Anna´s Bolivian Journal

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:46:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Evacuation- a long, sad story

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Just in case you haven’t heard - Peace Corps Bolivia is indefinitely suspended… My service is over. I am currently back in New York, safe and sound, but truly confused and sad to the core. It is like I have been in a time warp for the past month because I feel like I just left Bolivia yesterday; in reality it has been more than an entire month. I apologize for not writing an update sooner.

What happened?

Well as you probably know Bolivia has always been a pretty unstable country, especially throughout my service. As you may have read in the news or in some of my previous blogs, in the past couple years the countries first indigenous president Evo Morales and his supporters have been in increasing conflicts and clashes with the wealthier Eastern side of the country. Although throughout my service we were constantly on alert status with 8 Emergency Action Plans and 2 consolidations in 2008 alone, most of us lived on a day-to-day basis as if this was normal. I have recently discovered that most Returned Peace Corps Volunteers do not even know what an Emergency Action Plan is. Many volunteers in Bolivia talked frequently about the possibility of us getting kicked out, but I never seriously thought it would happen and was never nervous about it until late July/early September 2008.

Throughout the (Bolivian) “winter” I began to notice tensions rising in Bolivia to a level that I hadn’t seen before. I was getting text messages about roadblocks and strikes in different areas of the country from our security advisor every morning, followed by updated emails in the afternoons. This was starting to seem like a bit much. Watching the news with my host family in the first week of September I was surprised to see uprisings in places that had been calm in the past. The day I got really nervous was when I saw images of people throwing tear gas in the plaza of Santa Cruz (my regional city). Next gangs of young crucenos were taking over all the colla (indigenous Evo supporters) businesses and offices. The building takeovers were violent, with young men breaking down doors and windows with wooden and metal planks, the workers were evicted by force, often with violent attacks and yelling. Don’t get me wrong; I had seen this on the news before, but not in Santa Cruz, my tranquillo region of the country.

Things just didn’t seem right. That week our train and all other transportation was shut down. We started to run out of fruit and vegetables and we did run out of gas (for cooking) I talked to the people in my community, where things were calm except for the more or less peaceful takeover of a couple of colla organizations and a multitude of noise makers that sounded like guns. Most of the San José community seemed worried, but not as much as they had been in previous uprisings. I was more concerned than ever.

September 11, 2008
This is the day I knew things were really bad. I was out for my morning run, when I ran into my site mate Jenny and our dog Pelusa. I stopped for a minute to chat. Jenny asked if I had seen the text message from the morning. I had not, she pulled out her phone and we read it together “FYI The US Ambassador has been declared a “persona non grata” and is being kicked out of the country”. This was the message from our country director, Kathleen. My heart began to beat faster and anxiety settled in. I think I knew this was the beginning of the end.

I went home to watch the news with my family, who agreed this wasn’t looking good, but seeing as they were much calmer than I expected, I too was temporarily calmed. I learned that the embassy was not kicked out, just the ambassador Phillip Goldberg. President Evo had declared Goldberg a persona non grata, saying that against the president’s wishes he had been meeting with the opposing parties to the government. Evo argued that Goldberg was helping the opposition gain strength in their fight for Autonomy. Evo declared that he did not like Goldberg as a person, but was not kicking out the US embassy so if we could send another ambassador that would be fine. Well it turned out that was not fine with the US government, who by later that night had in turn kicked out the Bolivian ambassador, thus breaking ties with the Bolivian governing party. That same day, Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan president and Evo ally had followed suit and also asked their US ambassador to leave, the US proceeded to kick out the Venezuelan ambassador out as well.

Ugh… I went on and had a more or less normal day. That evening around 7 at night I got yet another text (out of office hours) that we were moving to Consolidation phase. We were to pack up our things are prepare to leave our communities. Nervously I went to meet up with Jenny, we went to Dona Rosita’s to hang out and try not to think too much about the possibilities of the next couple days. Eating pizza, drinking wine, and talking with good friends we were able to push the thoughts out of our head until we heard further information.

September 12, 2008- my last day in my community- and I didn’t know it.

Looking back I realize that I had a wonderful last day in my community. It was Patty (Deisy’s daughter) birthday and we had a celebratory family breakfast- something out of the ordinary- but so much fun. Afterward I quickly headed to one of my schools for the results of an overnight plastics competition. I was happy, taking pictures and talking to the kids about plastics and their great work. I then headed to the Alcaldia, where I met with a few of my key partners and let them know I would be leaving for an uncertain amount of time. During the course of the day there was much confusing about the consolidation- how and where we had to go and for how long? I realize that at this point Peace Corps Bolivia probably knew that we were leaving but in order to get us out of our sites they de-dramatized the situation, saying that we just all needed to be together to see how things played out. I spent the rest of the day talking to my family and friends, playing with Brooklyn and trying to get my things ready for consolidation. I think I knew that we were leaving, but because things were uncertain, I decided to try and be positive and convinced myself that I would most likely be back in a week or two. I have to note that at this point the mental stress of the situation was really setting in and making me wonder if it was best for Peace Corps to be in Bolivia or not…

We had a nice night at Sabor y Arte with friends and family, together again for Patty’s birthday. At the end of the night I gave everyone big hugs and said “see you soon”.

September 13, 2008.

7:30 I woke up and had a nice breakfast with Deisy and Negro. Although we were unsure of the outcome of the consolidation we were all trying to be positive. I took only a small bag with clothes for about a week and left my room with my most important belongings set aside and my Peace Corps property in a box. I left wondering if I would ever be back. Deisy gave me a red rose wrapped in tin foil and Anita gave me the first 2 mangoes of the season. I gave Anita and Prof. Negro big hugs- repeating as I had been the previous days- I’ll see you soon. I gave Brooklyn a kiss on the head and quickly got into Deisy’s car to not think about leaving him. Driving to the airport I got a call from Patty and Tomas saying they had seen the airplane land and wishing me luck. Hermano Melchor called Jenny and I about 5 times that day to check on us at every stage of our trip.

