there. After cleaning things up a bit we headed home.
Day 31
Saturday
So Saturday was a day of getting up early and uncertain expectations. We got up and left about 7:30 to ride to where the buses would take us. Rode the buses and arrived at the location of the conference... I'm not even sure exactly what it was. Our bus got there after everyone else's so we rushed out onto the basketball court where we were introduced as the American citizens (and Canadians, and I think one Australian too) to everyone. Raul, a missionary who attends Tomas & Iris's church had organized the whole thing and so he was the emcee for all the games and such in the morning.
We were asked to introduce ourselves and then tell them if we were married or single. We all found that pretty funny. Then we went around and had to meet 10 new people. There was another group there from the States and they were the leader of each team. There were 4 teams. We got separated into each team, so we could be evenly distributed and help them with English. The first thing we had to do was come up with a team name, 
a team cheer, and one of the people in the group had to give a speech to get the team excited. It was hilarious, because out of 4 teams, 3 of us used Queen's hit "We are the Champions", which apparently everyone in Bolivia knows. We then did some other relay races, including a potato sack type race, in which I fell on the cement basketball court. Those war wounds are still healing. :-) The last game was the best, and it was volleyball of sorts. The teams had to use their towels and in pairs, we used a water balloon and had to catch & throw the balloon in the towels. It was really fun! It felt very much like summer camp, but we all had a great time! I have a picture of most of my group.
a team cheer, and one of the people in the group had to give a speech to get the team excited. It was hilarious, because out of 4 teams, 3 of us used Queen's hit "We are the Champions", which apparently everyone in Bolivia knows. We then did some other relay races, including a potato sack type race, in which I fell on the cement basketball court. Those war wounds are still healing. :-) The last game was the best, and it was volleyball of sorts. The teams had to use their towels and in pairs, we used a water balloon and had to catch & throw the balloon in the towels. It was really fun! It felt very much like summer camp, but we all had a great time! I have a picture of most of my group.After the games were over, we had lunch. It was tasty and fun to talk to some people. They were at different levels of English. Some had no problem speaking and some had only been learning for a month or two. Still, when I think back to when I started learning Spanish, I could have maybe been able to say "I'm going to the beach" or "I have a pen" but not much else. So they did a pretty good job and understood quite a bit. After lunch, they announced the winners and passed out gold coin chocolates to everyone. Then some of the kids from the youth group, Tomas & Iris did a drama performance. It was really good. Raul did a gospel presentation as well, to open it up to anyone who was interested. We also did this a bit during our breaks to speak English between the games. It was definitely challenging, because as we shared testimonies, it was hard to know if they really understood or if they just wanted us to believe that they did. This is why when they had the drama that was acted out to music, I thought it was good. Music & drama can be universally understood, which is why I love it.
Once all of that was done, we were able to have some free time and swim in the pool, play outside, or go in the sauna. Many of the people who came forgot to bring a swimsuit, so not too many swam. Iris planned on being in the sauna and so I joined her for most of the afternoon. I talked to a few of the other people there, trying to help them with their English and myself, working a bit on Spanish. I tried taking Ester to the pool but she was too cold to get in. The sauna was unbearably hot for me at times, so I had to walk outside and take a break. I wanted to swim but no one I knew was in yet. Ester wanted to ask about getting a toy or something for the pool, and as I carried her outside to ask, I fell again! With her in my arms! She was fine, but my poor knees barely survived. We sat outside a bit and practiced English parts of the body as a couple other people sat outside and watched to help. I was teaching her the song "Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes" to help her learn. It was really fun!
It was a pretty long day, and after feeling completely infused with Eucalyptus from the sauna and overall content from helping others work on their English and getting to know a lot more of the local youth, around 5 it was over and it was time to go home. We piled back onto the buses and rode back to where we were picked up in the morning. That same day, the group from Wisconsin had returned, and 2 new volunteers arrived as well. We were to meet them at the plaza for the Kid Washing one last time (for me). We got there when it was nearly over though, so I walked around with some of the newer volunteers who hadn't been there before. We scoped out the people selling earrings and I found a few more that I loved. For about $1 they had little 4 wheelers for kids and Ester rode one around the plaza and I followed her. It was entertaining except when she hit one lady's basket of baked goods that she was selling. We hung out a bit waiting for the others to arrive and then we went to a restaurant.
Here we had two local dishes, called Silpancho and Pique macho. Both were really good. Then, on the way out, I got some Blackberry ice cream in a cone (for about 80 cents) and it was amazing! It was my favorite purchase of the day. :-) After all of that, we were exhausted and headed home, only to have another pretty full day.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Home!
So, I'm not done updating on the last 5 or so days of my trip yet, but I just wanted to say that I safely made it hoooooooooooooooooooooome!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Day 30
Friday
I got up and went to the market with Iris. Everyone else was either in the hospital or packing to leave that afternoon. We got the fruit & vegetables for everyone, and I purchased some fresh bread for myself and others. We made it back in a taxi in time to have lunch with everyone.
Soon after lunch, James & Jodi, and Johan & Lindsay all left. They were going to do a bit of site seeing for a week or so after James & Johan finished their international elective there. We saw them all off as they left for the airport, and I admit it was very emotional for me. James & Johan had arrived after me and left before me. And once they left, pretty much everyone I was with for my first two or so weeks in Bolivia, were now all gone. I also had the realization coming to me that I would be leaving too. All in all, it was an emotional day.
We did our weekly Friday afternoon Wallyball game which was fun, as usual. Afterwards we came home and had dinner and got ready for Saturday. Just kinda got the heads up on what we'd be doing. The only information we really got, was that it was an evangelistic conference for youth. It was advertised as a place for them to practice their English. We knew that there would be activities for the youth, and then we could go swimming in the pool and there would be a sauna. It was such a broad mix of stuff, we had no clue what to expect! So, we would find that out on Saturday!
I got up and went to the market with Iris. Everyone else was either in the hospital or packing to leave that afternoon. We got the fruit & vegetables for everyone, and I purchased some fresh bread for myself and others. We made it back in a taxi in time to have lunch with everyone.
Soon after lunch, James & Jodi, and Johan & Lindsay all left. They were going to do a bit of site seeing for a week or so after James & Johan finished their international elective there. We saw them all off as they left for the airport, and I admit it was very emotional for me. James & Johan had arrived after me and left before me. And once they left, pretty much everyone I was with for my first two or so weeks in Bolivia, were now all gone. I also had the realization coming to me that I would be leaving too. All in all, it was an emotional day.
We did our weekly Friday afternoon Wallyball game which was fun, as usual. Afterwards we came home and had dinner and got ready for Saturday. Just kinda got the heads up on what we'd be doing. The only information we really got, was that it was an evangelistic conference for youth. It was advertised as a place for them to practice their English. We knew that there would be activities for the youth, and then we could go swimming in the pool and there would be a sauna. It was such a broad mix of stuff, we had no clue what to expect! So, we would find that out on Saturday!
Day 29
Thursday
We spent our second day doing checkups at the church. It was really far away so we left a 8am and got there around 9:30. We had a very full trufi that day because we had 2 extra volunteers come along. They are two 4th year students from the states who deferred their medical school graduation to do some travel/international health systems work. So we had 4 groups of students trying to interview patients but it was still hard to keep u. We were supposed to be there until 11 but stayed until 12. Then we headed towards home.
We did stop at the Cristo, which was my second time going. But I had been there so long, and no one else had, so it was new for everyone else. Plus, we took the cable car things up this time, so it was different in that way. It still wasn't open to go up inside, but such is life.
That evening, I am certain that we did something but I am drawing a blank as to what that was. I suppose if I have forgotten then it is not all that important, however. It was the last night that we had James, Jodi, Johan & Lindsay there, so they were getting ready to leave. Yeah, I guess that's it.
