when i sat down to write this blog, i had to look at my pictures from the past week to believe that my family had been here. we went to the airport last night at 10pm and that already seems like years ago. but they did come and we had a great time. it was so wonderful to laugh over things that only we think are funny, to tease my dad, punch (in a very non-violent way of course mcc) my brother, hug my mom and sing with my sisters. doesn't matter where we are, we have a good time :)
friday...
their plane arrived on time (pretty unusual) at 11:50pm and i went with some friends and family members to pick them up. i ended up pushing my way to the front of the crowd and stood right by the door to the terminal becasuse the glass was only one way and you can only see in when the door is open. since i was one of the tallest people in the airport i was kind of blocking the view of everyone else. whatever my fam was on the other side of that door! they had a little trouble purchasing thier visas because of some less then perfect US$, but they made it out! we loaded up into 2 vehicles and had the adventure of trying to find New Tribes Mission, where we were going to stay. we ended up driving around a plaza about 5 times, but arrived after 1am. we stayed up for an hour or so talking and exchanging gifts. big chocolate payload for me :)
saturday...
super hot and humid day. welcome to santa cruz! we sat in the shade all morning because it was too hot to move. then went out for lunch with a missionary who was also staying at NTM. He kept telling stories of political blockades, money scams, etc. niceguy, but he didn’t understand that my frantic hand gestures and glaresmeant to change his subject matter. The afternoon was more of sittingin the shade. I introduced drinking terere. I think everyone but Dana likes it :) At 5, when the sun wasn’t so brutal, we took a first ring micro to MCC. It was fun seeing my fam on the micro, especially whenit got crowded. Gave a quick tour of MCC and then we walked to plaza24 de Septiembre. We went to a rooftop restaurant next to thecathedral to enjoy the cool breeze and watch what was going on down atthe plaza. Around 8 there was a pre-carneval parade with hundreds of dancers. I didn’t know that was planned so it was a good surprise toshow my fam. Then we flagged down a taxi and squished all 6 of us in.Did this a few more times during the vacation, so we got pretty good at it.
Sunday…Started the day off early with dad by walking through torrential rain to buy futbol tickets. Bought them off a scalper, felt kind of proud i managed it in spanish. We went to my church for the morning service. Papi gave them a welcome speech and during our “welcome song” everyone came over and shook their hands. After church I gave them a tour of my host family’s house and then my whole extended Bolivian family came over for churasqua(cook out!). it was a real typical Bolivian meal of grilled meat,sausage, cheesy rice, tomato salad and ahi (hot sauce). My family really liked it, especially the ahi. The weather had cleared so we ate outside. It was really cool for my 2 “families” to meet and for my fam to see what my daily home life is like. We did some artisan shopping in the afternoon. The girls and mom found some good turquoise jewelry and other little souvenirs. Then it was off to meet Anita (my hostsister) for the big soccer game. It was a crazy game. The tournament was sponsored by an airline that was offering free in-country flightsfor a year to the winner, so I think that added extra craziness to thealready crazy fans and competition level. There was plenty of drama,yellow cards, and fireworks shot from the stands. Awesome.
Monday…We left New Tribes Mission, left our stuff at MCC, and headed out to Samaipata, a small town in the foothills of the Andes about 3 hours outside of Santa Cruz. Our taxi driver was very chatty and would point out different mountain formations and stopped for pics. The farther we drove the farther behind we left the hot, sticky weather of SCZ and felt the cool climate of the hills. Hallelujah. We stayed at LaVispera (means ¨the eve¨ in spanish and also ¨the awesomest¨ in whatever) a hotell/café/garden/ owned and run by a Dutch couple in their 60s. They had moved there 20 years ago because they “found paradise” and I have to agree. Their gardens, buildings, and scenery were beautiful. The perfect place to just relax. We ate a late lunch and then explored Samaipata. There are a lot of vacation homes in the hills and plenty of European tourists, so we didn’t really stick out.We found the park that overlooks the town and has an airplane, the plaza, and a market where we bought fresh fruit. Then we walked a trail behind La Vispera that ends at a stone throne perfect for takingin the scenery. It’s just amazing the diversity of Bolivian geography.We loved Samaipata!