The Departure

10:00 We took off in a tiny plane and flew to Santa Cruz. The plane ride cost $800- pretty expensive for a organization in such debt. Flying away from San José I was anxious and nervous, thinking both about the unexpected course things can take and also the fragility of life itself. Once we got to Santa Cruz our driver Jorge was waiting for us and quickly ushered us through the small airport and drove us to the bigger one, where we boarded another plane and flew to Cochabamba. Arriving in Santa Cruz another staff member was waiting for us and quickly drove us to the hotel where half of the volunteers were waiting together. It was great to see other people and we all tried to distract each other.

3:00 We had a meeting with the country director in which she told us that we would be waiting to see what happened in the next days. She warned us of possible retaliations that might make it necessary for us to change locations. We were told that this probably wouldn’t happen until Monday, and that we had to be ready the next morning to move our stuff into a bigger hotel with all of the rest of the volunteers.

The night of September 13th was the worst in the history of my life. None of the already sleep deprived volunteers were sleeping in Cochabamba. And then I got a call that my boyfriend’s family had just experienced the most terrible tragedy. I spent the whole night crying and praying in bed with my good friend Jamel and woke the next morning to find the world had changed even more than we thought.

September 14, 2008

7:00 We woke up and loaded our bags into the front of the hotel and headed to the morning meeting with the director. I noticed as she came into the room that she would not start until everyone was present, and the medical officer came in with a huge box. With a quivering voice Kathleen told us that in fact we were not going to be moving to another hotel but we were headed for the airport right away. We would be traveling to Lima, Peru immediately. Tears welled up in eyes all around me, including Kathleen’s. She warned us that our security was in danger and that we were not to tell anyone, including our families or even the other Peace Corps Volunteers where we were headed. I went outside and broke down in tears…tears of sadness, relief and uncertainty. This was it, I knew it. I also knew that I needed to be home with Chris and for some reason I was being taken out of the country, at a time when I would not have been able to get out of Bolivia on my own.

8:00am Because of all of the uprisings around the country, there had not been any international flights for about a week , so on our way to the airport we wondered what we would meet. The airport felt deserted, there were few others there besides us. People were trying to take pictures, but most of us couldn’t stop crying. I exchanged the thousands of Bolivianos that I had with me for a couple hundred dollars, knowing that I might need that in order to get home. I talked persistently with all of the staff, urging them that I needed to get home. I felt bad because their hands were full with the whole situation, but I needed to leave South America.

10:00am We boarded a huge military plane and strapped ourselves in. I was so happy to see my good friend Josh and sat next to him and Jamel the whole long bumpy ride. The flight was full of long, sad faces and not much talking. When we arrived in Lima the US embassy staff there greeted us compassionately. They kissed us all on the cheek and shook our hands. They really made us feel welcome and as if maybe everything was going to be okay. After hearing my situation, one of the embassy officials offered to help me arrange how to get home and even took me back to his house for dinner before my flight. I was amazed by their warmth and care for all of us.

1:00pm I said my distracted goodbyes to the volunteers around amidst the confusion and I headed off for the officials house, meanwhile the rest of the volunteers boarded onto 2 buses heading for a hotel in Lima.

11:50pm I boarded a plane headed for New York JFK

September 15

8:00 am I was back in NY with Chris.

So that’s the story… it’s long and sad. I have been trying to make some sense of the strange and sudden changes in my life, but I really cannot. I am happy that I do feel a sense of accomplishment from my service. I am so happy that things came together with my plastics project in the end, and that I was able to make so many amazing relationships in my community. It is the people that I think of and miss the most… the simple things, a shared cafesito and cunape, lunch with my family, chatting with Anita in the tienda, teaching English in the high school, my Spanish lessons with Hermano Melchor, my runs in the jungle/desert, visiting my neighborhood friends. The past year and a half of my life has changed me in such a good way. I have learned so much and am so incredibly grateful for my experience. They always say in Peace Corps you never know what a day can bring… and that sure is the truth. This was “the hardest job I’ll ever love” and a life that I will carry with me always.

My kids

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Teaching high school English to the segundo medios (equivalent to our sophmores) changed my service. Below are the pictures of the kids who brightened my days, made me laugh and taught me how to be a good teacher. I went into teaching at the Marista school primarily to help out my Spanish tutor and friend Hermano Melchor, but I found that I loved teaching and learned so much from the experience.

Not having prior teaching experience everything I did in class was somewhat of an experiment, but overall things went very well. Most of my teaching style came from my own experience at a charter elementary school. I found myself remembering exercises and ways that my elementary teachers engaged us to make learning fun. I started every class with a listening exercise, in which I talked about something while the kids looked at me with wide, open eyes like I was an alien. I asked them to try and write down words that they recognized when I spoke. The short speech was usually followed by laughter and confusion... but as the classes went on the kids always increased the number of words understood. We played games with vocab such as charades, bingo and word races. Another favorite activity was also from ANLC, a "morning message"- a mixed up message with mispelled words for them to correct. Truthfully I don't know who learned more from my English classes, my kids or myself... but I know that we all benefited from the experience and had fun while doing it.

