Cochabamba has, over the past 3 weeks, slowly become a very dangerous city in which to live. While I am relatively safe at home, work, and on my way to and from, there are certain areas where I would not dare go. I am very wary of cars with open windows, and also of large groups of young people. That which I am wary of, that which is the source of the "danger," is water balloons. Fast approaching is Carnaval, a celebration in which there are parades and water fights. Carnaval takes place this coming Saturday in Oruro, and the following Saturday here in Cochabamba. In the weeks leading up to Carnaval, it is normal for water balloon fights to take place throughout the city. So, although Cochabamba hasn't really become dangerous, there are places here that you simply wouldn't go unless you were planning on getting soaked.
My feelings about Carnaval are however, a little mixed. While the idea of a city-wide water fight initially sounded intriguing, in it's application it seems to me to be a little less fun. First of all, many people who don't want to be involved, but just happen to be walking along the street, will still have balloons thrown at them. Also, most of the balloon-throwing culprits tend to be male, who like to throw the balloons as hard as they can, especially at girls and women (and even more especially of the caucasian variety). They apparently think it's funny to actually cause pain when the water balloons hit. Also, the baby washing has been canceled the next two weeks, for the safety of the volunteers (gringos are also considered wonderful targets). This is because, especially the two weekends of Carnaval, some people will freeze the water balloons, and then throw them at people. I may go to Oruro to see Carnaval this Saturday, since the parades are apparently the best there, but if I don't I definitely won't be going in to town this weekend, or next most likely for the matter. It's actually quite sad, since a few people going too far can ruin what could otherwise be a very fun celebration for everyone.
This past week, and weekend, were a lot of fun. I once again enjoyed my time at both homes. At Nasareth, someone who volunteered there before, John, has come back. We are both doing math with the oldest kids during homework time, and have also been taking them to a nearby canqua (soccer court), so that he can coach them in soccer. Some of them have been improving a lot, which has been good to see.
This weekend I also ate a lot of really good food. On Saturday, I went over to Allie's house and we made pizzas. The first pizza had spicy sausage, peppers, onion, mushrooms, and garlic, although it was so loaded with toppings that by the time you got it onto your plate it no longer resembled pizza, but it still tasted quite good. The second pizza was simpler, and turned out better. It was made with gingered chicken and mango, and tasted delicious. On Sunday, we had a potluck bbq for the people who attend the English service at Calama. It was a lot of fun. I bought some spices and stuff and mixed up some hamburgers, and also fried up some onions and mushrooms in a bit of bbq sauce to put on the burgers and/or steaks. We were eating for about 2 straight hours, mostly due to the fact that we had over 8 KILOS of meat for only 23 people! It was a lot of food, but we had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves. Allison, the lady from Scotland who hosts the Thursday night Bible study, had made shortbread, and it was wonderful! I might worry about eating so much in a single weekend, but with all the excercise I'm getting playing with kids all day, I'm not sure I could gain weight if I tried!
Wishing everyone in Canada a water-balloon free week. (After all, I'm sure it's a little too cold there right now to be having water fights).
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Wonderfully Made
It is once again the end of another week here in Cochabamba, and I am doing well. Ever since about 2 days after returning here, I have once again been stuck with a plugged nose and a cough. However, I currently don't think that I am sick, but rather that I must have allergies to something here, probably a plant since I first got "sick" back in November, a.k.a. spring time here. It certainly explains why neither general flu meds nor antibiotics were helping. Claudia, my doctor, agrees with me and should be giving me an alergy medicine on Thursday at Bible study for me to try.
Thursday morning, three of the boys at Nasareth left to go to other homes, and the two brothers moving home with their family should be doing so soon. It was sad to see them go, and I will miss them. I am however excited to meet the new boys who should be arriving soon, and hope that they adjust well to their new home. I'm also looking forward to CAT this week, as most of the kids who were home for Christmas/summer vacation are supposed to be coming back today. It was however, nice to spend a little bit more with each of the few kids who were still there. I even got to spend some time with the "babies," which I usually don't get to do, given competition for my attention from the other kids, who are able to follow me when I go somewhere. This week I got to know Maria, a wonderful little girl of four years. She loves to play with the others and be included, and despite the fact that she can't speak very well yet (she's maybe at a 2 year-old's level), seems to be really smart. She only arrived in December, and so she was new to me. One of the nurses explained that Maria's handicaps are only physical, legs that are always crossed and hands that don't work too great (they seem stiff). But she is already learning to speak better, and also gives good high fives. What really saddenned me was when the nurse told us that Maria's parents used to keep her in a cage. I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing, because it honestly sounded like something out of the Middle Ages. But the sad fact is that in some parts of Bolivia, especially out in the campo (country), their understanding of disabilities has a very long way to come, and so keeping a child with some form of disability in a cage out of shame isn't exactly strange. I don't know how much of Maria's problems are from birth, and how much is a result of being caged, but the thought of this beautiful little child with bright eyes a smile that warms your heart being locked up in a cage like some animal... In one moment I am terribly sad because of the unfairness of it, and the next I find myself thinking that it couldn't possibly be true. It seems too unreal, and yet, sadly for Maria, it is real.
