Hmmmm

June 27, 2011

My blog and my friends have heard little from me this week for two reasons. The first rather insignificant reason is that there were two national holidays this week, meaning that most things shut down including the offices and the internet. The real reason is so small that it would seem insignificant but is actually quite the terror on the system. It seems that I have come down with some parasites so I have hardly been able to function as a normal human being, much less work and update everyone. It has not been a very exciting week at all and things seem to be turning up just a bit but I think it might still be a long road to recovery. I think once I can finally sleep through the night I will feel much better.

However, this week has given me a ton of time to think and although it has been hard to record many of my thoughts, there are some that have stuck with me. Inspired by a recent email from a classmate I decided to take note of some of things that just don't make much sense and i can't quite figure out why in the world these things are the way that they are.

So...why in the world is our shower on the same level as the rest of our bathroom without any kind of ledge or barrier? When we shower the water gets all over the floor and the entire bathroom is soaked. It seems like it might make more sense to put it down in a whole or to build a ledge up around where the water falls. It might also make sense to put a curtain in so that the toilet doesn't get soaked. I guess if you want to be able to use the bathroom and shower at the same time then this arrangement makes perfect sense. I guess we'll just keep squeegying the floor after our showers so nobody slips in the pools of water.

Why in the world are there so many wild dogs? Fortunately, it is fairly well known and they even put green strings on the necks of those that have had rabies vaccines but we have a few that stay here inside our compound and it is not unusual to see these grimy mutts inside a dining room or even under your chair in the computer lab.

Why in the world did people ever think it was a good idea to cross and orange and a lemon to make a lima? It didn't come out well and it is just like a weak version of a lemon and an orange with a funky bitter aftertaste. Not something to get excited about, and no, it is not a lime.

Why in the world would you tell someone you had just been in prison for two years for being falsely accused of drug trafficking if you are trying to get money from Americans? There was a man who followed us and told us in English about the time he had lived in Texas only to ruin any chance he had of maybe getting a Bolivian out of us with the prison talk. Good thing I was quick thinking and used the excuse of having to track all of our expenses.

Why in the world is Nescafe so popular? Bolivia could be and in some places is great for cultivating coffee but this ridiculous Nestle company has the most serious kind of monopoly going on here. At the same time, why in the world does Betsy love it so much?

Why in the world do none of the doors seems to fit right? With a little proper hanging they wouldn't be scraping the ground when you try to close them or if you shaved the bottoms they would stop doing it and making that terrible sound. I also don't understand the cracks in all of the doors, it lets the cold night air right in.

Hace frio en los Andes

June 16, 2011

Today was the best day so far. First let me say mountains. Now let me explain. We left the center this morning before 5:00 and began our trip out way past Morochata through the National Park of Tunari into a 100% AmerIndian village where all spoke Quechua or Quechuanol. It was still dark for a few hours after we got on the bus to the mountains but I just couldn’t sleep. As we began our ascent into the mountains I was so anxious for the sun to come up that I couldn’t go to sleep. I was also FREEZING and couldn’t have gotten warm enough to sleep if I did want to. I was enthralled by the journey that I couldn’t take my eyes away from the windows because with every hairpin turn and bump along the dirt road the scenery continued to change. The mountains got taller, more rigid, and more beautiful as we progressed. Eventually we crested the mountains and throughout our decent we were watching as we passed the llamas on one side and saw the clouds below us on the other. We continued to twist and to turn for hours until we finally arrived at our destination just as the sun was warming the entire mountainside, a very welcome visitor.
We arrived at the house of Asunta, one of the most well known and well respected health promoters that MAP has trained. She has been working as a volunteer health promoter for nearly 20 years now and has seen some very serious transformations in her village. Asunta never did marry much to the dismay of her family originally but now her father, who only speaks Quechua recognizes the incredible wisdom that she has. She attributes much of her dedication to a spiritual calling from God to serve others in the work that she does. She also carries a great deal of pride for her village and her traditional way of life and hopes that people can learn to celebrate the traditional way of life. There are many people that are migrating out of the villages and usually when people receive training they leave the village for a better job in the city.