Take a look at my kids... you may find that you have a namesake!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:16:00 +0000

THE INVITATION

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:42:00 +0000

To all of you my friends and family reading this, this is your official invitation to come visit. I have realized that although I have gotten used to most things being here for so long and I don’t miss things too much anymore, missing all of you has never gotten better or easier. I guess some days are harder than others, but all in all I hate being so far away from those I love most, and would love to see some of you before my time here is done. In the words of a great speechwriter, “Now is the time”. I have now been in Bolivia for 17 months, and have approximately 10 months to go. That means sometime next July I will be done and heading home. So now is the time for you to come visit me and explore this beautiful and crazy country for yourself, now is the time to see what it is like to be in Peace Corps. Come live the life, come help me teach English, and stomp on plastics… it’s really fun. I promise to provide a great bed, delicious breakfasts, lunch and dinner and teatime is included in the no fee rate. My town offers the only stone Jesuit mission church in Bolivia, great broasted chicken, 2+ hour siestas, wonderful sunsets, endless Spanish lessons, siestas, friendly people who are sure to tell you they love you (their English is a little limited), mountain hikes and bike rides. Seriously, I would love some visitors; you are all invited, think about it… The tickets are a little expensive, but after that you can pretty much live for free… Plus once you are here, you could check out some of the rest of South America, it’s not so bad either. I’m telling you, it’s the chance of a lifetime, take it!

More Pics!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:26:00 +0000

Cusco

The poor cuy! Check out his little top teeth and big bottom one, plus claws.. yuck!

More Machuuu

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:36:00 +0000

a llamita

ceviche... a traditional food in lima- yumm!

Miraflores

The All Volunteer Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:36:00 +0000

So I left you on the edge of your seat right? Were you waiting to see how the plastics project went after the first couple of weeks? And then nothing… I left you again… Well not only did I have to leave you waiting and wondering about all of the plastics not being burned in San José, but I also had to leave waiting and wondering about what was going on in San José to go to an “All Volunteer Conference”. I was not looking forward to the more than weeklong meeting; it wasn’t great timing with my big project just starting. But this was not an optional meeting, so off I went to Santa Cruz. We were put up in a resort outside of the city and held there for about a week. I have to admit the meeting went way better than anticipated. I got to see all my B45 friends (minus Hannah and Brandon, and Jamel who happened to be vacationing), got to meet our new Country Director who comes to us from her last post in Georgia (the country) and before that the International Banking Sector, we got to play with trash in typical basic san fashion, I went on morning runs with the “cross country team” and even got to fit in some nice swims and lots of good friend time. It was a good break from normal life, and a unique experience to be together as a whole country.

During our meeting we reflected on Peace Corps Bolivia. We are now missing 2 groups, thus down about 60 volunteers. When the last 2 groups were set to come in, there happened to be some political craziness going on, forcing the groups to be canceled. And as it goes in Peace Corps, ever few months a group leaves… so we have had the groups going out, but not coming in. This has greatly affected the projects, the placement of volunteers and the financial stability of Peace Corps Bolivia. Not to mention, that it is getting a little lonely feeling. In my area of the Chiquitania those of us that take the death train out of Santa Cruz are quickly diminishing. For the last year we had a pretty sturdy group of Abe and Mathias in Robore, Josh in Santiago, then joined by Chris, and then later his girlfriend Kate, and then there is me and Jenny is San José. Well now, Abe and Josh are done and gone… Abe backpacking up towards the United States with his awesome Bolivian wife Carla, thankfully Josh didn’t make it as far and is going to be a volunteer leader in another region in Bolivia for the next year. Chris, Kate and Jenny are done this month… leaving me and Mathias… and that’s it.

Another big thing to mention is how much Peace Corps has been affected by the “economic crisis”. As volunteers in foreign countries our salaries are paid in local currency, the fall of the dollar has caused a deficit. As I read in my Newsweeks- which now have been canceled also due to the same problem, that alongside the “Economic crisis”, we have the “Food Crisis” and the “Gas Crisis” all these crisis’s add up to a humongous shortfall in our poor little Peace Corps Bolivia budget. It has been sad to see the changes that have to be made our programs, the letting go of staff, and the closing of our training center… Thankfully our director is a former banker and definitely knows how to take care of this kind of thing in the best way possible. We even got a little raise, to account for the rise in cost of evvvverything.

As much as the political situation in Bolivia continues to be unstable, both with relations within the country and also their not so affable relationship with the US, Peace Corps Bolivia continues to be optimistic about our status here. Just to give a little update on the situation:

The area where I live- Santa Cruz, continues to be extremely anti-Evo, who is their President, who happens to be the first Indigienous President here. Santa Cruz along with other areas of what is called the Media Luna have continued fighting for more independence from the government, they want to be Autonomous from the central government mostly in economic terms. They argue that although the majority of the money is made in Santa Cruz, a large percentage of it is unequally distributed across the country, where people do not have as much money. Santa Cruz and the other regions want their autonomia to distribute their gains on a more equal basis and promise to still spread the wealth across the nation, just in what they consider a more just manner. The people in this region “the Cambas” are also typically very prejudice against people from the more northern regions “the Collas”. Typically the Cambas are whiter looking, and the Collas more indigenous looking… It is truly heartbreaking to hear such blatant racism day in and day out. Recently, during our All Volunteer meeting there was an important vote throughout the country to decide whether Evo would continue as president. He won the election, and things went surprisingly smoothly considering the division in the country. As there are calls for reforms in the Constitution and for New Constitutions the future is uncertain. In terms of relations with the United States, things again, as always are not so clear. USAID has been kicked out of several areas of the country, there have been questions about what Peace Corps really does, and our Ambassador has been called a liar among other adversities. Overall, there continues as always to be unrest, road blockades and strikes but this is the norm and I wouldn’t expect any less from Bolivia.

