A Normal day to day week

El Alto.  It all looks the same

So it has just been another week in La Paz.  Nothing out of the ordinary (for LaPaz….).  This week at work, Justus and I were visiting a family in El Alto and I saw one of the strangest things.  We were just sitting in a room of their house asking some questions about the family when I looked out the door of the room to find myself confused.  I had heard a pig oinking so of course that is why I was looking out the door.  I was hoping to possibly see it walk by the door.  But that’s not what I saw.  What I saw was a lot more interesting.  I saw the husband walking by the door from another room with a sack.  Instantly the question in my mind was “what is in that sack?”  Justus and I continued with our questions (he was completely oblivious to anything that was going on).  After we finished everything we walked out the door and I saw the sack over in the corner.  I could still here the pig oinking and I kept looking around the yard for it but it was nowhere in sight.  Finally I saw the sack move… I nudged Justus and told him to look at the sack.  Then out of a hole in the sack a snout popped out.  The pig was in the sack.  Why is the pig in the sack?  I still have no clue.  I didn’t dare to ask because at this moment I was already confused enough.  After we laughed for a minute in confusion, we just decided it was time to leave and go back to the office. 

I told you in an earlier blog how in our project we have a cooking class with Doña Maria.  Well this Thursday was the finale of the class.  For two days the ladies in the class were baking and preparing for their exposition of what they had learned.  Justus and I went around to all the projects in the foundation and passed out invitations to the coordinators of each project inviting them to come and try the cakes and pastels.  I had been anticipating this day for weeks and man was it worth it!  We presented all the participants with certificates saying that they had passed the class.  Finally it was time to eat.  There was so much food.  I walked up to the table with the intention of getting some apple pie.  While at the table the ladies just started piling food up on my plate until there was no room left and my apple pie was buried under all sorts of sweets.  So, I had to eat down through the pile of cakes and pies and cookies to reach that piece of apple pie.  It was a challenge but it was very delightful.  I am a little sad that the class is over.  No, I am VERY sad that this class is over.  I truly enjoyed every week getting to try some of the amazing things that they had cooked up.  I guess I’ll have to just have to learn how to cook them on my own….

 

The graduates

The FOOD!!!!

Friday, Justus and I went to visit a family in El Alto.  We waited for an hour before we were finally met by the girl who was supposed to be taking us to her house.  We got to her house and began to ask questions and listen to their situation.  Turns out that the mother is in prison and the oldest brother is working hours away in the Yungas.  So the person taking care of the family is the oldest daughter of 17 years old.  She receives a bit of help from her aunt but a 17 year old is the responsible for her two younger brothers.  I am learning that this is a very common situation here in La Paz.  After we left we were headed back to the office when I had an encounter.  While trying to catch a mini bus in one of the busiest places in El Alto, a lady ran into me.  Something felt weird about this situation because she was pressed very tightly against me and I couldn’t get away.  Then I felt my pocket unzip.  I was being robbed! I reached down and grabbed her by the wrist with her hand in my pocket.  I yanked her hand out and threw it to the side then zipped up my pocket.  She pretended like she was picking something up.  I gave her an evil look, turned and walked to my mini bus.  You always have to be on alert here in La Paz and El Alto.  Many people try to target tourist and people who they think might have something in their pockets of value.  People who usually aren’t paying attention.  It is a sad thing that people resort to this type of thing.  But what is important is to know that people just don’t run into to you for no reason.

Friday night in the Foundation had an event where people from each project dress up and compete in a competition of dancing and skits.  Me and Justus didn’t find out until Wednesday afternoon that we were suppose to come up with something to do.  All we knew was that we were suppose to dress up like the opposite sex.  So of course we chose to dress up like Cholitas.  It was quite amusing.  So we planned to do a dance.  We started out with a traditional Cholita song called “Cholita Marina” which is popular among many Cholitas.  After dancing to this for about a minute, we busted out into the Gangam Style dance.  We practiced all day Thursday and Friday learning how to dance from YouTube.  You may ask why we danced Gangam Style. Well there is a Grocery store chain here called K-tel.  It is kind of like a Foodlion.  Well they have a commercial with a Cholita doing the Gangam Style dance.  So that’s how we came up with it.  It was pretty fun and we got a lot of cheers though we didn’t win.  The plus side is now I know how to dance Gangam Style. 