I wonder if Maria's parents have ever read the words of King David in Psalm 139, ever thought about their daughter is this way...
"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body." (Psalm 139:13-16a)
I wonder if Maria's parents realized that, although their daughter does not have a perfect body, and although that in itself raises a big question of "Why?", that God created and cares immensely for Maria, and that the phrase "wonderfully made" applies just as much to her as it does to them, myself, or any and every other person on this planet. I wonder why her parents didn't understand that. I wonder why the world can't seem to either. If I'm to be fully honest, I wonder how much I really get it, not just in my head, but deep down inside. But what if we did?
Thursday morning, three of the boys at Nasareth left to go to other homes, and the two brothers moving home with their family should be doing so soon. It was sad to see them go, and I will miss them. I am however excited to meet the new boys who should be arriving soon, and hope that they adjust well to their new home. I'm also looking forward to CAT this week, as most of the kids who were home for Christmas/summer vacation are supposed to be coming back today. It was however, nice to spend a little bit more with each of the few kids who were still there. I even got to spend some time with the "babies," which I usually don't get to do, given competition for my attention from the other kids, who are able to follow me when I go somewhere. This week I got to know Maria, a wonderful little girl of four years. She loves to play with the others and be included, and despite the fact that she can't speak very well yet (she's maybe at a 2 year-old's level), seems to be really smart. She only arrived in December, and so she was new to me. One of the nurses explained that Maria's handicaps are only physical, legs that are always crossed and hands that don't work too great (they seem stiff). But she is already learning to speak better, and also gives good high fives. What really saddenned me was when the nurse told us that Maria's parents used to keep her in a cage. I almost couldn't believe what I was hearing, because it honestly sounded like something out of the Middle Ages. But the sad fact is that in some parts of Bolivia, especially out in the campo (country), their understanding of disabilities has a very long way to come, and so keeping a child with some form of disability in a cage out of shame isn't exactly strange. I don't know how much of Maria's problems are from birth, and how much is a result of being caged, but the thought of this beautiful little child with bright eyes a smile that warms your heart being locked up in a cage like some animal... In one moment I am terribly sad because of the unfairness of it, and the next I find myself thinking that it couldn't possibly be true. It seems too unreal, and yet, sadly for Maria, it is real.
I wonder if Maria's parents have ever read the words of King David in Psalm 139, ever thought about their daughter is this way...
"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body." (Psalm 139:13-16a)
I wonder if Maria's parents realized that, although their daughter does not have a perfect body, and although that in itself raises a big question of "Why?", that God created and cares immensely for Maria, and that the phrase "wonderfully made" applies just as much to her as it does to them, myself, or any and every other person on this planet. I wonder why her parents didn't understand that. I wonder why the world can't seem to either. If I'm to be fully honest, I wonder how much I really get it, not just in my head, but deep down inside. But what if we did?
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Santa Climbs Trees
I have survived my first week back volunteering at both CAT and Nasareth. It was really good to be back, and the kids were very happy to see me. However, after two weeks at home mostly resting, I found myself very tired at the end of each day. At CAT, most of the kids are currently spending their summer vacation with family, so there are only about 5 kids there right now (not counting the babies). At Nasareth, all of the kids are there, and they still have plenty of energy. I spent most of each afternoon, all week, playing soccer. I was also helping the Grade 3's, soon to be Grade 4's, with math homework. While they have little problems with straight math, they have much more difficulty with word problems, so this is what I spent a large portion of time doing with them. I think they are starting to get better, and Sister Cathy tells me that I am very good with them. This weekend, I wrote up some problems for them to do on Monday, focussing on what they have difficulty with.