Peru

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 09:39:00 +0000

After the All Volunteer meeting, I headed right for Peru; it was time for a little vacation from Bolivia. I met up with Chris for one of the best trips ever. We had an amazing time exploring the beautiful country together. We probably would have been happy anywhere… but Peru was truly wonderful. With flights that landed just about an hour apart we met up in the airport in Lima. It was a wonderful reunion and as being away from Chris is the hardest thing for me, some tears of joy were shed. The next day we took off for Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Incan Empire. Cuzco is a beautiful city, nestled in a valley of the Andes. It has a good mix of tourism and tranquility, just what we were looking for. The combination of the high altitude and the dry climate left us feeling a little weird… out of breath, weird stomachs, shriveled fingers, a little dizziness. Thankfully we soon got used to it and probably would have stopped huffing and puffing if we didn’t chose a hostel at the top of the mountain… but it had the best view at the best price so we had no choice, we loved it. We spent a week in Cuzco exploring the nearby ruins, enjoying the city, trying new food and relaxing together (Chris was a big fan of the guinea pig and alpaca- he even got an “big pac” burger). We made sure that we weren’t running around the whole time and got in lots of card playing and siestas. A great vacation! We then traveled to Machu Pichu. The most visited tourist site in South America… and yes there were tourists, but it was so truly amazing that we weren’t bothered. To get to Machu Pichu you have to take a 4.5-hour train from Cuzco to Aguas Calientes (which is the town below Machu Pichu). Aguas Calientes is a weird town that hasn’t quite found itself but still serves its purpose. We spent a rather short night in Aguas Calientes (due to construction that went on till 12pm and overly excited tourists breakfasting at 4am) and headed up to Machu Pichu early the next morning. Taking the easy way up (the bus) we were still amazed by the difference in climate and landscape from Cuzco. The Machu Pichu area is much more tropical and humid, the actual site of Machu Pichu is located in a cloud forest, making the view even more magical.
At first glace Machu Pichu is simply breathtaking, it is so beautiful and mysterious that you have to question if it is real. We had an interesting tour of the site, in which we learned a lot and really became even more enthralled with the Incan history. I was surprised to learn that they were very knowledgeable about earthquakes and their patterns, and had built earthquake proof structures. They studied the constellations and the changing of the seasons through the stars. They had a great water system at the top of this mountain- that still worked! Their postal service to Cuzco took the Incans 5 hours by foot with a handoff delivery system! Amazing amazing, and now it takes weeks for mail to reach me from Santa Cruz! Also very interesting, the Incan leaders that lived in Machu Pichu fled when they heard that the Spanish army was headed their way. They left the site, taking all of their treasures (only one golden bracelet has been found at Machu Pichu). The next settling of the leaders and their treasure is thought to be the lost city, still to be found… For me, the best part was after the tour Chris and I explored by ourselves and had the most beautiful picnic looking at the peaks of the Andes and the ruins of this remarkable civilization.

After Machu Pichu we had a couple of days to enjoy Cuzco and then headed back to Lima. We thought we might try to head to a beach town about an hour outside of the city so Chris could get in some surfing, but it ended in a deserted summer-only type place, a cab driver urging us not to stay there and us jumping on the microbus back to the city after about 10 minutes… at least we got to see a little more of the country. Haha. We ended up staying in a nice hostel in a beautiful old house in the Miraflores region of Lima. Miraflores seemed to me like the Brooklyn of the city. There were tons of new restaurants, shopping, surfing and beautiful cliff top parks. (I guess we don’t really have the cliff top parks in Brooklyn and the east river offers little for surfers… but you know what I mean) Little did we know when we arrived, we were staying in the perfect location \ a block away from a walk down to the beach in one of the best spots in Lima “las rocitas”- Chris got to surf, and I enjoyed watching. We had a great last few days sipping Pisco sours (egg whites, lemon and a grape alcohol), eating ceviche and arroz con mariscos, enjoying the Pacific and each other’s company, and trying not to be sad that the trip was coming to an end. Leaving Chris was horrible, as always… more than ever actually, but I continue to tell myself as I am back in San José sweating in the heat, that it is only sad because it was so good. So goodbye Peru, goodbye Chris… I love you both, hasta pronto.

We are excited about plastics!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:37:00 +0000

Some of the kids at German Bush

The smallest school- El Suto. This is a one room school house with one teacher and one book for each grade... The kids are amazing. Every time I visit hey run out of the school jumping on me with huge hugs and smiles.

3 of 9 schools and their plastics!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:20:00 +0000

German Bush continues to be the frontrunner!

Oscar Unsaga de la Vega

Little Portoncito... one of my favorites!

Look what is happening in the first week of the plastics program!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:37:00 +0000

My plastics campaign in the schools is having incredible success in its first week! Little kids are walking down the streets with huge bags filled with bottles, bags, and other plastics. People have told me that this is the first time in their lives that they have seen kids picking up trash from the ground, instead of tossing it on the ground. I am not sure if it is just me, but the city seems a little cleaner already, the air a little fresher...

Here are pictures from 2 of the 10 schools. These 2 called me after 3 days requesting another "BigBag" (ps... the bags are really called bigbags- once again imagine the English word with a very Bolivian accent!)

German Busche

Marista Basico

The start of something...

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:28:00 +0000

Special big bag delivery

They really are big!

This week I worked hard distributing my big bags for the recycling project. I visited every school and animated the teachers, students, doormen and principals. All of the schools received the bags excitedly and are now working on accumulating their plastics. Luckily with the gringa discount I got on the bags, we were able to buy 10 soccer balls and 10 basket balls- just enough for one of each for each school. Most schools are now animating the students with a competition with the balls as a surprise prize for the class that brings in the most. It was a long, tiring week, but in a great way. I am happy to finally be busy with work and to have so many different people to work with. I also have been in campaigning through the different forms of communication- this means local television interviews, and educational propaganda as well as talking on the local radio stations. I am working my hardest to get our message out to the community:

My main goals with the project:

1. To help eliminate the quantity of trash in our pueblo.
2. To stop the burning of plastic trash- which releases chemicals toxic to our health.
3. To help the schools create an on-going ecological fundraiser for their needs.

