We spent the first weekend catching up and exploring Santa Cruz City. They got to experience the strange mix of intense poverty and little patches of glittering new money establishments around the city. The days were random, moving from gritty, dirty markets where people tried to sell us dogs out of bags, areas full of fruit, then bread, then meat, then chicken legs, pigs feet… to later the same day we found ourselves enjoying a fancy café with all of the traditional “camba” accompaniments- canapés, sonsos, pan de arroz (basically all different forms of yucca- cheese bread.
After the city we headed out on “the death train”. 7 bumpy hours later we arrived. I was happy that we all survived the trip. We were greeted by the kids selling tea, meat on a stick and empanadas- a foreign sight for them, but a familiar one for me. Having my parents in San José was great because they got to see how many people I know and we got to really enjoy the natural beauty outside the city. It was also on little hard for me to have them in San José because it was a struggle for myself to be there because of my frustrations and bitterness. Getting back to San José I once again felt the negative feeling of wanting to work but not being supported or used as a resource by the community. These negative feelings were really weighing down on me, and I hope that they did not carry out too much on our trip.
The moment we left to do a “Jesuit Mission Circuit” trip I felt more relaxed and was really able to enjoy my parents company. I really realized how lucky I was to have with them. We hit the road with our driver, to conocer (get to know) the pueblos of San Miguel, San Rafael, San Ignacio, Concepcion and Santa Ana. San Miguel and San Rafael were quaint towns with unique mission churches. I found them to be cute compared to San José, and cleaner as well. The stop in Conce was great because we saw a lot of Peace Corps friends and got to stay in a little condo on a lake. San Ignacio was the best of all, we stayed in a fancy hotel, and really enjoyed walking around the clean streets. Our trip along the “mission Circuit” coincided with “The Baroque Music Festival”, an international festival that occurs every 2 years, bringing musicians from around the globe. We were lucky enough to see quite a few amazing concerts both of local and international artists. When Spain conquered parts of the Chiqitania they brought with them their music traditions, for this reason there is a great history of Baroque and chamber music in this area. Driving around the Chiquitania in our big white pickup was an experience I will never forget.
At the end of the trip we had a little more time in San José. We got to visit some of the local schools that I work with. One great day was doing a hand-washing project with a kindergarten class. The kids were so excited to meet my parents and sang us each a song- saying nice to meet you! I did the hand washing presentation, and then the kids practiced using a “Tippy Top” we had given to them. Afterwards they had to have their hands checked by Mama and Papa to make sure they were clean enough- too cute! Another great thing about our time in San José was that we all had bikes- and did some great bike rides. I had found 2 pretty nice but out of use bikes in a storage room in my house, I got them fixed up by my favorite bike guy- who also became Papa’s friend! One day Papa and I rode to the top of The Mirador- our mesa/mountain. This was something that I had always wanted to do, but didn’t think I could. We broke physical and mental barriers that day.
One of the best things about having my parents here was seeing how much the people that I know in San José and even in other places we visited went out of the their way to make their trip special. People were really honored that they had come all the way to visit their country. I was so proud and happy to have my parents meet my Bolivian friends.
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