Welcome to my first set of pictures from Bolivia!! These are pretty boring - mostly my place, the school, and the youth group party I went to. Soon there should be more close up people pictures. But this gives you an idea of the look around here.
It's pretty hot - except when it is overcast because there is usually a nice breeze blowing! Otherwise, I keep the air conditioning running! It really has been an amazing experience so far and the people are wonderful. I've had so much fun getting to know families and couples and kids. They are very warm and welcoming - I feel very at home already. Virginia (the lady I'm staying with) act like old buddies already. She showed me how to eat a mango (pronounced "mongo") just the other day and I was slurping it down over her kitchen sink!
This is kinda out of order but above is my little half kitchen with counterspace, sink, micro and fridge. I'm standing in the door of the bedroom - these two rooms are it! Oh yeah, and see that line of 2-liter bottles on the floor? Those are my lifeline - I've gone through 13 liters of water by myself this first week!
The other side of the galley kitchen...
These are the steps up to my second story apartment. The small tall building is behind Virginia's house, across the grass a couple steps. Halfway up you can see the door on the left - that's my bathroom! I have to leave the door open or it would be a stuffy sauna in there! So all kinds of fun little creatures who crawl in anytime and chill out in my bathroom! I currently have three geckos who live above the mirror, under the light (which is always on to light the hallway and burn off humidity). They are clearish green and VERY shy. They peek out while I'm showering sometimes. Then there are always the fun little gnats, flies, and the everpresent mosquito. (oh yeah, and all the toilet paper goes in the garbage - not great sewage here! isn't that fun?)
This is the lovely and talented Miss Emily Barlow, my cooperating teacher. She is wonderful and very helpful and I've already learned so much from her. Tough act to follow though!
This is a sidewalk in the inner courtyard of the school, Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center. The grey building you see is a library on the first floor and the chapel and computer lab on the second floor. Classrooms open onto the sidewalk in buildings all around.
Out of order, this is my little bedroom with a door to a small porch on the side. THis room actually looks different now cuz i moved the desk where that bed is so my computer could get wireless. But outside that door on the left is a large mango tree! So I could reach out and pick a mango for breakfast if I wanted!
Well, I am about to go the Hipermaxi, which is basically the Bolivian walmart and pick up more bottled water and some paper towels. More pics later!
This is at the youth group party last week - this is Katie Beth, an MK, and Mike Banks, who works with the High Schoolers. That pinata didn't last very long!! There were about 40 kids there that night.
Ok, remember that picture of the school grounds from below? This is a similar view but after the week of rain!! And this is even after the water had gone down a lot!!
The water came up all the way to those sandbags in the door of my classroom!!! We actually didn't put the sandbags there until we came in on Wednesday and found water already in the classroom.....but I guess we'll be prepared for next time!
Ah yes, driving in Santa Cruz. Very typical. Everyone going every direction at the same time. I've always been in amazement that there aren't permanent traffic jams but somehow they always figure it out and pretty quickly too!! Lot of honking but very few accidents.
Even better! A normal intersection crossing. Since there's more road in an intersection, everyone tries to pull around and ahead of everyone else so 3 lanes would turn into 7. But of course, it always gets back to 3 lanes by the time everyone finishes crossing and no one's the worse off! But I've found out that it really is the biggest and the most daring that gets the right of way.....
