Sea Agradecido

The houses just continue up the mountain side one on top of the other

At first when I thought about writing this blog the first thing that came to mind was that I have nothing to write about.  I have a little sick all week with a cold so I have been sleeping every chance I get.  Then today as I was preparing to write my blog I realized that I have done a lot this week.  A whole lot!  Well first of all the other volunteers went to El Alto last Sunday.  Of course I was expecting them to return with something ridiculous.  They didn’t let me down!  Later that night when I returned to the house I was told to go to a room and check out what they got.  They ended up buying two little birds for pets.  I was hoping for a pet llama or something but I guess I will have to settle with birds for now.  Its actually weird how you can’t stop watching them.  Sometimes I just sit mesmerized by them jumping around.  So the volunteers and I were talking about how thanksgiving is coming up and that none of them have ever celebrated thanksgiving before.  They said that they wanted it to be an authentic American Thanksgiving with turkey… Well finding turkey in the markets is not that easy so we came up with an idea.  We are going to purchase a live turkey and raise it until Thanksgiving and then… well you can guess the rest.  Luckily they got someone here who knows how to do that kind of thing.  Also we are thinking about getting a few baby chicks and raiding them to lay eggs… I can see it now, waking up in the morning and going out to the side yard to gather eggs for breakfast.  I still want to buy a llama. I just got to find one for sale.

The Birds

So it has been a busy week at work with visiting families.  Each visit has something that just stands out to you and just makes you grateful for all that you have.  We visited the house of one family that was not too far from our office.  The mother is just 23 years old and has 2 kids that are in the kindergarten at Casa de Paso.  As we were in the micro bus on the way to her house she was asking us so many questions.  She was asking us how to say things in German and English and asking us all kinds of questions about where we were from.  When we got to her house which was a long ways up a 45 degree angle hill, she took us inside.  I was shocked to see that all she had in the room was a mattress on the floor and a TV stand in the corner.  That was it.  As we were talking she offered us some chocolate covered bananas.  They were very good.  She told us that after she drops her kids off at kindergarten she spends the whole day walking around selling candies and chocolates that she makes like what she gave us.  Everyday this is how she pays her bills and takes care of her kids.  I can tell that I will be buying many more chocolates from now on.  Another family that we visited lives high up on the other side of the city.  It is a mother and 4 children.  Three of those children also go to the Kindergarten at Casa de Paso.  I see many of these children every day.  Talking to them and playing with them in the recreation area.  All of them wanting you to throw them in the air or sling them around by their hands.  You never think when you see the big smiles on the kids faces that they live in such conditions or in such broken families.  That’s why I believe that I have one of the hardest jobs in the foundation.  I don’t just see the kids but I see where they have to sleep every night.  I have to see all the things they DON’T have.  It’s difficult at times but it makes you care so much more about these kids and makes you want to keep those smiles on those faces.   So many of these families have difficult situations.  Many of these single mothers have no jobs and many of them work as cleaners, washing other peoples clothes and cleaning their homes for a little bit of money to keep their kids fed and to give them a place to sleep.  The last family we visited this week was a bit of a shock to me.  It was a single mother with 8 children.  They lived in a one room small house.  They have no table and chairs because there is no room.  And they don’t have a bed.  When it is time for them to sleep at night they lay 3 very thin mattresses on the floor and all squeeze on.  This is how many people here live.  Unless you take the time to see, you’d never know.

Chocolate covered Bananas

Notice how bare the room is

The 3 thin mattresses that the family of 8 sleep on

I didn’t play volleyball this week.  Instead I went to my first Bolivian funeral, hopefully my last.  The mother of one of the brothers from church passed away on Friday.  She was diagnosed with terminal cancer and a few weeks later she passed.  It was a pretty sad thing to see.  It really made me reflect on losing friends and loved ones.  I have had quite a few close friends and family pass over the past few years.  A couple since I have been here in Bolivia.  My second week here a good friend of mine died in a car crash.  Many people want to question why and be angry at God for taking them.  But what I have learned is that yes it is sad to lose someone but you have to thank God for the opportunity of having that person in your life.  Every time you get to spend with someone you need to appreciate it.  God has given you the time to spend with that person and you shouldn’t take it for granted.  There is a time set for everyone so now is the time to make memories and enjoy that person’s life because tomorrow is not guaranteed.  

View out my window last night as the sun set behind El Alto

Baby shower playing pin the passiefier on the baby