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!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
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.
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