We spent our second day doing checkups at the church. It was really far away so we left a 8am and got there around 9:30. We had a very full trufi that day because we had 2 extra volunteers come along. They are two 4th year students from the states who deferred their medical school graduation to do some travel/international health systems work. So we had 4 groups of students trying to interview patients but it was still hard to keep u. We were supposed to be there until 11 but stayed until 12. Then we headed towards home.
We did stop at the Cristo, which was my second time going. But I had been there so long, and no one else had, so it was new for everyone else. Plus, we took the cable car things up this time, so it was different in that way. It still wasn't open to go up inside, but such is life.
That evening, I am certain that we did something but I am drawing a blank as to what that was. I suppose if I have forgotten then it is not all that important, however. It was the last night that we had James, Jodi, Johan & Lindsay there, so they were getting ready to leave. Yeah, I guess that's it.
Day 28
Wednesday
Wednesday was the beginning of my last week in Bolivia. One of the reasons that it was so difficult is because the Wheaton girls (Amy, Charlotte, Kathleen & Megan) left that morning. We drove to the airport on the way to the CDI that morning and dropped them off. We said our goodbyes and they all want me to visit....I hope I can! At the same time, we picked up two more volunteers! Jeff & Ellen! They are from California and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Jeff is a medical student going into 3rd year at USC and Ellen is working on a Master's (I am pretty sure) in social work. After getting dropped off at the CDI, Don Manuel took our new family members back to the guesthouse!
We didn't see very many patients at the CDI that day. Only about 10. There weren't very many people and those we saw were taking a long time to get to the bottom of what we though might be wrong. The first one we saw had several problems that seem rather generalized and just hard to figure out. Our first woman had a lot of generalized pain and other problems. After a while of digging deeper, she was really stressed. She was very worried because her husband drinks all the time and spends his money on drinking, so she can't afford to pay the bills. We were able to pray with her and encourage her to talk to someone at the church about it, because she had no family around to talk to. So that was another really hard thing to deal with. I unfortunately have forgotten her name, but her story will stay with me. After only 1-2 more patiens in each group, we had to leave.
That night we though it would be fun to try to see Wall-E. It was 2 for 1 Wednesday and thought maybe we'd have a chance. Well, we tried to see the one showing at CineNorte--sold out. We went to CineCenter--sold out. We went back to the other place to see about the later showing and as we got line.... you guessed it. Sold out. We had to get up early the next day, so we decided it would just be better to go home. I watched We Were Soldiers with Matt, Steve, Ester (though she got tired of covering her eyes so she left) and Johan. I hadn't seen it before....it was pretty good. That was the end of that day.
Wednesday was the beginning of my last week in Bolivia. One of the reasons that it was so difficult is because the Wheaton girls (Amy, Charlotte, Kathleen & Megan) left that morning. We drove to the airport on the way to the CDI that morning and dropped them off. We said our goodbyes and they all want me to visit....I hope I can! At the same time, we picked up two more volunteers! Jeff & Ellen! They are from California and I really enjoyed getting to know them. Jeff is a medical student going into 3rd year at USC and Ellen is working on a Master's (I am pretty sure) in social work. After getting dropped off at the CDI, Don Manuel took our new family members back to the guesthouse!
We didn't see very many patients at the CDI that day. Only about 10. There weren't very many people and those we saw were taking a long time to get to the bottom of what we though might be wrong. The first one we saw had several problems that seem rather generalized and just hard to figure out. Our first woman had a lot of generalized pain and other problems. After a while of digging deeper, she was really stressed. She was very worried because her husband drinks all the time and spends his money on drinking, so she can't afford to pay the bills. We were able to pray with her and encourage her to talk to someone at the church about it, because she had no family around to talk to. So that was another really hard thing to deal with. I unfortunately have forgotten her name, but her story will stay with me. After only 1-2 more patiens in each group, we had to leave.
That night we though it would be fun to try to see Wall-E. It was 2 for 1 Wednesday and thought maybe we'd have a chance. Well, we tried to see the one showing at CineNorte--sold out. We went to CineCenter--sold out. We went back to the other place to see about the later showing and as we got line.... you guessed it. Sold out. We had to get up early the next day, so we decided it would just be better to go home. I watched We Were Soldiers with Matt, Steve, Ester (though she got tired of covering her eyes so she left) and Johan. I hadn't seen it before....it was pretty good. That was the end of that day.
Day 27
Tuesday
As for Tuesday, we didn't end up doing Gospel clown again. We didn't know until that morning bu it didn't end up happening. Instead we went to the hospital. It was the last day in the hospital for the Wheaton girls. It ended up being a pretty good day. James & I observed the gastroenterologist and he was doing procedures that day. So we saw 2 ultrasounds, one of which ended up in a pregnancy diagnosis! (Apparently it happens fairly frequently, that a woman comes in complaining of stomach problems and is diagnosed as being pregnant!) So, the poor lady, she said she had a 13 and like a 9 year old or something and she thought she was done having kids. After that we saw an endoscopy which was cool. They do it a little different in Bolivia though (much like every medical procedure) and all they did was numb the throat with some spray.
After that, Linda gave James & I a little presentation on multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis. Then we headed back for some quick lunch, and we went on a hike! Tim was trying to get it together for us and we tried on Sunday but he wasn't feeling well or something. Charlotte had been sick the night before, so she didn't get to go with us, which was really sad since it was her last day there. But Amy, Kat & Megan went, along with me, James, Tim & Linda. It was amazing and I have more wonderful photos from that. I tell you, I am starting a Bolivian postcard business.
When we got back, Kat, Amy & I made 2 more apple pies to enjoy before they left. They begged me to make two, so I let them cut up all the apples and roll out the pie dough. hehe Basically all I did was throw some flour & sugar together. They started calling it Nicole's sweatshop. But hey they wanted to learn to make the pie so I was just teaching them all the techniques. haha Oh and Megan made chocolate chip cookies.
AND, we ended up having our campfire that night and making s'mores. We did our devotions around the campfire and it was definitely my favorite night. After we were done making s'mores and roasting marshmallows, James and Steve continued playing worship songs for a couple hours, until there was no more fire, no more wood, and nothing but hot embers and the voices of those still singing. It was just about my favorite night there and definitely my favorite night for devotions.
As for Tuesday, we didn't end up doing Gospel clown again. We didn't know until that morning bu it didn't end up happening. Instead we went to the hospital. It was the last day in the hospital for the Wheaton girls. It ended up being a pretty good day. James & I observed the gastroenterologist and he was doing procedures that day. So we saw 2 ultrasounds, one of which ended up in a pregnancy diagnosis! (Apparently it happens fairly frequently, that a woman comes in complaining of stomach problems and is diagnosed as being pregnant!) So, the poor lady, she said she had a 13 and like a 9 year old or something and she thought she was done having kids. After that we saw an endoscopy which was cool. They do it a little different in Bolivia though (much like every medical procedure) and all they did was numb the throat with some spray.
After that, Linda gave James & I a little presentation on multi-drug resistant Tuberculosis. Then we headed back for some quick lunch, and we went on a hike! Tim was trying to get it together for us and we tried on Sunday but he wasn't feeling well or something. Charlotte had been sick the night before, so she didn't get to go with us, which was really sad since it was her last day there. But Amy, Kat & Megan went, along with me, James, Tim & Linda. It was amazing and I have more wonderful photos from that. I tell you, I am starting a Bolivian postcard business.
When we got back, Kat, Amy & I made 2 more apple pies to enjoy before they left. They begged me to make two, so I let them cut up all the apples and roll out the pie dough. hehe Basically all I did was throw some flour & sugar together. They started calling it Nicole's sweatshop. But hey they wanted to learn to make the pie so I was just teaching them all the techniques. haha Oh and Megan made chocolate chip cookies.