There is really incredible work being done in these places and I am happy to be a part of it. Of course there are frustrating times and challenges but for the most part I am very thankful.

A picture story of sorts

Please note that some of my favorite photos are being omitted based on the guide and requests from MAP Bolivia

Understanding the organization

Monday June 13, 2011

Today was a really wonderful opportunity to see where the theory meets the action and the operation of the organization. I have been working a lot with the theoretical foundations of the organization and I was really questioning and being very critical of some of the things that I was being told. However, based on something that came up during the team meeting and the way that the situation was handled and discussed I was able to understand much better that way that the team structure works, the value of each person as part of the organization, the understanding of the Christian identity, and how the organization perceives more of gender relations and identity.

We the Emory students went to the weekly team meeting at nine this morning in the back of the clinic. The meeting didn’t start on time because we were waiting on more people to show up even though we knew that a lot of people weren’t going to show up because of the transportation strike that is happening in the city right now. Last week it was the post office and now it is the transportation, there are roadblocks all over the city. It wasn’t bad for us because we live where we work essentially but other people couldn’t get it and it was a bear to get the professors that are visiting from Drexel from the airport this morning. On that note, there are professors visiting right now so Betsy, Lise, and I are sharing a room for the week which isn’t too bad except that I am not sleeping as well and I am on the top bunk. I also woke up this morning with swollen eyes because of allergies and a nasty bugbite on my right eye. I feel like all of this is just silly whining though and I really shouldn’t have any complaints compared to some of the things that the team members are facing.

Once we finally began this meeting this morning we started with singing a few songs from the songbook and reflecting on the songs as people continued to trickle in until we had roughly 20 people. Jose Miguel wasn’t there at first and everyone else seemed to do well taking initiative and starting the meeting and it gave everyone a chance to speak and for us to hear them say stuff when he is out of the room as well, as a way to confirm the things that we were hearing when he was around.

Eventually he did come in and others as well and when we were commenting on a song one of the team members started with what seemed like a normal comment but ended up telling us how their cousin was murdered this past weekend. It seems like his mother is very very ill and people aren’t even sure how to tell her. It also sounds like it was a hate crime and he was killed by one of his best friends for supposedly being homosexual. Everyone in the room was really shocked and it was obvious that everyone’s hearts really went out to this person.

After the person was finished telling their story Jose Miguel told her that if she needed to leave she was free to and to take as much time as she needed and take the whole week or whatever felt right to her. I don’t think it will even count as vacation or personal days but I am not entirely sure. Based on the team structure that exists it looks like everyone will know just where to pickup and how to work without the person being present. This person has a lot of responsibilities but does not have to delegate down to lower levels based on the way that the system is organized.

The responses from the team also showed how much they care about each person that is there and are willing to step in when they know that other people really need their help and I am sure they are only acting as they would want someone to act if they were in this kind of situation. In MAP Bolivia, it is recognized that people do have personal lives and have lives outside of the organization that cannot be separated and entirely and that people can’t just leave things at the door, either here or at their home. It was helpful to hear people further discuss how they felt that they really count as a part of the organization and that they can look to their co-workers to find support.

Further, it was fascinating to see a very serious issue surface in this way. I had been thinking a lot about how the organization perceived homosexuality and what their response would be to having a person on staff or just people in general in their programs. It was interesting to hear the denunciation of crimes and intolerance against people of different sexual orientations. They talked about how so many churches are rallying against people or how they will welcome people as long as they recognize their sins as soon as they come in. This was yet another moment where I thought about how nice it has been to know a church that is welcoming to people from many different walks of life and even accepts people into positions of leadership despite gender or sexual orientation. I wanted to pipe up and say wait, wait, do you guys know that Episcopalians now allow you to lead regardless of orientation or gender? It is so relieving to see a group that isn’t trying to put people in their boxes and label them as one thing or another and allows people to be as they are. I think it is critical to recognize that we may all have our own opinions or values but that it is not our place to be judging others, as long as it is not harming others. For my experience with MAP, it was helpful to see this part of their Christian identity exposed in such a way that encourages tolerance.

