Twilight Zone

This past week has flown by but at the same time, has drudged on. I often feel as if I’m an extra in The Twilight Zone because the sense of time is extremely distorted... I have a hard time remembering what has happened yesterday, and even this morning.  I usually wake up around 7:15 and get to the hospital by nine (it’s walking distance) and then from there spend the morning volunteering. The afternoons so far have all been different and that’s what I seem to forget the most of.... However, I’m thankful for my stubbornness to try and journal almost every night so I can look back on my day and apply it to my blog. And so, readers, here is what has been going on in the past few days—lots of ups and downs.

We went to “Casa de Amor” Tuesday afternoon, which is a baby orphanage. I spent the afternoon running around pretending to be an airplane, jumping out of corners, etc. with two-year-old Cliffer (Clifford in English). It was such a blessing to be able to play with him. When it was time to go, I carried him up the stairs and put him in his room. He ran after me crying and reaching out, so I gave him a hug (again) and said bye. He continued to cry as I left It was so hard leaving him because he wanted so much love, which I was able to provide, and he definitely deserves it:

What’s an advertising major supposed to do in a hospital? Obviously, not put catheters in patients. That question is what made Tuesday a confusing day for me. I finally felt that maybe I found my purpose for being here in Cochabamba. Being the philosopher I am, I pondered and pondered. The question I came up with: Is my being here a sign that I AM supposed to work with kids as a teacher? Maybe advertising isn’t in the cards for me? It is something that I have been struggling with pretty much all week. I’m constantly reminded of how much joy my heart is filled with when I work with kids... I feel like I’m at a standstill and feel that my future is extremely hazy. At least I know that I still want to continue on with Spanish... My dad’s advice: teach advertising to Spanish speaking children.

On to the rest of my week...

I worked with the physical therapist, Sulma, on Wednesday and she is absolutely wonderful. There is a patient who was in a truffi accident—a truffi is Bolivia’s form of taxi but much larger and aggressive. He did some damage to his pubic bone and we had to do a lot of exercises for him. It was difficult watching how much pain he was in. However, Sulma really cares about her patients and was patient with him and his whimpers. Something that is refreshing because here, work does not seem to be a huge priority for the doctors. They come into the office around 8:30/9 AM and are usually gone by 1 PM and will stop taking patients between 12 and 1... It’s not necessarily bad, it’s just very different from what we are used to in the States.

After the orphanage that day, Necco (our host) made us all popcorn! It may not seem that exciting, but when you have gone just about two weeks without it, you really appreciate it more than you would think. And having had had it, made me thankful for the things that I am blessed to have back home that are privileges to have down here; especially the little things—like peanut butter—that I so often take for granted.

Thursday  and Friday were a hard days. We all went to the pediatric hospital in the afternoon. It was so difficult seeing all of the sick children and how lonely some of them seemed. My heart shattered to a million pieces. There was one girl who couldn’t even talk, her hair was shaved, her head bandaged, here face black and blue, etc.  That was the hardest. However, family surrounded her and it was apparent that she was well aware of their presence because of the change in her facial expressions. I spent  most of my time with eight year old Claudia (sickness unknown). We made cootie catchers and paper hats:

Friday, Claudia had her leg bandaged and she woke up from her nap incredibly sad because her mom was not there, and she was waiting to go home for the weekend. She also had no feeling in her toes and it was hard getting a nurse’s attention to get her help... The atmosphere Friday was much more solemn than that of Thursday. Both days provided experiences that will take a while to process.

Today was wonderful! We met Necco and Rosemary (our hosts) around 12:30 for lunch at a place called Dumbo’s. It seemed very modernized but the food was incredible. It was my favorite meal thus far. It was called piquemacho. The reasoning for the name is that it’s spicy (pique) and being able to eat the spice is symbolic of manliness (macho). However, I avoided the spicy:

After lunch we went to the center of South America. It doesn't look super exciting, and it wasn't, but it was still cool to actually be in the center (literally, not a joke):

After that, we went to the Jesus statue. It was so awe-inspiring and definitely a good reality check. It helped me to realize that my faith is so much larger than what I think it out to be. Jesus (literally) is looking over the city of Cochabamba, and of course, the entire world. His power and love is endless:

So, despite the challenges I was faced with this week, it ended up being a fairly good week. I just remember how blessed I am to have everything that I do have in my life and that no matter what happens, I need to just share my compassion. I also should probably stop analyzing my life before I go to sleep... I think it stresses me out more than it needs to. After all, I am only twenty and have a long life ahead of me... so I guess I don’t need to stress about my future. It will all work out.