AND, we ended up having our campfire that night and making s'mores. We did our devotions around the campfire and it was definitely my favorite night. After we were done making s'mores and roasting marshmallows, James and Steve continued playing worship songs for a couple hours, until there was no more fire, no more wood, and nothing but hot embers and the voices of those still singing. It was just about my favorite night there and definitely my favorite night for devotions.
Day 26
Monday
So on Monday morning those of us who had the pleasure of staying up late working on Gospel Clown, got up to go perform. We had big colorful clothing and makeup... the works! So we showed up at the Kinder school (a school for 1-6 year olds) and set everything up. In the beginning we had to come out and dance around and act like clowns, of course. We did cartwheels and it was hilariously fun. Then we performed for the kids and they absolutely loved it! It was all about getting to heaven, and there is quite a bit of slapstick comedy thrown in. They try to use a mattress, a ladder, and Superman's cape to get them to heaven... each of those failing of course. Then there was the Bible clown (me) who came in trying to explain what the Bible says. One of the clowns chases me out each time, until at the end, the others convince him to listen to me. Then we finish and Iris did a gospel presentation for the kids.
They were so cute to watch as she explained to them with a wordless book... with different colors, each representing something like sin, Jesus' blood, our hearts washed white as snow, and growth. My favorite response that day, was when Iris told them that in order to grow in Christ, we should read our Bibles and pray every day. A little boy raised his hand and said "But sometimes we forget." It was so precious! I just loved his honesty! That totally made my day.
After we finished, the teachers thanked us all, gave us sandwiches and lemonade (which was delightful since it was rather warm) and we waited for Don Manuel to come pick us up. After we finished, we all agreed that it was so much fun and we wanted to do it again on Tuesday, before the girls left. Iris said she would look into a couple of opportunities for us.
That afternoon, we played Wallyball again. We wanted to go out to dinner at this really great steak place and so we road the trufi there and were devastatingly disappointed to find that it is not open on Mondays. Unfortunately, many things are closed on Mondays. We learned that it's kind of a "hangover day" from the weekend. Soooo, the group split up and a few went to another steak place and the rest of us had Chinese. I know right? Chinese in Bolivia! We ate it all family style and had the reserved room because there were like 10 of us, and we had a lazy susan on our table. Oh! Funny story about that. So, we got this fried wontons and there was 1 left after everyone had one. So Steve & Matt thought it would be a good idea to spin the lazy Susan until it stopped and wherever the plate stopped, is who would get it. We took everything else off of it and it seemed to be going well until all of a sudden it hit a bottle and started sliding towards our glasses. We decided to stop it at that point. haha It didn't turn out all bad though... they decided that it first flew towards the bottles in front of me so I got to eat it. haha
Chinese was good in Bolivia (especially sweet & sour pork), but not the best and not really any cheaper. I say go for the local food.
So on Monday morning those of us who had the pleasure of staying up late working on Gospel Clown, got up to go perform. We had big colorful clothing and makeup... the works! So we showed up at the Kinder school (a school for 1-6 year olds) and set everything up. In the beginning we had to come out and dance around and act like clowns, of course. We did cartwheels and it was hilariously fun. Then we performed for the kids and they absolutely loved it! It was all about getting to heaven, and there is quite a bit of slapstick comedy thrown in. They try to use a mattress, a ladder, and Superman's cape to get them to heaven... each of those failing of course. Then there was the Bible clown (me) who came in trying to explain what the Bible says. One of the clowns chases me out each time, until at the end, the others convince him to listen to me. Then we finish and Iris did a gospel presentation for the kids.
They were so cute to watch as she explained to them with a wordless book... with different colors, each representing something like sin, Jesus' blood, our hearts washed white as snow, and growth. My favorite response that day, was when Iris told them that in order to grow in Christ, we should read our Bibles and pray every day. A little boy raised his hand and said "But sometimes we forget." It was so precious! I just loved his honesty! That totally made my day.
After we finished, the teachers thanked us all, gave us sandwiches and lemonade (which was delightful since it was rather warm) and we waited for Don Manuel to come pick us up. After we finished, we all agreed that it was so much fun and we wanted to do it again on Tuesday, before the girls left. Iris said she would look into a couple of opportunities for us.
That afternoon, we played Wallyball again. We wanted to go out to dinner at this really great steak place and so we road the trufi there and were devastatingly disappointed to find that it is not open on Mondays. Unfortunately, many things are closed on Mondays. We learned that it's kind of a "hangover day" from the weekend. Soooo, the group split up and a few went to another steak place and the rest of us had Chinese. I know right? Chinese in Bolivia! We ate it all family style and had the reserved room because there were like 10 of us, and we had a lazy susan on our table. Oh! Funny story about that. So, we got this fried wontons and there was 1 left after everyone had one. So Steve & Matt thought it would be a good idea to spin the lazy Susan until it stopped and wherever the plate stopped, is who would get it. We took everything else off of it and it seemed to be going well until all of a sudden it hit a bottle and started sliding towards our glasses. We decided to stop it at that point. haha It didn't turn out all bad though... they decided that it first flew towards the bottles in front of me so I got to eat it. haha
Chinese was good in Bolivia (especially sweet & sour pork), but not the best and not really any cheaper. I say go for the local food.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Day 25
Sunday
Sunday morning we got up and headed to church. We were asked to sing for the service so we had practiced a couple of different songs. We did "You Are Holy"which is a beautiful song that has guys lead and girls echo. Then they sing two separate parts for the chorus. It was just lovely and I hadn't heard the song in years, so I enjoyed reviving it again.
We also sang "Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord"that went into "Awesome God." Humble Thyself is an echo song as well, so we put a bit of a twist on it. We sang the two songs in English, then Spanish, and the third time through, the girls sang English as the guys sang Spanish. It was really neat! I think it's so cool when we can sing songs in English and Spanish because we are singing to and worshipping the same God. When we have nothing in common but our saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it's so beautiful to me how we can still join together from completely different parts of the world and be unified. The church is most beautiful to me in this way.
After church we went to the Cine Norte plaza and got lunch in the food court. Amy, Kat & I shared a spectacular Veggie pizza from Eli's. DELISH. Then we all went shopping at the supermarket IC Norte for the week's groceries.
We got home and a few girls were going running and I went along. It reminded me how terribly out of shape I have gotten, in addition to the challenge of being at an altitude far beyond that of Florida's. After a brief bout of feeling sick, I managed to run on the way back a bit. The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed... and most likely involved the card game of the trip: Dutch Blitz. It also involved rehearsing Gospel Clown until fairly late, which we were to perform Monday morning. More on that to come!
Sunday morning we got up and headed to church. We were asked to sing for the service so we had practiced a couple of different songs. We did "You Are Holy"which is a beautiful song that has guys lead and girls echo. Then they sing two separate parts for the chorus. It was just lovely and I hadn't heard the song in years, so I enjoyed reviving it again.
We also sang "Humble Thyself in the Sight of the Lord"that went into "Awesome God." Humble Thyself is an echo song as well, so we put a bit of a twist on it. We sang the two songs in English, then Spanish, and the third time through, the girls sang English as the guys sang Spanish. It was really neat! I think it's so cool when we can sing songs in English and Spanish because we are singing to and worshipping the same God. When we have nothing in common but our saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, it's so beautiful to me how we can still join together from completely different parts of the world and be unified. The church is most beautiful to me in this way.
After church we went to the Cine Norte plaza and got lunch in the food court. Amy, Kat & I shared a spectacular Veggie pizza from Eli's. DELISH. Then we all went shopping at the supermarket IC Norte for the week's groceries.