I know it is very early in the journey yet but I feel like I am learning so much. I am learning just as much about the organization and international development as I am about myself. I feel that my routine of yoga in the morning, breakfast outside, time with work and the school and then a quiet night at home has been really healthy and helpful. I have been to the city a couple of times, which has been really enjoyable but I think the quiet time up in the mountains has been even better. In peace.

The first week or so in Bolivia- MAP International

June 3, 2011

I can’t quite decide whether to keep my journal in English or Spanish or whether to handwrite it or type it but I figure for the sake of sharing it with the people I love most it will be more helpful to type it up.

I have just spent my first day in Cochabamba, Bolivia, where I will be for 78 days according to what I told the guy at customs, and I think it is right. I am totally exhausted and don’t think that I have had more than two hours of sleep since yesterday so I don’t know how long I will last. Today was a beautiful day and when I stepped of the plane in Cochabamba it hit me. I felt a rush of excitement and a relief for having finally arrived. It was a crisp morning and the sun was shining. Once I walked down the stairs and off of the plane I went to baggage claim with my companeras Betsy and Lise. It took a while to get our bags but was quite entertaining as the woman on the loud speaker announced flights with an incredible liturgical incantation. Luz Stella was waiting for us outside of the airport and it showed us to her old school colorful land cruiser that would be our ride home. We passed through crazy bustling streets but I didn’t pay much attention to the city because I was paying close attention to every word she said about MAP and their programs. By this point it was all Spanish so it required a good bit more attention than English. We made a quick stop at a roadside vendor for plantains and oranges and a few minutes later we were headed up the stone road to Chilimarca, hearing stories of the adobe houses and dirt roads that have now been destroyed as people have come in housing developments are occurring in the area. We passed by the library, health clinic, and school before reaching the adjoining lot where the guesthouses have been built. A dog greeted us at the gate and a few more followed as we were quickly oriented to the property and walked into our house to drop our bags before breakfast.

After a light breakfast of eggs and fruit with Luz Stella and the students from Eastern (not great Spanish speakers) we returned to our rooms for a quick powernap and then were back in action, learning about programs, visiting all of the MAP facilities and watching the children’s productions for teacher’s day. To honor their teachers they put on a couple of hours of beautiful dances for their teachers. From Kindergarten to high school the children performed various traditional dances and a few groups even threw in some modern reggaeton type dances. This was a true highlight of the day for me because I got to meet some of the children and get a good look into the day to day life of the kids and the energy that is behind the school. The children ran right up to me and hugged me and asked lots of questions, they are just adorable. Some were dressed in the most entertaining little outfits that mixed traditional clothes with more western styles. Spider Man was the only brand I recognized today, besides the harrah’s hat that a mother was wearing when she game to pick up her child. There are over 200 children at the school and they are responsible for their own education and are taught self-agency in a truly innovative Montessori type style. It is quite chaotic compared to traditional schools but I see how it could work well for children. I just don’t know that I could do it everyday. There are many things here that don’t seem quite as neat or tidy as I would have them but they are coming together and I am trying to just go with the flow. Things are relatively simple but far more here than most people in the community have. Hopefully photos will help illustrate my physical setting.

If I could wrap up the day in a sentence I would say that I ate, I met a lot of people, I listened, and I was super tired. On that note, I sleep.

**I am thankful for electric and running water, I am comfortable, I am tired, I miss Franklin a bit.

June 4, 2011

Today is Saturday, ie market day. This morning we woke up at seven and I tried to shower but the water was too cold for me to wash my hair so I decided to stick to washing the body for now. We later got the water problem resolved, I hope. I then went and drank some coca tea and had a piece of fruit before we went to the market with the whole group. We took a bus that was rented privately for our group but usually runs between the center of the city and here in Chilimarca. We spoke English much of the time because the group of students from Eastern University don’t speak much Spanish. Along with other students we were accompanied by Luz Stella and her daughters Navy and Marta.

As we entered the market we had two main missions. Our first was to try the typical breakfast of fried corn and a purple corn drink. The pastel tasted like a funnel cake with queso fresco inside of it whereas the drink was unlike anything I had ever had before. Served hot, it was like drinking water down sweet grits, but tasted much better than that sounds. We all sat in a group and ate the breakfast hot off of the press.