Tons of love!

Cows Galore

Instead of going to the hospital this morning, we walked to an orphanage called "Zapatitos". It's an all boys orphanage and we were volunteered as tributes to paint three of the rooms. It was a dirty task--literally--but definitely worth it and very fun. For now, the walls just got painted to white and next week we'll return to (hopefully) paint a mural on one of the walls in each of the rooms. When painting the room that I was in today, there were two boys talking to us. We asked them what they wanted on their walls and they said "los pingüinos y las jirafas" (penguins and giraffes). I'm so excited to return next week and use my creativity!

There was one little boy named Josué [hos-'way] and he just loved hanging onto us. He was about two years old. We probably saw his butt more than we cared to... but he didn't mind. He continued to let his pants fall down. I think it just made him cuter. There were also two baby wiener dogs that I cuddled with and they were so adorable. They just sat in my lap and slept. One of the boys tried taking him from me. But I said that he already was holding one and I wanted to hold him longer. The boy just stared at me and I walked away. I probably should act my age...

Naturally, all of the kids at "Zapatitos" were really cute. However, on the way there, and on the way back, there were...COWS! For those of you who might not know this, cows are my favorite animal. And seeing them in their natural habitats was wonderful. They were all super cute. ...once you got past the smell. For me, when I think of South America, I think of llamas and alpacas (which I still have not seen). So seeing cows makes up for the lack of llama/alpaca. My friend Bethany from Seattle shares my love for cows. Here's a picture of the two of us close to two baby cows:


Have a MOOvelous day (:

Adventure

¡Buen día a todos!

These past few days in Bolivia have been incredible. Despite the challenges I have been faced with-- communication, medicine, sickness, etc.--I know that I am extremely blessed to have the opportunity to be immersed into this culture.

Friday Anna, Lydia, and I (along with a few other volunteers) were feeling adventurous and spent the day hiking through the Andes Mountains. I already knew that I would be okay living in the woods forever but this just confirmed that desire. It also confirmed the fact that I am more out of shape than I had expected. Let's just say that my heart was more adventurous than my actual body... 

Even though my heart was probably beating faster than that of a hummingbird, it was so happy. Every single step up the mountain presented a different view. All of which was breathtaking (literally) and honestly, the pictures don't do it justice. But, they were still worth taking and can be seen in my next post! But here is a preview:


The vegetation was interesting (eucalyptus trees, coniferous trees, etc.) and there was a lot of wildlife. Ok, not that much wildlife. More like farm life. There were mostly cows and a random sheep anddddd lots of stray dogs--SO CUTE. The cows made me feel like I was back home in Wisconsin. At one point there was a woman walking up the mountain looking for her three black cows. Unfortunately they were at the bottom of the mountain--about 12 or 13 kilometers from where she was. There were also playgrounds and abandoned buildings that added to the uniqueness of our excursion. On our way down, there were little kids playing Chinese jump rope and running after the wild dogs.

To add to the trip, Anna, Lydia, and I had so many fun random adventures on our way up. We separated from the other volunteers because they were a little bit more intense than we were. We spent some time sitting in the grass and playing harmonica--which I made sure to pack for the trip. We also had story time for about an hour where Lydia read The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe out loud to us. I could go on and on and on about it but it might get boring to read about each and every step...

The other group made it to about 14 km. while we dilly dallied and made it to about 11 km. The entire hike itself was supposed to take three hours... but that was if you took a car to the end of the road on the mountain. Which we did not realize. Sadly, we didn't make it to the top. If we tried, it would have taken more than three hours. We might have passed out. We probably would have seen llamas--and not just cows. Which would have been fantastic. Another day perhaps.

Saturday we spent the day in town at the market--apparently it's one of the largest street markets in South America. It was an opportunity to see more of the Bolivian culture and practice our Spanish. Necco and Rosemary bought all of us lunch as well as ice cream. I wish that y’all could meet the two of them because they both have such beautiful hearts and they care so much about their volunteers and the mission of Hospitals of Hope.

Today we were all early risers—our day technically began at 6:45 AM but we woke up earlier to ensure we got breakfast. The day was spent at an outdoor clinic about an hour away from where we’re staying.  Each volunteer had a different task to do in order to help the Bolivians. Some handed out medication, others took blood pressure, a few did eye exams, etc. I ended up working with the Bolivian kids through evangelism. When they would talk about their relationship with the Lord, their faces lit up with smiles. It’s amazing how happy they can be when their living or health conditions may not be the best. Words can’t even describe the joy they brought to my day. The lesson learned today: I’m terrible at making necklaces.