Me, Justus, and one of our beneficiaries 

Another photo of us and some kids

 So, a few of us volunteers have been training for this marathon that is in two weeks.  It is an 11k (around 7 miles) race.  Every week we run at least two long distance runs.  Yesterday after our volleyball game we ran all the way back to the house. It’s a little over 5 kilometers (around 3.5 miles).  Hopefully we will be ready in 2 weeks.  Running in La Paz is no easy task.  Everywhere is hilly and the air is very thin.  Your body has to produce more red blood cells just to take in enough oxygen.  You may find yourself being very exhausted and your heart pounding after walking up a short flight of stairs.   So now imagine running here.  I am very amazed at how far I am able to go.  I am running more and farther here than I ever had in the states.  I guess it is because every day I have so much practice walking up these mountains on my visits to people’s houses and a lot of the time to get to my own home.  Today we attempted to go to the Valley of the Spirits.  We were not too far away from finding it when it began to rain.  All the taxis were full and so were the mini buses.  When it rains everyone crams into them out of the rain.  All ready soaking wet we decided to walk.  We ended up walking an hour and a half or so in the pouring rain back to the house.  It was a good 5 or 6 mile walk home.  I can only imagine how it will be when the Rainy Season sets in….

I have a bit of sad news.  In a recent blog I talked about to the 2 birds that we got as pets.  Well, they died this weekend.  I don’t know why but they both died at the same time.  I am shocked.  I was expecting them to make it at least two months before they died but they barely made it two weeks.  It is a tragic situation and I am sure the matter will be investigated soon…. Just thought that you guys should know.

 

The birds next to Felix's Birthday cake in the freezer....

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

La felicidad es una decisión!

View out one of my families windows

Not much happened this week so I’ll give you a quick overview of things.  I visited a few families this week which was a little difficult because many of them were crying as they were telling me about their challenges in their lives.  It is always hard to hold back the tears while listening to them.  Many of the volunteers have been sick this week with food poisoning, colds, sore throats, and parasites.  The food here can be interesting at times in the project.  Monday I had Panza de Vaca (I’m not going to tell you what it is.  Just Google it!).  I’ll eventually do a blog post on food here in La Paz but first I need to take some more pictures and try some more things.  I have been pretty lucky lately since I haven’t been sick (knock on wood).  I pray that I can continue to stay healthy because being sick does not look very fun from what I have observed this week.  This week in Doña Maria’s cooking class we made the most incredible cake I have ever eaten!  I am eventually going to try to recreate it soon, but a little bit different.  We had a work shop this week for the parents of the families in our project.  The topic was sexual abuse.  Did you know that every day 20 kids are sexually abused in the La Paz area?  It is very sad that this is so common and that it severely damages the kid’s lives.  What I greatly appreciate about the efforts of Fundaćion Arco Iris is that it is attempting to empower these people and the kids to break the cycle.  We have the same cycle in the United States.  People who are uneducated and cannot get ahead in life and constantly drag their kids down the same road with them.  They live in extreme poverty because they cannot find jobs because they have no skill set.  Here in La Paz, many kids drop out of school to work and help support their family or get away from the poverty of their family.  The foundation encourages the kids to stay in school and get that valuable education so that they can in turn break the cycle.  Also the foundation helps the parents to learn valuable skills and ways to better the lives of their kids. 

 

Amazing Cake!!

Friday, a husband and wife (Kay and Bill) from the church in Florida came to help a family in our project.  They are spending about a week here in La Paz to see the work of Fundaćion Arco Iris and Hope Worldwide here in the city.  Justus and I took them to El Alto to one of our families who need help.  The mother stays pretty busy raising five kids and washing other people’s clothes and cleaning to make money to provide for those kids.  When we arrived to the place where they lived we didn’t know where to start.  We began by picking up the trash that was scattered around in the yard area.  We helped to organize the piles of clothes that the children had received from donations.  We continued to clean out their one bedroom home.  Afterwards we gave the kids a bath.  The kids were very dirty.  Many don’t bathe regularly because they don’t have bathrooms.  We warmed up some water on the stove so that they wouldn’t freeze.  After the kids were clean, I had the job to help comb the tangles out of the little girls’ hair.   I am not a professional at this but she was so patient.  She said oww a few times but when I asked her if she was ok she just shook her head yes.  It’s amazing what a little shampoo and coming out the tangles will do.  They all seemed pretty happy and grateful.  I think it is great that many people will take the time to come down here to visit and to want to help a family in need.  I look forward to many more visitors willing to do the same thing. 