We got home and a few girls were going running and I went along. It reminded me how terribly out of shape I have gotten, in addition to the challenge of being at an altitude far beyond that of Florida's. After a brief bout of feeling sick, I managed to run on the way back a bit. The rest of the evening was pretty relaxed... and most likely involved the card game of the trip: Dutch Blitz. It also involved rehearsing Gospel Clown until fairly late, which we were to perform Monday morning. More on that to come!
Day 24
Saturday
Saturday was an adventure for me. Well, I shall get to that. So a few went to teach first aid to some teachers at this private school for 1-6 year olds. The rest of stayed home to sleep in, I mean clean. :-) We cleaned up the house in the morning and then left for the market, called La Cancha.
We all loved to shop in the souvenir section because that's where all the good gifts to take home are. So we wandered around there for a while and I purchased a photo album, which I had been looking for each time I went. I also bought a hammock for about $14 so I was extremely pleased with that purchase. I wandered next door into the musical instrument section to see what kinds of things I could maybe find for my brothers... a unique instrument or something. I found Tomás there and he said the others had already left to go the main part of La Cancha. So he vaguely told me where it was and I started to head over. I then saw the people who had taught first aid. Well, they had just gotten there so it was going to be a while before they were done. I wasn't particularly concerned because before we had separated, they told us that if we get lost, ask where the Plaza Principal is. That's where we were meeting at 4.
So here it is, not quite 3 and I started to wander to where I thought La Cancha was. I decided I was moving in the wrong direction and decided to turn around and go another way. Well, eventually I ended up in the food section of La Cancha, which is nowhere near where I wanted. Or maybe it was and I didn't know. Either way, I was totally lost. So I just kept wandering around looking for something familiar. Of course, everything starts to look the same so it's like this maze and you start backpeddling....I didn't really pay that close attention while I was wandering....first mistake. I wandered off into some places that were still market-related but close to homes. Yeah, I walked A LOT. But I did happen to find this lady selling bread as I walked by on the sidewalk and I decided to buy some. It was amazing and I ended up eating 2 & 1/2 pieces of it. Somehow I ended up getting back to a section that looked quasi familiar. I wandered around a bit, and then as I was walking by a store, I saw Iris. Random! Turns out, she was with the group and they left her too! Of course, she knows her way around so for her it's no big deal. So I ended up just following her around as she shopped until it was time to head to the plaza.
For a second week, we did the Kid Washing in the plaza. Jodi & Lindsey (the pregnant wives) got to wash the babies. We combed out the girls' hair and gave them hair ties and barretts. It was really fun and they loved it! There was a clown there too giving out balloon swords to boys which they used to attack our volunteers. It was hilarious.
Then we went to this really amazing place for dinner. It's called Bufalo Rodizio's and it's a Brazilian steakhouse. If you ever come to Cochabamba you MUST go. Well, I unless you are a vegetarian. You go and they have this buffet and they have all you can eat meat. It costs 54Bs I think, which is less than $8. They had a wonderful buffet and I didn't realize how much meat they just kept bringing it around! Chicken hearts, chicken, various cuts of beef, lamb, pork, etc. I tried to say yes to everything but I couldn't keep up with it all! They just kept bringing more meat. By the time I could eat one piece, they'd ask me for another. The funniest time was when they came around with veal. Tomás was telling us what everything was, and we asked him what this one thing was, and he said baby beef. Upon hearing that I remarked, "Awwwwwwwww" and the guy bringing it around started laughing at me because he knew why I responded that way. Aw is quite universal and it was really funny.
They had this orange drink with some liqueur or something in it, which apparently helps digest and it tasted delightful. It came in a really cute little glass too. haha The dessert was amazing too! They had tres leches, which is one of my favorite desserts. Other than that, I just had some fruit salad because needless to say, we were all very full!
After the all you can eat meat place we were all ready for bed so we headed home and practiced a little for Sunday. They had us sing a couple of songs in church and I'll talk about that more for Sunday's post.
Saturday was an adventure for me. Well, I shall get to that. So a few went to teach first aid to some teachers at this private school for 1-6 year olds. The rest of stayed home to sleep in, I mean clean. :-) We cleaned up the house in the morning and then left for the market, called La Cancha.
We all loved to shop in the souvenir section because that's where all the good gifts to take home are. So we wandered around there for a while and I purchased a photo album, which I had been looking for each time I went. I also bought a hammock for about $14 so I was extremely pleased with that purchase. I wandered next door into the musical instrument section to see what kinds of things I could maybe find for my brothers... a unique instrument or something. I found Tomás there and he said the others had already left to go the main part of La Cancha. So he vaguely told me where it was and I started to head over. I then saw the people who had taught first aid. Well, they had just gotten there so it was going to be a while before they were done. I wasn't particularly concerned because before we had separated, they told us that if we get lost, ask where the Plaza Principal is. That's where we were meeting at 4.
So here it is, not quite 3 and I started to wander to where I thought La Cancha was. I decided I was moving in the wrong direction and decided to turn around and go another way. Well, eventually I ended up in the food section of La Cancha, which is nowhere near where I wanted. Or maybe it was and I didn't know. Either way, I was totally lost. So I just kept wandering around looking for something familiar. Of course, everything starts to look the same so it's like this maze and you start backpeddling....I didn't really pay that close attention while I was wandering....first mistake. I wandered off into some places that were still market-related but close to homes. Yeah, I walked A LOT. But I did happen to find this lady selling bread as I walked by on the sidewalk and I decided to buy some. It was amazing and I ended up eating 2 & 1/2 pieces of it. Somehow I ended up getting back to a section that looked quasi familiar. I wandered around a bit, and then as I was walking by a store, I saw Iris. Random! Turns out, she was with the group and they left her too! Of course, she knows her way around so for her it's no big deal. So I ended up just following her around as she shopped until it was time to head to the plaza.
For a second week, we did the Kid Washing in the plaza. Jodi & Lindsey (the pregnant wives) got to wash the babies. We combed out the girls' hair and gave them hair ties and barretts. It was really fun and they loved it! There was a clown there too giving out balloon swords to boys which they used to attack our volunteers. It was hilarious.
Then we went to this really amazing place for dinner. It's called Bufalo Rodizio's and it's a Brazilian steakhouse. If you ever come to Cochabamba you MUST go. Well, I unless you are a vegetarian. You go and they have this buffet and they have all you can eat meat. It costs 54Bs I think, which is less than $8. They had a wonderful buffet and I didn't realize how much meat they just kept bringing it around! Chicken hearts, chicken, various cuts of beef, lamb, pork, etc. I tried to say yes to everything but I couldn't keep up with it all! They just kept bringing more meat. By the time I could eat one piece, they'd ask me for another. The funniest time was when they came around with veal. Tomás was telling us what everything was, and we asked him what this one thing was, and he said baby beef. Upon hearing that I remarked, "Awwwwwwwww" and the guy bringing it around started laughing at me because he knew why I responded that way. Aw is quite universal and it was really funny.
They had this orange drink with some liqueur or something in it, which apparently helps digest and it tasted delightful. It came in a really cute little glass too. haha The dessert was amazing too! They had tres leches, which is one of my favorite desserts. Other than that, I just had some fruit salad because needless to say, we were all very full!
After the all you can eat meat place we were all ready for bed so we headed home and practiced a little for Sunday. They had us sing a couple of songs in church and I'll talk about that more for Sunday's post.
Day 23
Friday, July 4th!
Friday was an absolutely wonderful and exciting day! Fridays Iris goes to the market in Quillacollo to get fruits and vegetables for the week. Because this is one of my favorite things to do (open air markets, that is) I forfeit my morning at the hospital to help her carry everything. This Friday it was crucial that I go because I needed to search for pie dishes in order to make some Dutch Apple Pie as part of our 4th of July celebration!