“Las Misses”

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:13:00 +0000

We had a very exciting weekend in San José- “Las Misses” came to visit. “Las Misses” – English word pronounced with a camba accent are all of the contestants vying for Miss. Bolivia. The town rallied like never before to prepare for the event. The streets were cleaned, (well at least the dirt was plowed and trash covered up), there were 5 women sweeping the plaza for 3 days nonstop before the arrival, every group was preparing some kind of presentation or another. We even had an hourly countdown on tv! The night before, our awesome local anchorman announced “ Only 30 hours until Las Misses arrive… Dona Esta is painting her house- pan to a house being painted- why don’t we all paint our houses? If you don’t have paint now- wake up early and do it tomorrow!” It was pretty ridiculous- but also let me know how much people appreciate physical beauty in this culture. When the women actually got here, it was a 4 day parade around the city- the tall, skinny women with long hair and white smiles, in high heels and mini dresses, followed by our political figures, teachers, students and local film crews. We had almost 24 hour television coverage of the weekend. The reason for their arrival was the crowning of “Miss Talento Bolivia”. Saturday night, the plaza was filled with more people than ever before. Although not many people came out for the musical talents from around the world during the Baroque music festival, put on some regaaeton and bring out women in short dresses and the whole town is there- and early- that is pop culture for you, even way our here in our pueblo. Not expecting such a huge turn out or things to start on time, my friends and I were only able to see by climbing up wooden planks we set against the shaky wooden bleachers. It was an enjoyable night of a mixture of talents ranging from traditional dances, to a girl doing a clown routine. The winner- a top notch lip-syncer. Definitely an unforgettable weekend for the Josesanos.

Miss Talento night!

Strutting through our dirt calles

Fancy canapes I helped Dona Rosita prepare for the event

Los Segundo Medios

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:10:00 +0000

This week I also started teaching all of the sophomores in the Marist high school. I have 4 classes of 35 students each. All of them have names so similar that it was super hard for me to keep them straight, so I decided to have them choose “American” names. I wrote a list of the names of all of my favorite people- my friends and family, so now most of you that are reading this probably have a namesake or two in San Jose! I’ll take a picture soon. So far they have been pretty good, but of course they are high-schoolers. It makes me laugh and think back to my Gabriel Richard days, when I see the different characters in the class. Today, someone put a giant green grasshopper down the shirt of another, the kid was running around screaming, trying to take off his shirt and everyone else laughing hilariously- I am trying my best to be professional- but how could I not laugh at that? These kids are definitely the most entertaining part of my life at the moment… and I promise to keep the stories coming.

La Palabra... (a word from my mother!)

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:23:00 +0000

Here is a reflection written my Mama on their trip to visit me in May... enjoy!!!!!!!
PS- Since I was so slow at updating the blog in the last 2 months, I recommend you scroll down to the last part you read and read up- i promise it will make more sense that way.

PPS- There are photos and more to come from my parents soon.

Peter and I spent 2 amazing weeks in Bolivia at the end of April. Anna lives in the Chiquitania region, a remote tropical region with cattle farms accessed mainly by rutted dirt roads. This region is home to beautiful churches built during the brief Jesuit period before the priests were expelled in 1767. We timed our trip for the biennial Chiquitania Baroque Music Festival. So, we traveled to many of the mission churches and heard sacred and divine music played by amateurs and professionals from the region and from around the world. We were thrilled by the local school orchestra as we were by Israeli, Swiss and British musicians. Some of the music performed was composed in the Chiquitania during the 18th century.

While the Music Festival was the backdrop, the main purpose of the trip was to be with Anna and to learn more about her life as a Peace Corp volunteer in this distant and impoverished part of the world. We arrived at a moment when Anna was frustrated with the lack of progress on her plastic recycling project and considering moving to another site. Nonetheless to us, our daughter looked happy and strong. We particularly enjoyed meeting her many, many friends and acquaintances. During the first 2 days in Santa Cruz, a city a 7-hour train ride from Anna’s home, we were amazed by how many people Anna knew. We were delighted by an invitation to have tea with the extended family of Anna’s landlady. And, we had dinner with Tom and Anna Sullivan, Peace Corps friends who live and work in a town called Okinawa. Yes, it was settled by Japanese after World War II. Anna was a great tour guide and she speaks Spanish! You should have seen her negotiate the price with the driver who took us through the back roads of Chiquitania for our Baroque Music Festival Tour. She looks sweet but she drives a mean bargain.

The countryside in the southeastern lowlands is very pretty. We were there at the end of the rainy season and it was lush. Bolivia has more butterflies than anyplace that I have ever been in my life. During our first weekend in the city, we went to a butterfly conservatory and saw some beautiful specimens. But you don’t need to go to a conservatory to see butterflies. They are everywhere!

In San Jose de Chiquitos, we stayed in Anna’s rooms. She gave up her bed for us and so we slept under a DEET-impregnated bed-tent for the first time in our lives. The area is not high-risk for malaria, but Peace Corps supplies the bed tents and they do keep other critters out of the bed. Anna’s house is very pretty. She painted her rooms in blues and greens and decorated with lots of pictures of friends from home. The central courtyard is full of flowers and at the time of our visit there were 2 parrots in cages and a dog with a new litter of puppies. While it is very comfortable, it’s still not quite like back home. Anna filters all of her water; her shower was not working (blocked with leaves and dirt); one of her electrical outlets caught on fire while we were cooking breakfast one morning; and there is no heating or air conditioning. Actually, what I have appreciated most about the US since coming home is tap water. Tap water in the US is delicious, healthy, free and available almost anywhere. Let’s bring back those water fountains!

