Santa Cruz to Raleigh (4-26-11)

I had to get up early to make the shuttle to the airport for my flight to Miami.  The was still enough time to have some breakfast.  When I checked out, apparently I had overpaid when I prepaid things with my credit card.  I never exactly figured it out.  The bottom line was that they paid me the amount extra in cash.  So, I ended up with almost 500 Bolivianos (about $70).  Oh well, another reason to return!

The flight to Miami was long, but uneventful.  Customs in Miami was crazy as the baggage claim area was wall-to-wall people.  Fortunately, I had plenty of time between flights, so I was able to relax in the Admiral’s Club.  I upgraded from Miami to RDU, so another survivable travel day.  And, I’m finally home! 

It was an amazing two weeks.  While my lack of Spanish skills and being alone (and off the Internet) so much was hard, Bolivia and La Villa felt very much like a place where I belong.  I definitely need to spend more time there in the future.  

Cochabamba to Santa Cruz (4-25-11)

I finished packing except for a couple things I will need.  In the morning, I went to La Villa to say my goodbyes.  Unfortunately, Monday was the first normal school day in quite some time, so there weren’t many folks to say goodbye to. 

I had lunch at La Morada and said goodbye to Doña Celia.  Susana came and drove me to the airport.  There were lots of sad goodbyes, but I was excited to be on the journey home.  The flight was on AeroSur which has its stewardesses dress like they used to—in very tight and very short skirts!

Santa Cruz is a real contrast to Cochabamba.  The weather feels tropical and humid.  Everything seems to be under construction.  It feels like Mexico.  A person with a sign and my name took me to a cab (which the hotel paid for) to take me to the Hotel Cortez.  The hotel seems very nice and rather European.  There is WiFi in the lounges, at the pool, and the restaurant.  It is nice to start to plug back into the world. 

For dinner, I basically spent the few Bolivianos I had left.  I went for the safe burger and fries.  Other than worrying about waking up in the morning and being anxious to be home, it was a pleasant day.  

Cochabamba (4-24-11)

After breakfast I waited for Jose Luis and the bus to take me to Aramasi  with Diego and Doña Celia and the teenage girl's house.  Easter is a special day there where they show all the weavings and folks come from all around to buy them.  I thought I would buy something for Susie and maybe others.

Things were running on Bolivian time.  About an hour after he was supposed to arrive, we found out that he had been in an accident.  Everyone was OK, but the other driver was supposedly a drunk police officer.

So, Susana asked if I wanted to go to her church and I agreed.  We met in a home between La Morada and La Villa.  It was the first meeting of a new house church.  There were about ten people.  After introductions, the pastor spoke from the beginning of Acts.  He explained how the people were constantly in prayer and met in each others' houses.  Amazingly, I could understand almost everything he said.  A few words I had to look up in the dictionary on my iPhone.  I got more out of a sermon in Spanish than I often do in English.  It was great to have been there.

I came back to La Morada for lunch.  After lunch, Susana, her husband and daughter, Doña Celia and two of her daughters, and I took a drive to a couple of the nearby towns.  The first one, Tarata, was a quaint, rundown town.  It had a beautiful central plaza with a large church that was unfortunately closed.  The second town, Cliza, was relatively new and bustling with activity on its market day.  There were people and houses under construction everywhere.  Supposedly, much of the nicer housing on the way out of Cliza was being built by people retiring from Spain or with drug money.  It was a very interesting contrast and probably says a lot about Bolivia. 

Unfortunately, the day’s change in plans means that I did not get to buy any weavings at Aramasi and I did not get to a store.  So, I have no gifts for anyone.  In the evening, I read and started packing.  I really am looking forward to being home.

Cochabamba (4-23-11)

After breakfast, I successfully explained to Doña Celia that I was going into town with Susana and would not need lunch.  Susana, with Roberto and Anabela, picked me up at 9:00.  We headed to the Christ statue of which Cochabamba is so proud.  Like much of this city (and probably the country), it is something beautiful surrounded by ugliness.  The statue is slightly over 33 meters tall of whiteness.  Its massive arms attempt to embrace the teaming humanity of Cochabamba.  Around the statue garbage is strewn everywhere.  We did not go inside the statue because Susana warned me it smelled like a bathroom.  