We managed to waste a whole lot of time looking around before we even got to the fruit and vegetables. I found pie plates, but Iris wanted to see if we could find them cheaper elsewhere so we took note and left. I had to change money over so I did that. Then a bunch of us stopped on the side of the road for some fresh orange juice from one of the ladies selling it. It was probably about 15 cents each and quite refreshing. Here's a pic of us enjoying it!
We stopped and bought super cheap movies. 4 for 16 bolivianos which is just over $2. Unfortunately, we have been unable to get them into English. One was part of my gift to my dad for Father's Day....sorry Dad. Oh well.
Eventually we headed to the fruits & vegetable area and did our shopping. I bought some dried peaches to make the peach drink they have here. I am hoping to bring some home with me so I can make it for my friends & family when I get back! They look kind of like little brains but they are super sweet and very tasty. We also bought some bread from the same lady we bought it th week before, and you really can't get anything better than fresh bread at the market. Especially when 2 little round loaves cost about the equivalent of 12 cents. Anyway, so we finished our shopping and headed home where we had lunch and then the party prep began!
We made all kinds of excellent creations! I made 2 Dutch Apple pies, which I started making the crust and Iris helped by cutting up tons of apples for me! She actually cut up too many because she was just cutting them up as she watched a movie with Ester. Around the same time, the girls started to get back from the surgery from that afternoon, so they started on other things. Charlotte made this jello salad with whipped cream (which she had to whip with a mixer because cool whip doesn't exist in Bolivia) , jello packets, cream cheese and cut up fruit. Megan and Kat helped make the rice krispie treats...which actually consisted of combining puffed rice with cornflakes...they turned out the almost exact texture of real rice krispie treats. They also put dulce de leche between a layer of 2 rice krispie treats ( they made a quadruple batch) and that was definitely a big hit! We also had hot dogs, hamburgers, macaroni & cheese, deviled eggs, and potato chips. I am pretty sure that none of it tasted like what you would have in the states (except maybe the hamburgers & apple pie) but it was a big hit and we had fun preparing it and celebrating July 4th! We then went outside and set off some fireworks. We did sparklers and even had a few Roman Candles. It was so great!!
We finished off the night by seeing Hancock. Sadly, Iris wasn't feeling well and Tomás decided to stay home to take care of her. We felt bad because he wanted to see it in the first place, but he's a committed husband! Turns out, Linda & her son Tim met us there for the movie so we all watched it together. Sadly, it was a little disappointing. Very entertaining, but not my favorite of all time.
The apple pie was a big hit and the first one was gone that night. Thanks to mother for emailing me the recipe last minute. About 5 people have requested the recipe since! :-)
Day 22
Thursday
Our second day doing the checkups at the CDI here was for adults. James and I work well together and we had Tim (Paul & Linda's son as our translator...which makes up Team Awesome. Johan & Matt worked together with Jonathan (one of the guys from Tomás & Iris's youth group) translating, and Ava has been working with Steve, and her brother Seth translates for them. So we have 3 teams of 2 medical students in order to be as efficient as possible. Many of these people have never seen a physician and especially adults who are in their 40s, 50s, 60s or sometimes even older, they have multiple problems. People seem to age faster because they work so hard and have such challenging lives. Also, they look somewhat older because they are outside in the sun and here they are at a higher altitude which means increased sun exposure.
James, Tim & I had one extremely difficult case. I should have written her name down because my memory is now failing me unfortunately. However, she definitely is a woman who is dire need of prayer. She presented with a UTI & rib pain and was concerned that her ribs were broken. Turns out her husband had kicked her. She said that he did do this frequently. She had gone to theh doctor and gotten medicine previously for the UTI, but it wasn't clearing up and her husband didn't want to pay for her to go to see a doctor or for her medication. It was heartbreaking and as her eyes welled up with tears, I felt mine do the same. We prayed with her, not really knowing what else we could other than encourage her to find someone she talk to about her situation. Like many in similar situations, she didn't want to bother her family members with her problem. Fortunately, we talked to the doctor(a) who has been coming with us and she said that if this lady came to the hospital while she was working, she would make sure her care and medicine didn't cost anything. One of the hardest parts of this is that you don't see them afterwards. Did she get to go to the hospital? I'll never know. All we can do is pray.
As for that evening, I don't remember specifics but it would have been devotion night. We have had more and more people come on this trip who play guitar, so the worship has been that much sweeter. There may be more that I think of later and I'll update at that point but in the mean time... I'll go on to new days.
Our second day doing the checkups at the CDI here was for adults. James and I work well together and we had Tim (Paul & Linda's son as our translator...which makes up Team Awesome. Johan & Matt worked together with Jonathan (one of the guys from Tomás & Iris's youth group) translating, and Ava has been working with Steve, and her brother Seth translates for them. So we have 3 teams of 2 medical students in order to be as efficient as possible. Many of these people have never seen a physician and especially adults who are in their 40s, 50s, 60s or sometimes even older, they have multiple problems. People seem to age faster because they work so hard and have such challenging lives. Also, they look somewhat older because they are outside in the sun and here they are at a higher altitude which means increased sun exposure.
James, Tim & I had one extremely difficult case. I should have written her name down because my memory is now failing me unfortunately. However, she definitely is a woman who is dire need of prayer. She presented with a UTI & rib pain and was concerned that her ribs were broken. Turns out her husband had kicked her. She said that he did do this frequently. She had gone to theh doctor and gotten medicine previously for the UTI, but it wasn't clearing up and her husband didn't want to pay for her to go to see a doctor or for her medication. It was heartbreaking and as her eyes welled up with tears, I felt mine do the same. We prayed with her, not really knowing what else we could other than encourage her to find someone she talk to about her situation. Like many in similar situations, she didn't want to bother her family members with her problem. Fortunately, we talked to the doctor(a) who has been coming with us and she said that if this lady came to the hospital while she was working, she would make sure her care and medicine didn't cost anything. One of the hardest parts of this is that you don't see them afterwards. Did she get to go to the hospital? I'll never know. All we can do is pray.
As for that evening, I don't remember specifics but it would have been devotion night. We have had more and more people come on this trip who play guitar, so the worship has been that much sweeter. There may be more that I think of later and I'll update at that point but in the mean time... I'll go on to new days.
Day 21
This would be Wednesday. It has been over a week since that day actually ocurred so I am drawing a blank. Oh gee. Ok so this would have been our first day doing checkups at the CDI. We did checkups for the children there. The situation has been such that during the days when the doctor can come, we have medicine that we can give out. Or, if not, she can write a prescription. However, she also has to be back at the hospital at like noon. So if we get there at 9:30 or so, by the time we get set up and getting everyone to go through, it's time to leave not long after. It's so hard because we already feel like we are so limited with our knowledge and resources.
We had a couple different things to bandage up, which was a first. We learned the hard way that "Ague oxígenada" is not only oxygenated water, but as we know it, Hydrogen Peroxide. Needless to say, the poor little boy who had his injured finger soaking in the peroxide was quite the trooper.
Nothing jumps out at me from the afternoon, except that we were pretty tired that day. In spite of it, we attempted to go see the 10PM showing of Hancock, because Tomás really wanted to see it. Normally Wednesdays are 2 for 1 but since it was a brand new movie, this wasn't the case. However, after getting to the theater, we found that it was sold out. Then we tried the other theater, which turned out to have tickets. (YaY!) However, upon walking into the theater, we learned that it was dubbed in Spanish. Seeing a movie dubbed in Spanish when you don't understand it is pretty silly. So we managed to get our money back and head home for the night. It was already 11ish anyway at the point so we were all tired and it worked out for the best.