 

Kay and Bill

Me very Concentrated trying to comb out those tangles

So all of us volunteers are about to begin a cooking competition.  We are dividing up into groups of two and three and are planning our dinner ideas.  We have two brackets.  One bracket is the volunteers here in the house and the other bracket is the volunteers in Niñas Obrajes.  We will cook dinner for all the people in our bracket. Each team has one week and one meal.  The others in the house will vote on a scale of 1-10 to get the final score.  The winner of the house will compete against the winner of Niñas Obrajes. I am really looking forward to showing off some more of my cooking skills because I still have some tricks up my sleeve.  Also I am looking forward to eating a bunch of good meals, but most of all I am looking forward to winning….  It will be no easy feat but I am always up for a challenge.  If anyone has any good ideas be sure to let me know.  I could use a bit of inspiration to perfect our meals and take home the gold.

One of my beneficiary 

Guinea Pigs.  I'll let you figure out why I have a picture of them for

Two Months!!

Another picture of me from Lago Titikaka in my new Jacket

So just in case you were wondering how the Saltiñas turned out, they were pretty amazing.  This was a short week at work since we had Monday off after our trip to Copacabana and we had Friday off as well to have a meeting with all the volunteers to see how things are going so far in Bolivia.  On Tuesday Justus and I had to go to the far end of El Alto twice.  We ended up not getting home Tuesday night until after 8 o’clock.  So of course I was starving and had to go visit Rosalita down the street and order me some Salchipapas.  I have fallen in love with these things.  I go maybe 3 or 4 times a week to eat them.  They are basically sliced sausage and French fries smothered in mustard, ketchup, and mayonnaise.  And they only cost 7 bolivianos which equals about one dollar American. Ugh, now I am craving some.  I need to hurry up and finish this blog post so I can get some.  On Wednesday Justus and I went to visit a family in the afternoon not to far from where we live.  I was very saddened by the dynamics of this family.  The mother and father both are in prison.  The oldest daughter who is 26 is raising 5 of her brothers and sisters who range from the ages of 9 to 17.  She also has a sister of 24 who is in prison as well and is raising her daughter of 5 years old.  Oh and I did I mention she has her own daughter who is 4 years old.  So she is raising 7 children in a one bedroom house with one bed and she is only 26 years old.  She works everyday nearby cleaning to make enough money to provide for all of them.  I cannot imagine how difficult that must be.  She says that the children are very sad on mothers day and fathers day because they cannot see their parents. 

 

The road winding down into the valley

So Friday was our meeting for us to talk about how things are going here in Bolivia and talk about future plans and trips.  So we went just south outside the city to a area called Jupapina.  Once off the main road we winded down a dirt road into a green valley to a house that the foundation owns.  After we were there for a while and the vans were gone we realized that we had everything we needed for the cookout except the most important thing. MATCHES!  I volunteered to run back up to the main road and buy some.  So I took off winding up the mountain.  It was no easy feat with such thin air.  As I was near the top I was met with a pack of Golden Retrievers who ran alongside me to the main road.  Finally at the little tienda on the main road, I bought some matches and a bottle of water.  Once I caught my breathe, I whistled for the dogs and began heading back towards the valley.  It was a lot easier to run down the mountain.  As we passed their house the dogs veered off and I finished my descent.  Upon returning we began the next task of trying to start a fire to cook the food.  There is no instant light charcoal here and they rarely use starter fluid.  And did I mention the lack of oxygen here?  One of the things necessary for a fire.  Once we got some embers going, we blew and blew until all the coals were a glowing red.  Oh man was that food good.  We grilled chicken, chorizos(sausage), and steaks.  Since Matthias and I were the ones grilling we ate quite a bit.  After lunch we talked about our future plans and where we wanted to go on a trip.  And after that we played soccer.  It was a great time to hang out with everyone.

The house down in the Valley

Some friends I made in the valley

Doing what us Americans do best

Doesn't this just make your mouth water? 

Today we began our volleyball tournament.  Everyone has been practicing and training for weeks.  Everyone showed up to show off their teams new jerseys.  We had the first and the last games.  Our first game we started off very well but then we choked and ended up losing.  After waiting for all the other games, it was finally our turn again.  We started off strong again but this time we held on to it.  We went on a scoring streak and never looked back.  We won by a landslide.  It was a lot of fun! We play every Saturday for the next two months.  I’m hoping we have a chance at the championship in November.

Justus and I sporting off our new Jerseys before the game

Nuestro Equipo

A little action shot....