We were so busy in San Jose de Chiquitos. In addition to the baroque concerts, there was the annual San Jose festival complete with traditional dancing and parades. We enjoyed meeting some of the people Anna works with and went to the dedication of the new hospital. We had a delightful time helping Anna teach basic hygiene to kindergartners at a local school. A highlight of the trip was touring the church in San Jose de Chiquitos with a Bolivian art historian supervising the reconstruction of the church as a UNESCO site. Anna knows him from the Environmental Committee that she serves on.

So many experiences in Bolivia were unexpected. Try to imagine being awakened at 4 in the morning by the sound of a military band playing below the hotel window. This took place in Santiago, a remote and pretty village 2 hours from Anna’s town. A musical group from Columbia had made the long journey to play ancient music in the church. They were warmly welcomed on a cold night by soldiers lining the streets and the town square holding torches to light their way and a military brass and percussion band that played on and on. Above their doorway, the hotel hung a huge welcome sign made from cardboard boxes and tissue paper with candles for illumination.

On the last day of our trip, there was a referendum on “autonomia” in the Santa Cruz department. There was great excitement about the possibility of becoming more autonomous from the national government with more ability to keep resources in the region. On the day of the vote, we stayed at our hotel because nothing was open except the polls. All stores, restaurants, and businesses were closed. The buses and taxis were not running. The region voted overwhelmingly in favor of “autonomia”. That evening at 6 pm everything opened and people were out and about in a celebratory mood. We attended one last Baroque music festival before heading for home.

We only saw a small corner of Bolivia, but were impressed by the beauty of the country and the warmth of the people. We saw how hard life is for the majority, and are less likely to take our comforts for granted. For me, Bolivia is the land of surprises and I can’t wait to return.

NOVEDADES!!! NEWS!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:34:00 +0000

Good News! After 8 months of lack of work, things are popping up all over the place. Last Wednesday, on my way to Santa Cruz someone from the Alcaldia met me at the train station. My recycling project was finally approved. The guy stuffed 2,000 Boliviano's in 100 b notes into my duffel bag, and I was off to purchase the long awaited bags. The bags that I bought are large, durable bags that are necessary for the storage and transportation of the plastic bottles, bags and other items that we will be collecting. Each school and barrio (neighborhood) will receive their own bag and once they have collected enough we will send the plastics to Santa Cruz, where a recycling company will pay us for the materials. We have worked out an agreement with the train for free transportation for the project. So basically, the only real need we had was these bags, and after 8 months we finally have them! Yayyyyyyyy! The purchase was interesting; I once again had the name and shaky directions to what seemed to be an underground company. When a pirate-y man with one leg answered the door I was very happy that our helpful Peace Corps driver Hermel had accompanied me on the mission. I was pleased to find that the pirate was only the doorman, and let us in to a nice office, where we had a meeting with the friendly owner. The owner seemed to like me and the project so much he gave me 600 bs off the original price! I am hoping to be able to use this money for another project. A half an hour and less the wad of cash later we drove away with the Land rover full of my bags. Finally! This week I start distributing the bags to interested people and educating about the project. Also I am starting to teach the Segundo Medicos- Sophomore English classes at the Marista School. I will be the English teacher for the Second Semester, which starts this Monday and continues until before Christmas… Profe Ani!

B45 gets smaller.

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:31:00 +0000

So we heard it since we got here, statistically every group loses about 5 people. Since day one I thought B45 was different- I thought we would all make it. We just hit number 5. Every person that leaves is greatly missed, and leaves a void in our group that cannot be filled.
In training we lost Meera, not too long after we started… then after Christmas Hannah, then Gilbert and Barbara, and now this past week Brandon….. B45 misses you all! Below I have posted the Swear- In Speech written and delivered by our friend Brandon. It was something I meant to post when we swore in… but here it is now. It really shows how much our fellow group members and other volunteers mean to us. It is interesting to read now, and think of how much we have changed and learned during the past year.

I am a donut.

I am a jelly donut.

This is what John F. Kennedy, the founder of Peace Corps, said to the German people when he visited them in June of 1963. Ich bin ein Berliner. Later linguists and historians de-bunked the rumor as simply myth. But the fact remains that what he said could be misinterpreted as something silly, outlandish, and downright ridiculous.

Yo quiero TWO sin chorizo.

I actually said that to a waitress in a restaurant in Quillacollo. Her reaction was of course one of surprise and disgust. She gave me one of those looks that said, “ummm…what?” or in Spanish, “ayyyy…Que?” She followed that up with a quick about face and a flip of the hair that reassured me that I had committed some sort of massive, egregious error. When I turned to my friends who were accompanying me during this particular meal of food I saw that they were all laughing. Good, strong, gut laughing. They informed me of my mistake and I joined in the laugh fest as well. Of course, what I meant to say was:

Yo Quiero DOS sin chorizo.

I had transposed the words for the number two and changed completely the meaning of what I was trying to say. I wanted two orders of papas fritas without sausage, but what I actually said was, “I want YOU without sausage.”

I want YOU without sausage. That had to have been the weirdest pick-up line that poor waitress had ever heard.

How crystal clear these examples are of communication breakdowns. Big, bold communication errors harmlessly and accidentally made that completely change the meaning of a particular phrase or message.

I rest assured, however, that I am not the first nor will I be the last volunteer in Bolivia or Peace Corps Worldwide for that matter to make such an error. It’s hard enough to maintain open channels of communication and understand each other in English let alone try to communicate with someone of a completely different cultural upbringing and background.

