parrots, monkeys and cows! oh my!

What is this? anchient artifacts? the work of bugs? a sand castle?
Add ideas in comments!!



10 interesting things about my new home in San Jose de Chiquitos (good and bad)

1. Along with their religion and church the Jesuits brought the violin to San Jose, and even now the kids are taught to play. I often hear beautiful music coming from the least expected building.
2. The countryside is full of parrots, monkeys, anteaters…
3. The siesta : that’s right 12:30- 3, you cannot do anything but eat and sleep.
4. Moto-taxis are one of the main forms of transportation. You can get anywhere in town for about 20 cents. (Peace Corps worldwide used to give out motos, but then realized they were the most dangerous part of volunteer life, so no moto use for me)
5. There are strong negative attitudes/ racism towards the Collas (people from Coch, La Paz, Altiplano…)
6. The number of meetings a small town can have.
7. Getting chicken to go means: chicken in a bag, rice in a bag, french fries in a bag, ketchup in a bag, mustard in a bag… all in a bag!
8. The general lack of teeth
9. There is a 10 year old boy who works in my house (10, is the legal age.)

I have now been in San Jose for more than 3 weeks. Overall things are going well, and I am adjusting to my new life here. I am constantly surprised by the differences and also the similarities between life in Bolivia and the United States. These past few weeks have been part of my integration process. Peace Corps is very different than many other “aid” organizations because we do not come with money. I am here as a human resource, and do not have set funding for a set project. I am here with ideas, motivation, time and skills to help the community. This however means that my project will be very different from others who can come in and build a new building, or start a new school in a couple of weeks. Peace Corps projects take time. This is often confusing for everyone. People in the community are used to having other volunteers come in with money. This past week, due to a rumor, my sitemate Jenny and I had people coming from all over the city, waiting on our porches for hours, just to ask us about a bathroom project in which we give them money to build bathrooms. As much as I would love to do this, the project does not exist! It’s also confusing for me at times, because I have the training and would be able to do so many wonderful things, starting right now, if only I had money. But, that is not the point of grassroots development, and not the point of Peace Corps.

For now, I am in the integration phase, I am doing my community diagnostic and meeting the people. I am becoming comfortable with my surroundings and the people that live her. Everyday more and more people recognize me and greet me with a “buen dia Ani!” on my morning run. My community diagnostic is my personal study of the town, through which I will be able to determine where I can really help, what the town needs, and how I can create a project that will be sustainable in the town even after I leave.

Besides missing all of you at home, I have been enjoying getting to know San Jose. I was lent a bike by one of the Marist brother, and have been exploring new areas everyday. I have a fun sitemate Jenny and it is really nice to have someone in a similar situation to hang out with! We have been spending time hiking and biking in the beautiful countryside, playing with the kids at the Aldea orphanage, exploring all of the different food tiendas, and of course going to meetings. Things that would be random at home, are the norm here, and I’ve noticed that I have started to get more used to it. For example, a couple of weeks ago I found a cows head and legs/feet in my backyard (in place of the cute puppies I was looking for). Later, Anita, the tienda lady thought it was funny to try and bring the head- tongue hanging out and all into my room! And I thought, wow, that would never happen in Brooklyn!

At the end of every month I will travel to Santa Cruz to do errands, take out money for the month, and see my friends from training and other groups. My first month is almost up, so I will be heading in next week. It feels good to have completed my first stage here!