We had a couple different things to bandage up, which was a first. We learned the hard way that "Ague oxígenada" is not only oxygenated water, but as we know it, Hydrogen Peroxide. Needless to say, the poor little boy who had his injured finger soaking in the peroxide was quite the trooper.
Nothing jumps out at me from the afternoon, except that we were pretty tired that day. In spite of it, we attempted to go see the 10PM showing of Hancock, because Tomás really wanted to see it. Normally Wednesdays are 2 for 1 but since it was a brand new movie, this wasn't the case. However, after getting to the theater, we found that it was sold out. Then we tried the other theater, which turned out to have tickets. (YaY!) However, upon walking into the theater, we learned that it was dubbed in Spanish. Seeing a movie dubbed in Spanish when you don't understand it is pretty silly. So we managed to get our money back and head home for the night. It was already 11ish anyway at the point so we were all tired and it worked out for the best.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Day 20
Tuesday, which was Canada Day
Tuesday morning we went to the CDI to do educational programs for the kids. I wasn't going to go because I was supposed to be in the hospital for the week. However, Iris wanted me to help give out the toothbrushes so I could see the kids who were getting them. So i helped with the little kids, from 3-9 doing crowd control and helping pass out crayons and stay organized. Then, when they went out to play a game, someone asked me to come help with the first aid kit/clinic they had their, to help organize the medicine since I had pharmacy experience. So me and a couple other people spent some time with the one in charge of it and tried to figure out what things they need most. We had to leave as soon as Don Manuel arrived, which was hard since we wanted to do more to help but it was time. Still, the kids and adults enjoyed the presentations and hopefully learned alot.
I'm having trouble recalling the afternoon but it may have been a short bit of relaxation after teaching the children. (We had at least 70, judging from how many crayons we passed out from the box of 96). It was Canada Day, of course, so we were learning all sorts of Canadian facts from the Canadians. It was quite fun. And they say eh? all the time and I'm really trying to pick it up so I'm the only one in Florida who says "eh?" but I don't think it's working. We made pizza for dinner....and now I'm slowly recalling the process of putting my essays online and putting together stuff for the NHSC (Nat'l Health Service Corps) Scholarship that I'm trying to get. Please keep this in your prayers!! It would be a huge blessing to get it, if that's what the Lord would have. If not, I know that my finances will be provided somehow, but I just don't know how... and I don't have to. It's all in His hands.
So anyway, after some of my culinary endeavors coming to fruition, I was put in charge of the pizza. If I can make nothing else, I can make pizza. And the crust was pre-made so it was pretty easy. Some of the others weren't fond of the way it
was made the last time, so we took it upon ourselves to go as American as possible with it. Amy & I returned to our pico de gallo like topping and make some almost salsa to go along with the pizza. The pizza was great (I love pizza! :-) and it was a hit with all. Especially the Canadians because for some reason, there was a bag of little Canadian flags here that someone found. So we stuck a bunch of them in the pizza and grabbed the Canadians. They then proceeded to sing their national anthem. It was really fun. I have also learned that everyone knows a lot more about us than we know about anyone else. All in all, it was a really fun night that most likely ended in playing Dutch Blitz... a new cardgame I have discovered and come to love.
Tuesday evening was really great too. We got together to have devotions and we ended up doing lots of praise & worship songs. I loved it and it was the first time our group really seemed like one big group, unified for the most part. It's amazing how something as simple as worshiping God together can have such a wonderful effect on people. It was definitely one of my favorite nights here so far!
Tuesday morning we went to the CDI to do educational programs for the kids. I wasn't going to go because I was supposed to be in the hospital for the week. However, Iris wanted me to help give out the toothbrushes so I could see the kids who were getting them. So i helped with the little kids, from 3-9 doing crowd control and helping pass out crayons and stay organized. Then, when they went out to play a game, someone asked me to come help with the first aid kit/clinic they had their, to help organize the medicine since I had pharmacy experience. So me and a couple other people spent some time with the one in charge of it and tried to figure out what things they need most. We had to leave as soon as Don Manuel arrived, which was hard since we wanted to do more to help but it was time. Still, the kids and adults enjoyed the presentations and hopefully learned alot.
I'm having trouble recalling the afternoon but it may have been a short bit of relaxation after teaching the children. (We had at least 70, judging from how many crayons we passed out from the box of 96). It was Canada Day, of course, so we were learning all sorts of Canadian facts from the Canadians. It was quite fun. And they say eh? all the time and I'm really trying to pick it up so I'm the only one in Florida who says "eh?" but I don't think it's working. We made pizza for dinner....and now I'm slowly recalling the process of putting my essays online and putting together stuff for the NHSC (Nat'l Health Service Corps) Scholarship that I'm trying to get. Please keep this in your prayers!! It would be a huge blessing to get it, if that's what the Lord would have. If not, I know that my finances will be provided somehow, but I just don't know how... and I don't have to. It's all in His hands.
So anyway, after some of my culinary endeavors coming to fruition, I was put in charge of the pizza. If I can make nothing else, I can make pizza. And the crust was pre-made so it was pretty easy. Some of the others weren't fond of the way it
was made the last time, so we took it upon ourselves to go as American as possible with it. Amy & I returned to our pico de gallo like topping and make some almost salsa to go along with the pizza. The pizza was great (I love pizza! :-) and it was a hit with all. Especially the Canadians because for some reason, there was a bag of little Canadian flags here that someone found. So we stuck a bunch of them in the pizza and grabbed the Canadians. They then proceeded to sing their national anthem. It was really fun. I have also learned that everyone knows a lot more about us than we know about anyone else. All in all, it was a really fun night that most likely ended in playing Dutch Blitz... a new cardgame I have discovered and come to love. Tuesday evening was really great too. We got together to have devotions and we ended up doing lots of praise & worship songs. I loved it and it was the first time our group really seemed like one big group, unified for the most part. It's amazing how something as simple as worshiping God together can have such a wonderful effect on people. It was definitely one of my favorite nights here so far!
Day 19
Monday
Things were a little crazy with the arrangements as to who did what and when, because the group from Wisconsin planned a trip to Perú in the middle of their time here. It was a little tense among the groups here for a while, but it was all worked out in the end. The CDI for the week was going to be put on by the Wisconsin group Mon- Wed and then the rest of Thurs & Fri doing physical exams. But, Monday morning we found out that the kids were on vacation so no one was there Monday. The Wisconsin group stayed up fairly late Sunday night preparing, but it worked out in the end because they had extra time to get it organized.
Meanwhile, I gave Seth & Ava a short tour of the hospital, where we talked to the Pastor for quite some time. He is a jolly fellow and has a passionate love for the Lord and for people which is so very inspiring. After the tour we got to observe the gynecologist with a couple of his patients. After all of his patients, we were told the ophthamologist had 5 patients (which is a lot for this hospital, especially in just a couple of hours) and we observed him. He was really great to learn from because he would ask us questions like "What 3 things do you look for in the back of the eye?"or "What is normal vision or normal pressure of the eye?" We definitely got to learn a lot and it was really nice being able to learn from someone who really tried to teach. Each of his patients had different problems so we got to see several different things within the morning. It was my favorite day at the hospital so far!