Just A Few Thoughts

Sun setting behind Peru

When coming to Bolivia, I think that it is easy to think that everyone hates you.  I know for me, I thought because I was a gringo from the United States, people would be mean.  But the longer I am here the more that this thought just becomes non-sense.  People here are genuinely nice.  Of course there is always a bad egg in the bunch no matter where in the world you are.  Every day I meet some of the nicest and politest people.  People who are always genuinely interested about what you have to say and who know it can be a bit difficult being a gringo, so they look out for you and make sure no one takes advantage of you.  That is the same way we should be in the United States.  There are so many immigrants from Mexico and Central America that are treated badly and token advantage of.  Many are pushed to the side and ignored because they struggle to communicate in English.  I wonder why we have such a bad reputation among many of the Hispanics in our own country.  I say that it is our job to look out for them and make them feel welcomed.  Don’t get frustrated when you can understand them, just be patient.  Trust me It is not easy to communicate in a new language and it is a very good feeling when someone takes the time to try to understand and help you.  You can feel very lonely when you are surrounded by people if no one takes the time to communicate.  Why do you think in certain cities that people of the same language or same race tend to live in the same area?  Because they don’t want to feel alone. 

Have you ever bought something that don’t need?  Not because you wanted it, but because the person that was selling it needed the money.  I have a feeling that I will return home with a bunch of things that I don’t really need.  But it is a way of helping people out who are struggling by giving them money without just giving them money.  So if I return home with a random gift for you, now you know why… This week on Wednesday we did not work.  It was pretty interesting.  Apparently, last year when the census was done, the population in the area had went down by a large number since the census before, which makes no sense at all.  The result of the decrease was that La Paz receives millions of dollars less in finding from the government.  Many people in La Paz were unhappy about this and decided to do something about it.  This is what baffles me the most.  These people worked together to shut down the whole city.  They used boulders, debris, and piles of dirt to shut down all the main roads in and around the city.  The city was paralyzed and there was no public transportation (the reason we didn’t work today).  Seeing this, I asked why in the United States we have such a hard time working together?  How come when we are not happy with something we are to busy fighting amongst ourselves that we can not band together and do something about it.  Yea, they shut down the city but they worked together to achieve a goal to let the government know that they were not happy.  Something I have learn about the people here in La Paz is that if they are not happy with something going on, they ban together and have a march through the streets of the city to let people know.

This week at work we had a bunch of clothes that were piling up in the office.  So one afternoon, after a cooking workshop that we had (I love our cooking workshops), we brought the ladies to the office and dumped all the clothes out on the floor.  It was like Black Friday in the United States.  These women were digging through all the clothes as quickly as possible so that they could find the good stuff before the others.  Clothes were flying in the air people bumping each other aside.  It was mayhem.  As soon as I dumped the bags I backed away so not to lose a limb or get injured.  All I could think about while watching this was sitting at home the day after Thanksgiving and watching the news while eating leftovers, waiting to see people fighting over clothes and the newest gadgets.  After about 40 minutes of ladies rummaging through clothes they were done.  We packed up what was left in to bags and drug it back into the office.  Afterwards we stood there for a couple minutes to admire how much space we now have in the office.  Now let us get back to these cooking classes….  We have cooking workshops for the ladies every week (thanks to Doña Maria).  The ladies come in and cook whatever Doña Maria has planned for that day.  And let me tell you something, I do not mind being the Guinea Pig.  This week we had some Chocolate African Cake, Cheesy bread, and some pretzel like bread.  Next week they are preparing Saltiñas.  I can’t wait!!!

So this weekend we went to Copacabana.  It is on an island in Lake Titicaca.  It is a very beautiful place.  We had about 1000 people load into 21 buses and we drove about 3 hours to get there.  In my group we had 100 people from my project.  Many of them were little kids.  Luckily their mothers were on the trip to.  By the end of the first day these kids were hanging all over Justus and I.  If we had a free hand it wasn’t long before we had a little one tugging on it.  The first day we walked into the city with our color coded hats that were in the order of the colors of the rainbow.  Later from the beach, we watched the sun set behind Peru which is on the other side of the lake.  It was a very beautiful sight.  I’m not complaining but, our sleeping arrangements were not what you would expect.  We stayed in some sort of a hostel.  In my room were about 6 cholita moms and about 15 of their little ones.  We slept on mats in the floor that were stuffed with hay.  Let’s just say that I didn’t sleep the whole night long.  Then there were the bathrooms.  It is very difficult to use the toilet without a toilet seat!!  The next morning we hiked to the top of Calvary Mountain which is right next to the water and the city.  We were at the top in time to watch the sun rise over the island.  It was one of the most beautiful sunrise’s I have ever seen.  As the sun was rising you could see the shoreline and mountains of Peru appearing in the distance.  The rest of the day we chilled on the beach and ate Trucha (Trout I think) which was very good.  The other volunteers and I were talking and we definitely want to come back another weekend on our own and go to some of the other islands around the lake. 