At both homes, all the kids (and staff) absolutely loved the chocolate peppermint bark. One of the boys from Nasareth spent 10 minutes trying to convince me that I just had to sell it here, because he said I could make a lot of money. I still have another bag to take into CAT, but I'm waiting until there's a few more kids. I had also been given some money from a friend to buy Christmas presents for the kids at CAT, and so on Tuesday I got to play Santa Claus. With a small basketball net and ball, two sets of blocks, a Curious George who's supposed to blow bubbles when you squeeze his stomach (we're still working on getting him to work), and a new soccer ball, the kids were very happy. Tuesday, we played basketball for most of the morning, and Wednesday we played with the blocks. I helped Anna, a girl there who has down syndrome (I think) to build a block tower that was bigger than she is. Adrian and Sara then had fun throwing other blocks at the tower to knock it over. When it eventually crashed down, all three laughed very much. Anna and I rebuilt the tower, and the contruction-destruction process was repeated a few more times, at least until the kids, and the other volunteer, Izzy, decided that it was more fun to just throw the blocks at me. A block fight ensued, and the kids definitely won, mostly due to my desire to not actually hit them. They, however, did not share my reservations, and so they actually got several very good shots in on me. Anna especially, who with excellent aim managed to hit me in the face more than a few times, usually to the congratulatory laughter of the others.
On Friday, we took the kids from CAT, and two of the babies, for a walk to the park. When we got there, I decided that it would be a good idea to do some tree climbing. Although only two of the kids could actually do it (and by do it I mean be passed up to either myself or Izzy and sit on our laps up in the tree), I think it was very good for them, and the other kids still had fun waving to them up in the tree and saying hi. When I first passed Adrian (a 4 year-old boy who walks a little funny, can't use his left hand very well, and hasn't been visited since the weekend after being dropped off in September) up to Izzy, he just started laughing out of happiness, and he had an absolutely huge smile on his face. Izzy had to keep an eye on him though, since although he was very happy, he didn't seem to have any realization for how high up he was and thus moved around a bit trying to explore the tree and grab at the leaves. Jhonny on the other hand had to be reassured a few times that he was perfectly safe and that I would not let him fall, but also enjoyed being up in the tree a lot.
At Nasareth, I will have to say goodbye to a few kids. Some of them are moving on to the next home, and two brothers are returning home to live with their parents again. It is sad to see them going, especially since I didn't have a chance to know them for very long. They are being replaced by new boys, one of whom already arrived on Thursday. He was the younger brother of a boy who already lived there, Juan-Daniel, and it was really cool to see Daniel looking after his younger brother. He spent most of the afternoon taking him around, by hand, and showing him how everything was done. It was really cute, but also neat to see him take responsibility for his brother when he would usually be playing.
Sadly, I didn't get to spend much time at Nasareth on Friday afternoon. After lunch, one of the other volunteers, Vicky, told me that there was going to be a march downtown at 5 that day. Since I had to get to la Canqua, on the other side of the downtown, to pick up my suit for the wedding this Saturday, she suggested that I go as early as possible to avoid any problems. So I left early, picked up my suit, and made my way home. The march ended up being a kind of memmorial for those who died in the rioting here last January and nothing bad happened, but it is always better to play it safe.
Boris and Claudia's wedding on Saturday was very beautifull, and they both looked incredibly happy. It was cool to go to a Bolivian wedding, although many parts were very similar to North American ones. If I get permission from them, I may post a few of the pictures next week.
The funniest moment of the week was when Boris mentioned at Bible study on Thursday that he hadn't had a bachelor's party, so we decided to improv one. Ludwe and I made him a newspaper toga, complete with a olive-leaf crown, and Allison (a Scottish lady who is hosting the studies again now that she's back) loaned us some of her makeup, which we used to give Boris a moustache, goatee, and heart tatooe on his arm, with the name Claudia in the middle of the heart. We also wanted to draw a kiss mark on his cheek, but Allison saved us the drawing process by applying the lipstick and kissing him on the cheek, thus giving the desired effect. Boris was a good sport about it, and seemed to have a good time. He said he was glad that he got to have his bachelor's party with us, and we have a funny picture to prove it.
Wishing everyone back home a good week.
At both homes, all the kids (and staff) absolutely loved the chocolate peppermint bark. One of the boys from Nasareth spent 10 minutes trying to convince me that I just had to sell it here, because he said I could make a lot of money. I still have another bag to take into CAT, but I'm waiting until there's a few more kids. I had also been given some money from a friend to buy Christmas presents for the kids at CAT, and so on Tuesday I got to play Santa Claus. With a small basketball net and ball, two sets of blocks, a Curious George who's supposed to blow bubbles when you squeeze his stomach (we're still working on getting him to work), and a new soccer ball, the kids were very happy. Tuesday, we played basketball for most of the morning, and Wednesday we played with the blocks. I helped Anna, a girl there who has down syndrome (I think) to build a block tower that was bigger than she is. Adrian and Sara then had fun throwing other blocks at the tower to knock it over. When it eventually crashed down, all three laughed very much. Anna and I rebuilt the tower, and the contruction-destruction process was repeated a few more times, at least until the kids, and the other volunteer, Izzy, decided that it was more fun to just throw the blocks at me. A block fight ensued, and the kids definitely won, mostly due to my desire to not actually hit them. They, however, did not share my reservations, and so they actually got several very good shots in on me. Anna especially, who with excellent aim managed to hit me in the face more than a few times, usually to the congratulatory laughter of the others.