Came back and had lunch. We tried to go to this mansion downtown to walk through but Monday is kind of the "day of rest"here, so some of the very nice restaurants and other cultural sites aren't open. We got to wander through the gardens though, and that was quite lovely! I have several pictures of that as well. I am nearly convinced I could open my own Cochabomba postcard company! After that we attempted to go to this taxidermy exhibit of sorts...turns out it's mostly of bugs but it's free and they wanted to charge money since we are Americans (and Canadians). So we decided it wasn't worth it. After that, Iris wanted to take us to these botanical gardens. Well, apparently Iris & Tomás used to go there but the government doesn't really want to keep up with them. So it wasn't quite as green as you would expect botanical gardens to be. However, we noticed while walking through that that definitely didn't stop several couples from going there! :-)
Then we went to the market for a bit because Seth had left his coat on the bus and needed to buy some warm clothing. We American girls are always up for souvenir shopping of course, and I found a key chain holder that I had been wanting to buy since the first day I went to the souvenir place. An exceptionally important thing that was purchased, were 260 toothbrushes! My dad kindly donated $50 towards getting toothbrushes for these kids who needed them. So for 260 toothbrushes, I paid the equivalent of $23. Amazing, huh? After the market, not sure what we did...
I just double checked my journal and I am slightly apalled at myself for having forgot Monday night's dinner! So we got home a bit late and didn't really have a whole bunch of food to choose from, so we decided to get creative. Amy & I were trying to come up with some sort of culinary concoction and decided on some sort of mixture involving cream cheese, bread and quasi-bruschetta. We decided to call it, Bolivian bruschetta. We cut up some tomatoes, onions, garlic & cilantro, and threw in lime juice too. Then we put cream cheese on hot dog buns, which are nothing like hot dog buns back home, more like fresh bread kind of and they taste much better than sliced bread here. We put the bruschetta stuff on top and then put them in the oven (Ava's idea) until warm. It was delicious and Amy, Ava & I were thrilled to eat dinner! All who had the extra were grateful as well. I'm pretty sure after that, we were content and ready for bed.
Things were a little crazy with the arrangements as to who did what and when, because the group from Wisconsin planned a trip to Perú in the middle of their time here. It was a little tense among the groups here for a while, but it was all worked out in the end. The CDI for the week was going to be put on by the Wisconsin group Mon- Wed and then the rest of Thurs & Fri doing physical exams. But, Monday morning we found out that the kids were on vacation so no one was there Monday. The Wisconsin group stayed up fairly late Sunday night preparing, but it worked out in the end because they had extra time to get it organized.
Meanwhile, I gave Seth & Ava a short tour of the hospital, where we talked to the Pastor for quite some time. He is a jolly fellow and has a passionate love for the Lord and for people which is so very inspiring. After the tour we got to observe the gynecologist with a couple of his patients. After all of his patients, we were told the ophthamologist had 5 patients (which is a lot for this hospital, especially in just a couple of hours) and we observed him. He was really great to learn from because he would ask us questions like "What 3 things do you look for in the back of the eye?"or "What is normal vision or normal pressure of the eye?" We definitely got to learn a lot and it was really nice being able to learn from someone who really tried to teach. Each of his patients had different problems so we got to see several different things within the morning. It was my favorite day at the hospital so far!
Came back and had lunch. We tried to go to this mansion downtown to walk through but Monday is kind of the "day of rest"here, so some of the very nice restaurants and other cultural sites aren't open. We got to wander through the gardens though, and that was quite lovely! I have several pictures of that as well. I am nearly convinced I could open my own Cochabomba postcard company! After that we attempted to go to this taxidermy exhibit of sorts...turns out it's mostly of bugs but it's free and they wanted to charge money since we are Americans (and Canadians). So we decided it wasn't worth it. After that, Iris wanted to take us to these botanical gardens. Well, apparently Iris & Tomás used to go there but the government doesn't really want to keep up with them. So it wasn't quite as green as you would expect botanical gardens to be. However, we noticed while walking through that that definitely didn't stop several couples from going there! :-)
Then we went to the market for a bit because Seth had left his coat on the bus and needed to buy some warm clothing. We American girls are always up for souvenir shopping of course, and I found a key chain holder that I had been wanting to buy since the first day I went to the souvenir place. An exceptionally important thing that was purchased, were 260 toothbrushes! My dad kindly donated $50 towards getting toothbrushes for these kids who needed them. So for 260 toothbrushes, I paid the equivalent of $23. Amazing, huh? After the market, not sure what we did...
I just double checked my journal and I am slightly apalled at myself for having forgot Monday night's dinner! So we got home a bit late and didn't really have a whole bunch of food to choose from, so we decided to get creative. Amy & I were trying to come up with some sort of culinary concoction and decided on some sort of mixture involving cream cheese, bread and quasi-bruschetta. We decided to call it, Bolivian bruschetta. We cut up some tomatoes, onions, garlic & cilantro, and threw in lime juice too. Then we put cream cheese on hot dog buns, which are nothing like hot dog buns back home, more like fresh bread kind of and they taste much better than sliced bread here. We put the bruschetta stuff on top and then put them in the oven (Ava's idea) until warm. It was delicious and Amy, Ava & I were thrilled to eat dinner! All who had the extra were grateful as well. I'm pretty sure after that, we were content and ready for bed.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Day 18
Sunday was a really great day too!
Got up and went to church at Dr. Aguilar's church. He's the gastroenterologist at the hospital. It was very nice and everyone was so friendly to us. It was 3 people's birthday that week so they had birthday cake after church to celebrate. That was fun! :-)
We went to lunch with some of the ladies from hospital who work in human resources and other offices. Charlotte, Amy & I split 2 meals and they were both delicious! We ordered cordon bleu and then we were going to try ox tail but they were out. Instead, we got this steak with eggs and cheese and tomatoes and peppers and it was REALLY good. We all felt like it was the best meal we had all week.
After lunch we walked around a bit and a few people went home. Leila left on Sunday night and so she had to go back. It was sad to lose my roommate! There was a soccer game at 4 and so we headed over to buy tickets. It was either 25Bs for regular seats or 35Bs for premium seating that wasn't in the sun. So that translates to either $3.50 or $5. We were ok spending the extra $1.50 to avoid sunlight. :-) So we walked around outside and looked at all the stuff that the venders were selling. They were selling food, cotton candy, drinks, jewelry, and they even had puppies and kittens to adopt! They had this adorable little white puppy that I would have seriously considered purchasing had I thought it in the least feasible. I also was instantly in love with the kittens and can't wait to adopt one (or two) in the fall when I move into my new apartment in Tallahassee! There were two local teams playing, Cochabamba vs. Cochabamba so I was going for Cochabamba. Just kidding. The teams were Aurora vs. Wilsterman.... we picked Aurora because we liked their colors better. Turns out they are the underdog team. It also turns out that Dr. Aguilar is the team doctor for Wilsterman, which we learned after purchasing a bunch of Aurora gear. Oops! But in the end, it worked out because Aurora won! 3-1. It was a really fun game to watch and those of us who chose to go absolutely loved it, because it really felt like we were embracing the culture of the locals.
After the game, we decided to be adventurous and walk around downtown Cochabamba. Emily was with us so we had a quasi native speaker ( she lived here when she was younger for several years but now lives in the US) and Johan & Matt were with us, so I felt safe the whole time. We stopped in the little restaurant just to get a little appetizer and it was so nice! When you walked by the waiters moved out of the way for you! I have never been treated so great in a restaurant! The bathroom even had toilet paper....a commodity you don't often find in public restrooms here. We were going to make our way down and visit a few other restaurants kind of like a progressive dinner, but it started to get a bit late and we didn't want to be inconsiderate to Don Manuel, our wonderful trufi driver.
That night we got back and had 2 more volunteers with us! Ava is a medical student with James & Johan, and her brother Seth came with her, to volunteer as a translator. Ava became my new roommate and she's really funny and just great all around. Seth is an excellent translator and is very helpful to have around! It was a relief to get someone else who actually speaks fluently and translates exactly what is said. So they have been a wonderful addition to our Bolivian family!