Copacabana from the top of Calvary Mountain

Some of My kids

Me standing on a dock on Lago Titicaca

The Straight of Tiquina

Our Sleeping Arrangements 

Calvary Mountain

Our march into the city

The Nine to Five

Me out in the far edge of the city in the zone of Tangani

So not much has happened in the past week other than work.  So I guess that I will talk about work.  This was a nice week at work.  We started off our week going to visit a family in Tangani.  It is a zone in the northern edge of the city.  We took a mini bus from near Casa de Paso and started heading up.  The mini bus began to wind down a dirt road around the edges of a few cliffs until we finally reached the bus stop.  The bus stop is just a dirt place at the end of the road. From there, we had to walk up another dirt road which was pretty steep.  After a few breath taking views we finally reached the house of the family we were visiting.

The house of the Family in Tangani

While we were talking to the lady she was telling us that she has no water.  Apparently the city has not put water lines to this part of the city.  This is the first time we had encountered anything like this.  And of course the water companies don't deliver jugs of water out this far either.  We asked the lady, "well what do you do? How do you get your water?"  She then pointed to the river which is about 50 yards away.  This was no gushing river.  I didn't really see any water at all.  She said that they dig holes in the edges that will fill up with water so they can wash clothes in the river or retrieve water for dishes of what not.  I was a little bit taken back.  Getting down to this river is no easy feat.  It is a good 50 to 100 foot climb down to the bottom.  I realized how much can be taken for granted at home.  Just being able to do to the sink and get water is a blessing.  Also not having to boil your water is another blessing.  Until you live somewhere that you have to do this, you never really realize how lucky you have been.  You may have heard about it but until you see it first hand it never sinks in.  We continued talking with her and asked her how she liked living in this part of the city.  She responded that she really loved living there.  She said that it was " Muy Tranquillo." (Very Calm and Peaceful).  I agreed with her. It was very beautiful and peaceful.  If it wasn't for the water issue i think that I would love to live there as well.

The River where she washes clothes and gets her water. Notice the man standing in the upper right corner to get a judge of how deep it is.

The first Wednesday of every month we give out food to the families in our project we have a little more than 150.  They all come into pick up there food and it gives us a chance to set up times to go visit their homes.  It was alot of work because we had to take big bags of rice and sugar and seperate them into smaller bags to distribute.  When the families come to pick up their food the load it into bags and blankets.  It totals up to about 50 pounds of food by the time you add in the pineapple and everything.  Then the families, many who live over an hour away, head back to their homes.  Many ride in mini buses with these bags of food then have to walk the rest of the way to their homes (usually up hill).  It is amazing that how much these people do.  Again it shows me how much we take for granted back at home.  Just the ability to load up everything in our cars and drive to our homes and park right by the door.  The only fiscal work we have to do is loading and unloading the car.  

Me handing out food to the families on Wednesday

Another thing I have noticed about many of these families is that they are very grateful and thoughtful people.  Thursday, Justus and I went to a ladies house first thing in the morning.  Again we road this mini bus to the far end of the route where it dropped us off at the bus stop.  We then proceeded to walk up the road, up the mountain, to this ladies house.  When the road ran out, we continued to walk up a dirt path.  I think we may have walked a quarter mile or maybe half a mile up this mountain to this ladies house.  Once there, the lady offered us some drink that she made from boiling water and some of the pineapple that we had given her the day before.  I was a little scared to drink it but i was very thirsty.  It tasted very good and i didn't get sick.  Another house the we visited Earlier in the week was the same.  When we finally got to her house we sat in a room with 5 of her 7 kids and watched Spongebob in Spanish of course,  Next thing you know she was handing us plates of food to eat with her and her friends.  I was again shocked.  These people have very little but they are compelled to give to you when you are a guest in their house.  You feel bad about eating or drinking but i believe it is more disrespectful not to......

Part of the mountain we had to walk up to get to the house.  You cant even see the bus stop anymore.