Our next mission was to buy things for the week ahead. There was a terrible accident yesterday involving the husband and the son of the cook at the MAP center. Therefore, the duties of preparing food have been handed off to Luz Stella for the next few days. We roamed the market and helped her to find all kinds of fresh produce, meats, cheese, and dried goods. Our only non-food purchase was the toilet paper. The market was rather calm and well organized which made the entire experience much more pleasant for me.

Upon our return around noon we began preparing for the barbecue. We cooked a ton of food and I was in charge of the potato salad, which I made like a good southern girl and others pitched in where they could. We grilled out under a tree and the MAP family and the students all shared the meal we had prepared together. The whole undertaking took a few hours and it was four o’clock before everything was said and done but overall really pleasant and enjoyable.

After cleanup the Emory group attempted to head to the library to use the internet but to no avail. Thus, it will be a while longer before I can update the world. After swinging for a while on the school playground we returned to our house for a while before our meeting with Jose Miguel and Luz Stella, and here I am, writing, a bit tired, and ready to just relax for a while.

**I am still thinking a great deal about Franklin, and about the relationship that we have. I think we can do this really, and I am coming to realize more each day how wonderful it is to be around him. I love the man, I really do. I think it will be important for me to continue on my adventures and keep doing all of these things that I find important, and I have faith that it will all work out for us, just as it should.

June 5, 2011-Sunday

Today has been a rather calm and peaceful day thus far. Betsy and I started our day with a little yoga and sun salutations in our dining room before showering and going to make tea (mate de coca) that we took to the open chapel as we watched the sun come up behind the mountains. We sat very peacefully listening to the birds chirp and watching little animals playing in the tall grasses beyond where we sat.

We next went to the school and found that the internet was open for us and used that for a bit before going down to the festival at the school. It was used as a type of fundraiser for the school and the were probably around a hundred people there or more. The children put on some dances similar to the ones they had done on Friday and there were also traditional bands and singers providing entertainment while everyone ate at the different food stations set up by parents from the school. I had the opportunity to try the sopa de mani, or peanut soup. It was different than I had expected and contained a lot more cream and even noodles which surprised me. I sat at the tables under the tent at my station but admittedly didn’t talk much or try to meet new people and instead focused on the entertainment and took a few photos. After eating I roamed around a bit to take photos and then went to sit in the shade near the MAP folks and the Americans. I enjoyed the company of a few of the school children and then went to play with them on the playground and had fun swinging and playing house.

Since then I have just had a quiet and relaxing afternoon reading outside in the sunshine and enjoying a day of rest.

June 6, 2011

I am having a really interesting time. For the most part I am glad that I am living in such a peaceful place and that I get to see the mountains all the time but I think it might get a little boring so I will surely be in need of some traveling. Today was really interesting at my first day of work and we had a meeting all morning long to learn about the team based system that they have here but it also involved a lot of praying and singing hymns and stuff which was a little strange but most everyone had really important things to say and seem to have a really dedication to the work that they are doing and care so much about the people that they help. This afternoon we had a long presentation on how the organization thinks about children and about teaching versus facilitating in the process of learning. Most things I tended to agree with but it was very very heavily theological and there were some points of contention for me or things that I wasn't really convinced about and felt like I was being preached to a little bit. They talk about the ability of children to discover things for themselves and explore but it seems like their explorations are still supposed to lead them to Jesus so I have a lot of questions to ask. Jose Miguel and Luz Stella seem to be very open to questions though which is great. Anyway, things overall are going really well and I am sure that this is going to be a good learning experience.

June 7, 2011

Overall I would say that, today has been a pretty good day. Lunch was a little oily because we ate at the school but I told them I was a vegetarian so I didn't have to eat the sardines and I got a deep fried egg instead. I am thinking about being a vegetarian while I am here and maybe eating a little bit every now and then but it looks like it is going to be a lot of chicken feet and whatnot if we are eating with the kids in the school so it might be much more pleasant to pass and get extra vegetables and some beans or an egg.