We’re going to encounter all kinds of communication errors and faux pas during our travels, our work, and in our lives in general over the next two years. Even you advanced language peeps sometimes forget how to correctly conjugate the past participle pluperfect future preterite of haber or the Spanish word for “sheep.”

It’s obeja, by the way. And there’s no conjugation for the past participle pluperfect future preterite of haber. That was a trick question.

But we’re trying. And this is our charge. This is our task. Communicate. Listen. Learn. Change people’s fundamental ideas and ways of doing things that they may have potentially been doing for centuries upon centuries before.

US!!

Who are we? What gives us the right or the authority? Nobody except the people of Bolivia can grant us the authority to enter their sovereign land and live her for two years. And they’ve done so more or less.

But there’s a cost for us- an obvious one that we’re all aware of. A sacrifice we have knowingly accepted. But, as with all things there’s an upside to this too. Being here definitely makes me appreciate the things that we have in the United States that I usually take for granted. I think of the U.S. as my little brother when I’m here. No one but me can talk smack about him. But being here also makes me yearn for the simpler way of doing things. The things and places and people I’ve seen already in just my first three months have amazed me beyond words. I’m constantly questioning our presence here. These people seem more at peace than 90% of the people in the United States. Things sometimes don’t really seem that depressed or tragic. There’s not an overabundance of cellphones and Escalades. Not an oversaturation of beer ads with five girls and one guy all of whom spend nearly ever waking hour in a gym, not actually drinking the product their advertising. There’s not a lot of advertising here in general. Television isn’t omnipresent with a message of buy, buy, buy. The people in the campo, I think, have more to teach us about living than we have to teach them.

But there are things we can teach them. There are simple things that we can show them that will improve their quality of life and the quality of life for their children and their children’s children. I’m not asking them to dress like me or listen to the music I listen to. I don’t want to Americanize them. I don’t want to corrupt them. I just want to tweak them. I just want to help. I think we all just want to help.

The stark differences between the people in the campo and the people in the cities is a harsh reality, but one that fascinates me. I love being a spectator here in this country. And that’s exactly what we’ve been for the first three months of our service. Spectators. We’ve been molly coddled and led by the hand; introduced to the necessary contacts and shown which buses and trufis to take.

But now we’re about to take on a completely different role. A role of action. A role of change. A metamorphosis. We’re about to emerge from our cocoon like shells. We’re no longer slothy, gluttonous caterpillars. We’re now attack butterflies. Lean, mean butterflies with fangs dripping with developmental venom. Butterflies with unlimited knowledge ammunition. And most importantly we’re butterflies that are strapped to the hilt with patience and understanding.

I couldn’t think of 27 more capable people to take this challenge head-on. Sometimes, in fact, I feel completely overwhelmed and intimidated by the experience and talent gathered here in this room. We’ve got doctors and engineers. Teachers and laborers and E.M.T.’s. We’ve got people that have never flunked a test until they met Javier. We’ve got people born in other countries, people who have seen the benefits that brave immigrant parents have received and want to give back to the world. We’ve got people that have lived abroad for large portions of their life. We’ve got brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers and everything between. We’ve got Amber. We’ve been trained and have had the privilege to work shoulder to shoulder with people that have dedicated their entire lives to development work. We’ve got people that have memorized entire sections of movies, a guy that can sing melodies acapella that make angels swoon and puts Michael Bubble to shame. I know, it’s Buble. We’ve got a man that when he had only 7 years to his name wondered what it would have been like to live in Communist Russia. We’ve got two Sarahs, two Annas and Hannah. An Erin, an Aaron and a dude that’s technically only 6 years old. Tristan looks great in a speedo. We’ve got west coast peeps that are all, “And he was all, and she was all.” We’ve got meteorological experts, yoga specialists, hug specialists, Queen Amidallah impersonators, graduates of The Ohio State University and a Nubian princess whose smile can shift my inner mountains and alter my current outlook from rainy, damp and dreary, to bright, revamped and seriously cheery. What an inspiration! What a revelation! What?

And then there’s little old me. Lodged in between all of these giant personalities- pillars of strength and fortitude, overwhelmed and humbled. I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t be more content. I couldn’t be more elated to count myself as your friend and work partner.

Sometimes, a metaphorical anvil of realization drops on my head and I’m awash with warm fuzzies and soft suds of sentiment that feels like my whole body is a giant mouth chewing spearmint.

It’s fresh and crisp and I know this is my place deep in my capillaries. I see it every time I look at you. I see it reflected in your faces. I see it when you laugh. I feel it. I hear it. You are the most intelligent, inspirational, insanely weird in a good way people I have encountered in my life…ever. I know you intimately after only 90 days, but I want to know more. I want to be around all of you all the time. Your combined charisma and extrovertedness make Barak Obama look like Howard Hughes in his later years.

What a privilege we have here, guys. We get to hear ancient languages and dialects and interact with direct descendants of the Incan empire. We get to change people’s lives. That’s your job, no mas. And in the process we’re going to learn so much about ourselves and the world. All you have to do is understand that right now we’re like empty hard drives waiting to be filled with data and information. Be open. Listen. Watch. Observe. Be a “Quiet American.” Don’t be like Graham Greene’s quiet American though.

Maintain your composure. Find ways to always have a smile on your face. Go to your happy place. In the past my method was to completely close off everything to everyone literally and figuratively. I close my eyes. I would close my mouth and breathe through my nose. I put my iPod buds in my ears and go away for a moment. But then I come back refreshed and rejuvenated.

Now I don’t even need that. I’ve got a variety of options at my disposal to flip the switch on the sitch that I can’t pull my mind out of. I can simply have a conversation with one of you guys or recite a line from a Chris Farley movie and I’m right back in touch. Any one of you can flip my mood 180 degrees. I’ve never been in an environment like this before. It’s like I’m riding a constant crowd surfing wave, fully confident that I’m not going to be dropped. It’s like floating on a cloud made of hands. I’ve lost weight because I’m laughing so hard all the time. My abs are constantly sore. It’s a good sore though.