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Another View of El Alto

Tres Puentes lit up at night.  It is actually 3 bridges that connect 4 parts of the city

A March against the war in Syria

Spanglish

Techno Music Concert we went to lastnight.. CRAZY

So it has been another interesting week here in La Paz.  My Spanish continues to get better with everyday.  It has to considering mostly everyone you meet and talk to everyday usually only speak Spanish.  Though when I am with the volunteers (even the Germans) it gets kind of confusing switching from language to language and I end up speaking in Spanglish.  Believe it or not I’m actually beginning to understand a bit of German which is scary.  I’m going to be all confused when I start accidently mixing in German words.  What would you call that? (Spanglermish?).  Anyways, I feel like I have adjusted to life pretty well here so far, considering I have been here for almost 2 months.  Riding mini buses and haggling with taxi drivers and the ladies down at the market have become a way of life.  Also, I am making friends with a few of the locals here on our street.  Just down the road is a little tienda that is right on the side of the road.  Inside is a little lady named Rosalita.  She is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met.  She cooks hamburgers and salchipapas every night for 7 bolivianos (about 1 dollar).  So of course I have been down there many times each week and I always meet people while we are waiting on our food.  It reminds me of home, going to a small local place where everyone likes to stop in and talk.

Our Favorite Vegetable Lady at The Market

 Speaking of haggling, we are planning on having a cookout here at the house tomorrow, so Jean Phillip, Nils, and I went down the street to the market today to buy some groceries.  It’s nothing like going to Food Lion or Wal-Mart.  It is a place with all kinds of vegetables, meats, and many other random things to buy.  There are many little Cholita ladies yelling at you to come see what they have to sell in hopes that you will buy something.  It’s pretty fun to see all the things and search for the things you need amongst the mountains of colorful vegetables and fruits.  There are a few butchers hacking up cows and chickens which gives off a bit of an odor.  But I’m not the only one that smells it because there are always a few dogs roaming around hoping that someone might drop a piece of tasty meat on the ground.  There are no shopping carts or baskets available so when we know we are going to buy a good bit of things we make sure that we bring a backpack or two to haul all the stuff back up the street.  And the way we go through milk in this house it’s the only way to carry all the bags back.  I think we go through about 15 or 20 bags of milk a week…

Notice the Kid sleeping up on the shelf

Random Dog looking for Something to eat in the Market

You can Smell the Fresh meat as soon as you walk in the door

Getting ready for the cookout

This week at work Justus and I went to El Alto a few more times.  It still amazes me every time we go.  One day we were told to go meet a lady at a chicken restaurant called Pollolandia near Ceja in El Alto.  Do you recognize how many chicken restaurants are near Ceja? A LOT!  We walked around for about 30 minutes asking random people where it was chasing down there directions with no luck.  Then finally we found it.  It was this big restaurant on the corner but not where we were looking.  So we looked for this lady and ended up waiting there for about another 30 minutes.  She never showed up so we headed back to Casa de Paso.  So, about 3 hours of our day ended up being wasted.  But that is life here in La Paz.  There are many times that people are late or don’t even show up.  The next day we went to El Alto again, but to the far edge of the city near Huyana Potosi.  This part of El Alto didn’t have paved roads.  The road was full of rocks piles of dirt and a flock of sheep that was wondering around.  Most people that live this far out on the edge of the city are very poor.  And the family that we went to visit was no different.  We were invited in to the house to look around.  The house was very organized and clean which is rare in many of the poor homes.  They only had a dirt floor and it was very cold.  Upstairs, which you had to use a ladder to get to, had a sort of platform that was flopping around in front of the door.  Once we entered, there were a few beds where 11 people sleep at night.  It is mind blowing at how big these families are and how many of them have to cram into one bed.  After Justus and I climbed down, we found out that the mother had fixed us something to eat.  This is very common for us.  People want to cook for us or pay for our mini bus ride even though they don’t have much money for themselves.  Normally, I tell them I am not hungry or I have to go but she had already cooked it for us.  I figured at this point the worst thing I could do was not to eat it.  I was a little afraid of getting sick but it seemed pretty safe.  Turned out it was very good and we didn’t get sick.  The thing that I am beginning to notice is that the people with the least amount of money usually have one of the best views from their houses.  From this house you could look off into the Altiplano where there are no houses but only wide open space and of course some of the most beautiful mountains in the Andes.  

Flock of sheep wandering around in the street

Stairs going to upstairs

The end of the road in El Alto

Chillin in the backyard waiting to grill out

Life is so difficult here.....