On Friday, we took the kids from CAT, and two of the babies, for a walk to the park. When we got there, I decided that it would be a good idea to do some tree climbing. Although only two of the kids could actually do it (and by do it I mean be passed up to either myself or Izzy and sit on our laps up in the tree), I think it was very good for them, and the other kids still had fun waving to them up in the tree and saying hi. When I first passed Adrian (a 4 year-old boy who walks a little funny, can't use his left hand very well, and hasn't been visited since the weekend after being dropped off in September) up to Izzy, he just started laughing out of happiness, and he had an absolutely huge smile on his face. Izzy had to keep an eye on him though, since although he was very happy, he didn't seem to have any realization for how high up he was and thus moved around a bit trying to explore the tree and grab at the leaves. Jhonny on the other hand had to be reassured a few times that he was perfectly safe and that I would not let him fall, but also enjoyed being up in the tree a lot.
At Nasareth, I will have to say goodbye to a few kids. Some of them are moving on to the next home, and two brothers are returning home to live with their parents again. It is sad to see them going, especially since I didn't have a chance to know them for very long. They are being replaced by new boys, one of whom already arrived on Thursday. He was the younger brother of a boy who already lived there, Juan-Daniel, and it was really cool to see Daniel looking after his younger brother. He spent most of the afternoon taking him around, by hand, and showing him how everything was done. It was really cute, but also neat to see him take responsibility for his brother when he would usually be playing.
Sadly, I didn't get to spend much time at Nasareth on Friday afternoon. After lunch, one of the other volunteers, Vicky, told me that there was going to be a march downtown at 5 that day. Since I had to get to la Canqua, on the other side of the downtown, to pick up my suit for the wedding this Saturday, she suggested that I go as early as possible to avoid any problems. So I left early, picked up my suit, and made my way home. The march ended up being a kind of memmorial for those who died in the rioting here last January and nothing bad happened, but it is always better to play it safe.
Boris and Claudia's wedding on Saturday was very beautifull, and they both looked incredibly happy. It was cool to go to a Bolivian wedding, although many parts were very similar to North American ones. If I get permission from them, I may post a few of the pictures next week.
The funniest moment of the week was when Boris mentioned at Bible study on Thursday that he hadn't had a bachelor's party, so we decided to improv one. Ludwe and I made him a newspaper toga, complete with a olive-leaf crown, and Allison (a Scottish lady who is hosting the studies again now that she's back) loaned us some of her makeup, which we used to give Boris a moustache, goatee, and heart tatooe on his arm, with the name Claudia in the middle of the heart. We also wanted to draw a kiss mark on his cheek, but Allison saved us the drawing process by applying the lipstick and kissing him on the cheek, thus giving the desired effect. Boris was a good sport about it, and seemed to have a good time. He said he was glad that he got to have his bachelor's party with us, and we have a funny picture to prove it.
Wishing everyone back home a good week.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
The Art of Bribery
After spending 2 weeks at home in Canada for Christmas, a fair bit of time flying and even more time spent in airports, I am now back in Cochabamba. My time at home was great, I was really glad to be able to spend time with my family, and see a few friends while home. I also spent a lot of time just relaxing, and it was good to rest up for a bit. The only not so great thing to my time home was when my stomach had to readjust to Canadian food (which seemed to me quite odd). Since the symptoms I was experiencing could have indicated amoebas or paresites, I decided that I had best find out ASAP if that was the case, since they only get worse the longer they go untreated. So, given that it was 8pm on a Saturday, the only place I could go was the hospital. At 5am the following Sunday morning, I was discharged after the blood test had revealed nothing abnormal, and was told that I was most likely just readjusting to Canadian food. Although I was happy to not have amoebas, I was also a little unhappy at having had to wait until 5 in the morning to find that out. When I got home, I finished off the corned beef sandwich (yum!) I had been unable to eat for dinner, and went to bed. After my stomach was done readjusting (about 1 day later), I was able to resume enjoying the different foods I had missed while down here.
I really did enjoy my time at home, hanging out with family, catching up with friends, resting, going to Calvary and Elevation. It was really nice, and a little sad to say goodbye again, but I was also looking forward to returning to Coch.