And I am going to miss that so much. So much. I’ll miss all of your bright shiny faces and individual, unique laughters. I’ll miss your thoughts and opinions. I’ll miss your minds and intellects. But I’ve got each and everyone of you stored away in my mind so that I can access you at anytime and relive moments that we’ve shared. For now, we have to depart. We have to shed the Stars and Stripes and don the Rojo, Amarillo, y Verde. We have to say goodbye to each other, to our new family, and say hello to a community that needs us.

We have to fan out across this vast nation like individual robotic lions. We can’t be Voltron right now. But if Voltron is ever needed you know that you can make the call and the team will assemble without hesitation, without question, without thought. We’ll unite with fangs of truth bared, swords of justice ready, and souls centered and steady. I’m here for you. I know you all are there for me and for each other. And that’s a beautiful thing.

Let’s put a smile on the statue of liberty’s face. She’s been frowning for far too long.

Stay classy B-45.

Let’s do this.

DUM DE DUM DUMMMM... back to BOLIVIA

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:22:00 +0000

I arrived back in Bolivia and felt the culture shock run through my body. I couldn’t stay in Santa Cruz, and left immediately for San José. It was dreary weather and I was super homesick… it was definitely a hard transition back- I kept thinking, if I just went home… where am I now. It felt so weird that I knew so many people here and that I had spent so much time here. Thank goodness for Brooklyn and my friends from Argentina- Santiago and Clara, the three of them really pulled my out of the slump and back into reality. Reality is that being here is hard, super hard, but good for me. I am learning things, and helping people. I have passed the one-year point, so it is really starting to be more like a countdown than counting the months… I need to use this time wisely and take advantage of it in many ways. Okay… one day at a time.

A couple of things that help pass the hard days... funny dances, kids, my friends clara and santiago, cooking/hanging with my sitemate jenny!

HOME SWEET HOME

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:00:00 +0000

Thank goodness that soon after my parents left Bolivia, I too was headed off on my first real vacation in a year. After saving up my 2 days a month, I was on my way to the United States of America. After being away from the states for a year, I was ooooh so exited to get back. I had tears in my eyes landing in New York. I spent 2 wonderful weeks enjoying the luxuries that I used to consider daily life. The beauty of the cities, the suburbs, the woods and the beach amazed me. Instead of being impressed by the gringos that the people here imagine filling up the USA, I was overwhelmed by the diversity, people of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds… what beauty. I truly saw our (first) world through new eyes and appreciated everything in a new way. The best part was simply spending time with the people I love and miss most, my family, boyfriend and friends… time flew by and I didn’t get to see half the people I wanted to- but that just means that it will be all the most exciting when I come home again. One of the reasons I went home was to see Connor (my bro) graduate from NYU. It was a great event, and moreover spending time with my family was unbeatable. We celebrated throughout the first week- lunch at Roberto’s (my favorite restaurant in the Bronx), again at Aunt Laney’s house, and later in the city as well. It was perfect timing because I got to see- Granny, Grandpa, Aunt Laney,Uncle Jimmy, Read,Connor, Lindsay and my parents! Aside from seeing my family I got to spend a lot of time with Chris and his family in Long Island. It was wonderful to see them, as always and it was so nice of them to let me move in for the vacation. Coming back to New York felt like coming home. I was so incredibly happy to be with Chris, close to my family and friends. The life is good in the United States, and I think that I have taken it for granted up until now. I am so thankful for this experience in the Peace Corps, because my eyes are now forever opened to see life in a new way. I cannot explain how much I appreciated everything and how wonderful it was to spend time with those I love most. Needless to say it was very hard to leave again. Saying goodbye to Chris in the airport I was having flashbacks of leaving a year ago… which sometimes feels like forever ago, and other times like yesterday.

Does it look like I miss these people a little??????????

Mis Padres!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:50:00 +0000

It was great to have my parents in country with me for 2 weeks… We had some great adventures and saw so many amazing things. I am so happy that they came and now they both know more about Bolivia and my Peace Corps life here.

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.

Frusterations

noreply@blogger.com (Anna) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:41:00 +0000

I have to apologize for the lack of postings lately… I have been a bit distracted. After Semana Santa I hit sort of a slump. I had begin to realize that the excited talking that people, especially in the government office had been doing for the past 8 months was just that, talk. I began to feel useless, unwanted and unappreciated. Not what you expect of a Peace Corps volunteer right? It definitely wasn’t in the vision that I had in my head for my service, I expected to be embraced into the community and my ideas and projects accepted with thanks. Day by day I was growing more and more frustrated. I continued to go to the Alcaldia to find that usually 90% of the people that I needed to talk to were not there. I began to notice more things that I would classify as corruption. I noticed that I was becoming very bitter. The worst was when my boss came for his 2nd visit (of 3 total visits) I found that my work partners had left without canceling our confirmed meeting. I broke down in tears and told everyone that I was ready to move to a community that wanted a volunteer and wanted to work. I was fed up… Thankfully my boss is a very supportive figure and was able to help me see the good things that I have going in San José.

A couple good things: I along with others have started an Environmental Committee, a group of interested people from different areas of the pueblo. We meet about every week and talk about environmental concerns, especially in relation to trash problems in San José. This is a group of motivated, educated people willing to work together to do something good for the pueblo. I have connections all over the pueblo. If I have accomplished nothing else in the last 10 months in San José I have established relationships in all sectors, barrios and of people of all ages. These 2 things mean that I have opportunities… Thankfully in the midst of my frustration, my parents came for a much needed visit.