I especially loved today because I was able to practice my Spanish more with both children and adults. Some were more difficult to understand because they were speaking Quechua—an indigenous language in Bolivia. The Bolivians were so grateful for the services we provided to them.

I really look forward to what the next few weeks will bring. I know it will present challenges but that's what I'll learn the most from. Even having had only been here for about a week, I know that I have grown immensely in various aspects of my life. I really wish that each and every one of you could be here sharing this adventure with me!

¡Abrazos y besos!

WOW!

Day 2 in Bolivia and it has been an incredible adventure so far:

Communicating with the Bolivians has been harder than I had expected it to be and has been somewhat discouraging. But that's one of the reasons I am here--to improve my Spanish. At moments it seems as if they don't want to communicate with the volunteers and I sometimes feel like a burden to them. I'm trying to open myself up and initiate the conversations without solely relying on them to do so. Once the conversation starts, all is well--it's just finding the courage to do so.

Today I worked with the pediatrician and had the opportunity to scrub in on a c-section. MIND BLOWING. I had no idea it was possible for me to see any operation at all because I'm not a medical student. It was incredible and I feel extremely blessed to have been able to witness such a miracle!

This afternoon we're going to the orphanage to work with the kids and who knows what the rest of the week will have in store...

Ciao.

4 Planes Later...

4281.5 miles later, Anna and I are in the La Paz airport awaiting our last flight into Cochabamba. This weekend has consisted of enough traveling for a lifetime. We calculated a total of five different planes needed to get to Cochabamba--all in two days! The flight from Atlanta to Santiago was not the smoothest. While Anna got upgraded to first class and was indulging in a five course meal, massage chairs, comfy pillows and blankets, and her own seat, I was in the back of the plane trying to focus on anything but puking. After several attempts to distract myself from being sick (counting backwards in Spanish, watching a movie, sleeping, etc.) I failed and found myself running to the bathroom to vom. Same for this morning. Not a pleasant time. When we landed in Santiago this morning, Anna asked how my flight was and I told her while she just laughed. And I guess I laughed about it too--two total opposite experiences.

A weird thing we have noticed: everyone's infatuation with donuts. There have been so many travelers in the Santiago area caring boxes and boxes of Dunkin' Donuts. Whereas for us, it's just a staple in our lives...

The people we've encountered have been incredible--workers and travelers. It took us a while to figure out where we were going to while in the Santiago airport but thanks to a woman and her two sons just under ten, we were able to figure it out. There was also a couple from Sydney that was backpacking through South America and then through the Caribbean before moving to the States/Canada for a year or so. We also encountered Eric, a lone traveler from the Netherlands who was spending three months backpacking through South America and then in August, hopefully doing the same in Asia. It's just amazing hearing everyone's different stories and talking about ours.

The last fifteen minutes or so of our flight into La Paz was beautiful as we were right along the Andes:

We still have a journey ahead of us but every minute has been worth it.
Much love from Bolivia!

the sky is the same color wherever you go

17 hours on multiple planes and 12 hours worth of layovers is where my summer adventure in Bolivia and Chile begin. It's crazy to think that it all starts tomorrow. Even though I will not arrive in Bolivia until late Sunday evening, my mind has been there since Christmas. My dreams have been in Spanish since late April or early May. And my heart has been there since high-school.

This recent week home has been filled with lots of family time and a plethora of last minute errands. Several questions from various friends and family about my trip have been thrown in my direction. The two that get brought up the most are what I'm most excited for and what I'm most nervous about.

To answer:
It's hard to pinpoint exactly what I am most excited for because I honestly have no idea what to expect. I feel as if I'm going into it blind. But, if I must answer I would say that I am most excited to befriend an alpaca. It would honestly probably be the highlight of any day! Okay, and I guess speaking Spanish all the time will be pretty stellar! Seriously.

Most people assume I most worried about the plane ride. Or worried about not being able to fully communicate with anyone I encounter--especially my host family. None of that--those are things I'm looking forward to! Honestly,  I am most worried about missing adventures with my family and friends here in the States and not having a place in their hearts when I return.

There is a Persian saying that says "the sky is the same color wherever you go". It assures me that that my family and friends will always be here for me when I get back late July. And I know I will find as much love and compassion with my new friends (that don't even exist yet) that it will seem as if I never left home!

So mis amigos, I invite you to follow me on my escapade through Bolivia and Chile.

¡Buena suerte con sus veranos y espero que se llenan de tanta alegría como la mía será! In other words, good luck with your summers and I hope that they are filled with as much joy as mine will be!

Con amor,

-A