Pretty sure that's all for that day... needless to say it was full weekend and by Monday, we were tired!
Got up and went to church at Dr. Aguilar's church. He's the gastroenterologist at the hospital. It was very nice and everyone was so friendly to us. It was 3 people's birthday that week so they had birthday cake after church to celebrate. That was fun! :-)
We went to lunch with some of the ladies from hospital who work in human resources and other offices. Charlotte, Amy & I split 2 meals and they were both delicious! We ordered cordon bleu and then we were going to try ox tail but they were out. Instead, we got this steak with eggs and cheese and tomatoes and peppers and it was REALLY good. We all felt like it was the best meal we had all week.
After lunch we walked around a bit and a few people went home. Leila left on Sunday night and so she had to go back. It was sad to lose my roommate! There was a soccer game at 4 and so we headed over to buy tickets. It was either 25Bs for regular seats or 35Bs for premium seating that wasn't in the sun. So that translates to either $3.50 or $5. We were ok spending the extra $1.50 to avoid sunlight. :-) So we walked around outside and looked at all the stuff that the venders were selling. They were selling food, cotton candy, drinks, jewelry, and they even had puppies and kittens to adopt! They had this adorable little white puppy that I would have seriously considered purchasing had I thought it in the least feasible. I also was instantly in love with the kittens and can't wait to adopt one (or two) in the fall when I move into my new apartment in Tallahassee! There were two local teams playing, Cochabamba vs. Cochabamba so I was going for Cochabamba. Just kidding. The teams were Aurora vs. Wilsterman.... we picked Aurora because we liked their colors better. Turns out they are the underdog team. It also turns out that Dr. Aguilar is the team doctor for Wilsterman, which we learned after purchasing a bunch of Aurora gear. Oops! But in the end, it worked out because Aurora won! 3-1. It was a really fun game to watch and those of us who chose to go absolutely loved it, because it really felt like we were embracing the culture of the locals.
After the game, we decided to be adventurous and walk around downtown Cochabamba. Emily was with us so we had a quasi native speaker ( she lived here when she was younger for several years but now lives in the US) and Johan & Matt were with us, so I felt safe the whole time. We stopped in the little restaurant just to get a little appetizer and it was so nice! When you walked by the waiters moved out of the way for you! I have never been treated so great in a restaurant! The bathroom even had toilet paper....a commodity you don't often find in public restrooms here. We were going to make our way down and visit a few other restaurants kind of like a progressive dinner, but it started to get a bit late and we didn't want to be inconsiderate to Don Manuel, our wonderful trufi driver.
That night we got back and had 2 more volunteers with us! Ava is a medical student with James & Johan, and her brother Seth came with her, to volunteer as a translator. Ava became my new roommate and she's really funny and just great all around. Seth is an excellent translator and is very helpful to have around! It was a relief to get someone else who actually speaks fluently and translates exactly what is said. So they have been a wonderful addition to our Bolivian family!
Pretty sure that's all for that day... needless to say it was full weekend and by Monday, we were tired!
Day 17
I will try my best to start getting caught up with this, but we are leaving soon to head to the market so my post may end abruptly....
Saturday we went to the jungle! It's called Chapare and I got up about 3:50am because we were supposed to leave at 4am. Well, typical South American time, we left sometime before 5am. We took a microbus, which is much bigger & nicer than a trufi but not as big as a greyhound bus or anything. It was beautiful and I have some awesome pictures of it that hopefully I can put up sometime soon. I'm way behind on the picture posting, I know. We stopped to get out and take pictures around 9am and then had breakfast at a restaurant nearby. The breakfast consisted of chicken or beef, soup, rice, noodles and some yuca. Needless to say, nothing like the typical American breakfast and I actually split one with 2 other girls. I had snacked on a bit of trail mix earlier anyway...
From there we walked (some rode the bus but all the guys and Bri & I walked) to the beginning of this nature preserve. The monkeys there were all over the place! They would come up and try to take your stuff. They jumped on the bus almost as soon as we arrived there! I have several pictures of them. :-) After paying to get in, we started to walk back in. It was funny because a monkey was sort of leading us in, as if he was going to be our tour guide. Then it climbed onto Iris's head! They had several different types of monkeys there that we saw. These little yellow ones were really cute and most of us wanted to take one home. After walking our way around the monkey section we walked back to go towards another area. We saw a tejón or Coati (in English) and it's kind of like an anteater in the face and has a bushy tail kind of. I got a couple of pictures of it. I had never even heard of the thing before.
We saw some beautiful birds and I have a picture with them. Then we took a bit of a hike to the top for an amazing view! Apparently there was a puma but I didn't see it. The pictures at the top are like postcards and I can't wait to share them! After a few pictures, we headed back down and then left to eat lunch. We went to another local place where our end of the table had fish, deer and armadillo. I had a little bit of it all and the armadillo was definitely better than I expected. Someone joked that our meal consisted of roadkill. haha But Iris told me they are just all the animals of the jungle.
After lunch we tried to go to this park area but it was for little kids and you had to pay to get in, so instead we went to this little swimming hole area. A couple of the guys went in but the rest of us just sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air and a book. Once everyone was done swimming and such, we all piled into the bus. It was rather humorous as we all sat in the bus eating cereal & milk before we left. We headed back home and got in about 10:30PM so we were all exhausted!
We survived the jungle, malaria (and for the most part bug bite) free! It was really cool to see and I would defintely go back!
Saturday we went to the jungle! It's called Chapare and I got up about 3:50am because we were supposed to leave at 4am. Well, typical South American time, we left sometime before 5am. We took a microbus, which is much bigger & nicer than a trufi but not as big as a greyhound bus or anything. It was beautiful and I have some awesome pictures of it that hopefully I can put up sometime soon. I'm way behind on the picture posting, I know. We stopped to get out and take pictures around 9am and then had breakfast at a restaurant nearby. The breakfast consisted of chicken or beef, soup, rice, noodles and some yuca. Needless to say, nothing like the typical American breakfast and I actually split one with 2 other girls. I had snacked on a bit of trail mix earlier anyway...
From there we walked (some rode the bus but all the guys and Bri & I walked) to the beginning of this nature preserve. The monkeys there were all over the place! They would come up and try to take your stuff. They jumped on the bus almost as soon as we arrived there! I have several pictures of them. :-) After paying to get in, we started to walk back in. It was funny because a monkey was sort of leading us in, as if he was going to be our tour guide. Then it climbed onto Iris's head! They had several different types of monkeys there that we saw. These little yellow ones were really cute and most of us wanted to take one home. After walking our way around the monkey section we walked back to go towards another area. We saw a tejón or Coati (in English) and it's kind of like an anteater in the face and has a bushy tail kind of. I got a couple of pictures of it. I had never even heard of the thing before.
We saw some beautiful birds and I have a picture with them. Then we took a bit of a hike to the top for an amazing view! Apparently there was a puma but I didn't see it. The pictures at the top are like postcards and I can't wait to share them! After a few pictures, we headed back down and then left to eat lunch. We went to another local place where our end of the table had fish, deer and armadillo. I had a little bit of it all and the armadillo was definitely better than I expected. Someone joked that our meal consisted of roadkill. haha But Iris told me they are just all the animals of the jungle.
After lunch we tried to go to this park area but it was for little kids and you had to pay to get in, so instead we went to this little swimming hole area. A couple of the guys went in but the rest of us just sat outside and enjoyed the fresh air and a book. Once everyone was done swimming and such, we all piled into the bus. It was rather humorous as we all sat in the bus eating cereal & milk before we left. We headed back home and got in about 10:30PM so we were all exhausted!
We survived the jungle, malaria (and for the most part bug bite) free! It was really cool to see and I would defintely go back!
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