From there we drove outside the city to a lake near the village of La Angostura.  We first stopped at a popular place for empanadas.  They were quite proud of them, but they tasted like overcooked bread with a little cheese in them.  I broke down and bought my second Coke Zero of the trip.

The lake was created by a small dam.  The water was a very muddy brown.  The boats on the lake looked ancient and rather unsafe.  The same was true of the swan paddle boats in dire need of some new paint.  Again, an apt metaphor for the country.

I had them drop me in the middle of the city near the Colon Plaza.  My hope was to find some wireless Internet access.  I failed at that, but enjoyed a strawberry sundae.  I walked around the city toward La Morada using my phone to look for unprotected WiFi signals or at least ones obviously belonging to an establishment of some sort.  Somehow, when I find WiFi, I don't have my iPad and when I have my iPad, there is none to be found.  I think God has kept me away from the Internet.  When I reached Cala Cala, about halfway back, I gave up and took a taxi TRUFI home.  When I arrived home, I took a nap and read until dinner. 

Cochabamba (4-22-11)

We ate breakfast a little later than usual.  The others packed up their stuff and said their goodbyes to Doña Celia.  We spent the morning at La Villa, before they said goodbye to the kids.  I kept having to explain that I was not leaving and would be back in the evening.

I went with the others to the airport.  It was useful to see how things will go for my flight home on Monday.  I was truly sad to see them go.  We exchanged email addresses and hugs.  Folks said that we should do a reunion next year and bring Susie, but I'm skeptical it will happen.  On the other hand, Amy and Walker are the kind of people who make things happen.

I returned to La Morada for lunch and my final lesson with Reginaldo.  We worked more on reflexive verbs like gustar and doler.  They are really useful words and I think I understand them pretty well now.  I paid him $160 for the eight days of lessons.  I still speak very slowly and don't understand as much as I would like, but I feel like I've learned a lot.  The key will be to try and practice with Rosetta Stone or something.

I ended the lesson early and Susanna picked up me with her husband, Roberto, and her little daughter, Anabela.  We got to La Villa just as the third station of the cross started.  Amistad did the first half of the stations of the cross and La Ciudad de Niños, the second half.  Many of our houses have no older boys, so our stations often had girls with beards painted on their faces acting the male roles.  Many of them seemed to be girls I knew, so I kidded them that they now had beards like me.  The whole experience was an odd combination of cute and sacred, Catholic and street fair, and chaos and solemnity.  I took lots of pictures with my good camera.

When I returned for a late dinner, La Morada really felt empty.  I fear that these last few days will be lonely.

Cochabamba (4-21-11)

I slept poorly.  It seems that without Flexoril, I only get in one good sleep cycle from 3:00 to 6:00.  Last night I thought I was tired enough to not need one.  I was wrong.  I hate being dependent on a drug.  Sigh.  I think I have enough left to get me through the rest of the trip.

I finally figured out what Doña Celia has been asking for a few days--do I want some clothes washed?  I was able ask her quite nicely if she could do some today.  I think I'm OK regardless, but it should help my room smell better!

We spent the morning at La Villa.  The first thing was a foot washing ceremony in the chapel.  Douglas gave a good reflection on the meaning and the story of Jesus at the Last Supper.  Then people invited others to wash their feet.  Escarlet washed mine.  It was very touching.

We spent much of the rest of the morning in preparation for the big festivities at lunch.  Each house brought their table and chairs into the gym and they were all set up in a big U shape.  It seemed like everyone was calling Guillermo to get me to sit by them.  I sat with some of the older girls.  There were a total of twelve dishes, but I only had three that folks felt were safe for us gringos: a sort of cornbread, a pasta dish and rice with milk and cinnamon.  All of them were good. 

A boy sat down across from me and played games on my iPhone.  Escarlet looked through the pictures on my camera.  As Friday would be Amy's birthday, they sang to her and presented her with gifts.  Again, there were lots of tears.

The bus took us to a restaurant downtown called Casa de Campo.  We relaxed with Lila and had a light lunch.  As soon as we ordered I noticed that it was three o'clock, so I had Lila call and cancel my Spanish lesson.  We returned by cab which was pretty crowded with four people in the back seat!

We had a relaxing evening.  Diego showed up at the last minute with his wife, Reysa.  Doña Celia had to quickly switch things around for two more people, but she is very good.  We had a good dinner with leftover birthday cake for dessert.  I let Mike have my iPad until morning so he could finish up his game of Civilization before leaving.