I arrived back in Cochabamba on Thursday night, and I am happy to be returning to CAT and Casa Nasareth tomorrow. Since I had bribed the kids from Nasareth with candy, I spent yesterday afternoon at my friend Allie's house, making a ton of chocolate peppermint bark. And when I say a ton, I actually only mean about 11 or 12 pounds worth, but that is still a lot of peppermint bark. (Funny thing is, I still have about 5 pounds left to make). I also gave some to my Bolivian family here, and will be giving some to the kids at CAT. For the use of her kicthen and her assistence, I bribed Allie—yes, I know, I'm becomming a crook with all this bribery—with some really good mac & cheese that I brought down from Canada. Despite the boxes sort of exploding inside the suitcase, I was able to recover enough noodles for us to have a proper sized lunch from them, though I will have to buy some pasta in order to use the other package of cheese sauce. Allie, who has been here since May I believe, was very happy to eat something from North America, and enjoyed it a lot.
On Friday, I also did some shopping down at La Canqua. I purchased a large towel and some string, which, after the string was made into loops that were sewn into the corners of the towel, were hung from the 3M hooks I had placed on the door to the balcony that is in my room. Now, the towel, apart from adding a nice blue leaf-print touch to the decor, also blocks the sunlight that shines into my room and face in the mornings! Whereas before I would wake up nearly every morning around 6:30, and be unable to sleep any later than 9, I can now have uninterupted sleep until whenever I need it! Or at least until my alarm goes off. I also ordered a suit and jacket, to be picked up this coming Friday, and purchased a pair of dress shoes. This is because on Saturday I am going to be attending a wedding. Boris and Claudia, two Bolivian friends of mine from the Thursday night Bible study, will be getting married. I am very excited for the two of them, and I am also looking forward to attending a Bolivian wedding. It will also be nice since Julio and Mariela, also from the Bible study, got married the Saturday after I left Cochabamba, so I was unable to attend their wedding.
I have also finally finished uploading all of my pictures from my trip up the mountain when I went back in December with Kim, James and Julie. If you're interested in checking them out, just go to my Picassa (http://picasaweb.google.com/dprcooke), or click on the Slideshow (now showing those pictures) on the left side of the page, and that should take you there.
That's all for this week. Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to 2008!
I really did enjoy my time at home, hanging out with family, catching up with friends, resting, going to Calvary and Elevation. It was really nice, and a little sad to say goodbye again, but I was also looking forward to returning to Coch.
I arrived back in Cochabamba on Thursday night, and I am happy to be returning to CAT and Casa Nasareth tomorrow. Since I had bribed the kids from Nasareth with candy, I spent yesterday afternoon at my friend Allie's house, making a ton of chocolate peppermint bark. And when I say a ton, I actually only mean about 11 or 12 pounds worth, but that is still a lot of peppermint bark. (Funny thing is, I still have about 5 pounds left to make). I also gave some to my Bolivian family here, and will be giving some to the kids at CAT. For the use of her kicthen and her assistence, I bribed Allie—yes, I know, I'm becomming a crook with all this bribery—with some really good mac & cheese that I brought down from Canada. Despite the boxes sort of exploding inside the suitcase, I was able to recover enough noodles for us to have a proper sized lunch from them, though I will have to buy some pasta in order to use the other package of cheese sauce. Allie, who has been here since May I believe, was very happy to eat something from North America, and enjoyed it a lot.
On Friday, I also did some shopping down at La Canqua. I purchased a large towel and some string, which, after the string was made into loops that were sewn into the corners of the towel, were hung from the 3M hooks I had placed on the door to the balcony that is in my room. Now, the towel, apart from adding a nice blue leaf-print touch to the decor, also blocks the sunlight that shines into my room and face in the mornings! Whereas before I would wake up nearly every morning around 6:30, and be unable to sleep any later than 9, I can now have uninterupted sleep until whenever I need it! Or at least until my alarm goes off. I also ordered a suit and jacket, to be picked up this coming Friday, and purchased a pair of dress shoes. This is because on Saturday I am going to be attending a wedding. Boris and Claudia, two Bolivian friends of mine from the Thursday night Bible study, will be getting married. I am very excited for the two of them, and I am also looking forward to attending a Bolivian wedding. It will also be nice since Julio and Mariela, also from the Bible study, got married the Saturday after I left Cochabamba, so I was unable to attend their wedding.
I have also finally finished uploading all of my pictures from my trip up the mountain when I went back in December with Kim, James and Julie. If you're interested in checking them out, just go to my Picassa (http://picasaweb.google.com/dprcooke), or click on the Slideshow (now showing those pictures) on the left side of the page, and that should take you there.
That's all for this week. Hope everyone is having a wonderful start to 2008!
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