The school is really sweet and they are apparently doing some pretty radical things for here but it seems a lot like the school that I worked at back home, especially when I was with the kindergarten kids using a lot of manipulatives and hands on materials, and teaching a lot about how to be healthy including healthy foods, healthy habits like brushing your teeth, and healthy behavior. It is a little bit strange to me at times that they are talking so much about diversity and being open to so many different people and allowing children to discover their own spirituality but they still say the lord's prayer at lunch. On a really positive note, the kids are so cute that I can hardly stand it. They are really sweet and friendly, they come up to give hugs, talk, and tell me all about what they are learning. I haven't done much with the higher grades yet but the younger ones are rocking my world and appear to be really smart and know a lot. Today I did some observations from age 1 until grade three and they were all super sweet. Some classrooms are MUCH cleaner than others but it more of less functions well. I also spent a couple of hours in a presentation today that didn't really tell me that much that I hadn't already been told by the director but it was interesting to see how everyone is saying the same things essentially.

I am not exactly sure how it came to be or how this information was created but in many ways it seems like they all supporting the same ideas, theories, and methodologies and it seems to be really positive and helpful.

Everyone seems really invested in the work that they are doing here and they seem to care tremendously about the children that they are working with and working for.

I spent the afternoon writing some commentaries about the work that they are doing here and some of the materials that they have shared with us this far and had us read. It was nice to be able to sit at my house and do my work and then go out to the open chapel and enjoying reading for a bit in the sun. I am having a nice little break now until I have my first Quechua lesson at 6:30. I hope all goes well.

Yesterday was really beautiful and interesting as well because I was at the center for the abused kids and we didn't really see kids much but we talked a lot with lawyers and coordinators about all of the work that they are doing. It was also great because I felt really really comfortable for one of the first times and I got to spend a while with some other employees of MAP. Cube is a lot closer to the city center so we went down to the plaza and I got to walk the streets, feed the birds, try some chicha, and experience a lot more. We walked through some of the very small market stalls in the area where they sell a lot of books and jewelry and handicrafts. I even saw a couple of places where they do nose piercings but they weren’t using the right kind of needle so I will have to keep looking and have to make sure I feel comfortable with it. I spoke so much more Spanish and I think a lot of that was because I felt so comfortable and was able to relax.

Across from the plaza de 14 de Septiembre is the big old catholic church of the conquest and we went in to visit and it actually made me miss St.David's. I spoke to Julia who was showing us around and I told her how different and how beautiful that little church is at home. I have never been anywhere quite like it and if I ever live in the area any time soon I think that will be my church. I explained what the services are like, the size of the church, and the sense of community that I feel there. I also tried to explain how simple, kind, and sharing everyone is. I think it is in many ways the same type of story that I tell to people in the United States that seems just as unusual to them, that you leave church and have to take some vegetables, flowers, or garlic from the bench that Chad has filled with stuff from his garden. I tell them about the homemade bread and the soups and dinners that are really made with love with food from people’s gardens at home. Of course the list goes on with Michael’s songs, recognizable voices when we are singing, the sense of calm and peace that is in there, etc. but I usually don’t have time to explain all of the little things but I think I get the message across. Maybe it serves more as a way to get the message across to myself. I think this is appropriate space and time to reflect some on spiritual and religious issues given the setting that I am in, it only seems appropriate.

Now, back to Cochabamba. I also had a great Indian/Bolivian vegetarian lunch buffet that was full of delicious vegetables. It was a really great day and I can't wait to go back to that area and see more. I hope that I get to do some more work with CUBE and to know that part of Cochabamba better. A ver.

Today was also a really wonderful day and I went to one of the more rural areas called Molinos that isn't actually far from here at all but you can see a major difference in the town and also in the school and in the children. We went with a nurse from the clinic to do a checkup that they do every few months to check from mal or undernutrition. Most had a really good weight today but some were pretty short and there is one that we think might have Kwashiorkor. I spent my morning weighing, measuring, and giving vitamins to little kids. I tried to talk to the mothers that brought their children with them but it was really difficult with some because they didn't speak castellano (Spanish), they only spoke Quechua. I am learning, but there is only so much that I can do. The nurse spoke a lot in Quechua and that made everything run smoothly.(See facebook for more information) :-)