Tuesday…We went on a guided 4 hour walking tour of Parque Amboro. Our guidespicked us up and drove us up and around some hills (ok to people from Michigan they look like mountains) to get to the park. There had been a heavy rain 2 days before so the roads were not in the best conditions. And it was my 17 year old driver´s first time ever driving those roads. Like we kept telling my family, here in Bolivia anything goes. The hike was amazing. We saw waterfalls, swung on vines, saw trees 1,000 years old and I actually understood about 90% of what our guide was saying! huzzah! Then about 2 hours into the hike it started pouring. That felt good at first because we were so hot, but it turned cold real fast. made walking really slippery and we all took some falls, but grace always managed to stick the landing with some fancy twist. we made it to the peak of the mountain hill and it looked like we were in the clouds - couldn´t tell where the fog ended and where the sky began. got back to la vispera cold, wet, muddy, but had had an amazing time. had some hot showers, cafecito, wine, fanta and cards. early bed time.
ok i´m getting sick of writing :P i´ll add pics and the rest of the week later!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
bittersweet symphany
krol fam countdown is back on. yay! first they bought tickets for feb., but then grace's profs said "not if you want to go to grad school." so cancel that and my dad bought new tickets for jan. 22-jan. 30! he couldn't get a hold of me, so on saturday i checked my inbox and had an email with their new itinerary and a "see you friday." crazy! gotta stay on your toes with the krol fam, don't know if santa cruz is ready.
but as i'm writing this my family is at the reception after my grandma's funeral. my grandma passed away early sunday morning. love you grandma geraldine pearl! you are missed. on sunday i got to see the pics they chose for her photoboard and not gonna lie, she was pretty cool.
and for the grand adventure of the week...arelis (fellow salter) and i decided to "get out of the city" on friday for a break from all the traffic and noise. so we went to the nearby pueblo cotoca, about 30 minutes out of santa cruz. turns out all there really is in cotoca is a big cathedral and a lot of motorcycles. we thought the one hotel we found was overpriced, so we got back into a taxi to find madre silva, a hotel outside of cotoca my host fam told me about. turns out that was even more expensive. welp, back to santa cruz! arrived back around 9pm, went out for dinner on a street that was completely shut down for a pre-carnaval stage show, and we were welcomed with open arms and huge laughs by my host mom and sister. they gave my some advice (always call ahead!) with some gelatin and off to my free bed. so i've been to cotoca :)
thank you for all the wonderful prayers and messages. they helped me feel more connected to home. and after posting last week´s blog i was back to feeling my usually happy/contentness with my life here in santa cruz. hurray!
but as i'm writing this my family is at the reception after my grandma's funeral. my grandma passed away early sunday morning. love you grandma geraldine pearl! you are missed. on sunday i got to see the pics they chose for her photoboard and not gonna lie, she was pretty cool.
and for the grand adventure of the week...arelis (fellow salter) and i decided to "get out of the city" on friday for a break from all the traffic and noise. so we went to the nearby pueblo cotoca, about 30 minutes out of santa cruz. turns out all there really is in cotoca is a big cathedral and a lot of motorcycles. we thought the one hotel we found was overpriced, so we got back into a taxi to find madre silva, a hotel outside of cotoca my host fam told me about. turns out that was even more expensive. welp, back to santa cruz! arrived back around 9pm, went out for dinner on a street that was completely shut down for a pre-carnaval stage show, and we were welcomed with open arms and huge laughs by my host mom and sister. they gave my some advice (always call ahead!) with some gelatin and off to my free bed. so i've been to cotoca :)
thank you for all the wonderful prayers and messages. they helped me feel more connected to home. and after posting last week´s blog i was back to feeling my usually happy/contentness with my life here in santa cruz. hurray!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
life is like a box of chocolates...
so this week has not been the best. to be brutally honest, it completely sucked. it started off with me having some bug sunday through tuesday and being up sick almost all monday night. but i left for work wednesday morning telling my host mom ¨yo estoy perfecta!¨ and super pumped because 2 more days until my family would come. i kept telling everyone how unreal it felt that they were coming and i made plans with my host family to have a big cookout and a day at the pool on sunday.
then around 9:30am i read an email from my dad saying that he was flying home from his business trip because grandma gerry took a turn for the worse and her nurse predicted she may have 3 days left. he wasn´t sure how this was going to effect the trip and to call when i got the chance. i thought ¨oh wow this is bad¨ and tried to work. but i couldn´t focus, so i went to talk to my boss and had my first cry of the day. i knew a fellow salter was at mcc so i went to borrow her skype equipment and had cry number 2. i called my dad and when i heard ¨´we´re not going to be able to come¨ i just lost it. 5 months of anticipation and planning and excitement and dreaming just crushed. i could not understand the timing. why right now? my poor grandma has suffered with alzheimer´s for 10 years. 10 years! i can´t understand why God didn´t bring her home sooner. i knew there was a possibility of her passing away during my year in Bolivia and i wish i was home. right now i feel the farthest away i have ever felt. and now i feel so selfish because i will not see my grandma one last time and i want my family here with me!
some people heard my crying and asked my friend ¨oh no was she robbed?¨ no that happend a few weeks ago...so they heard was what going on and i recieved a lot of comfort and prayers from the staff here. really wonderful people here. i spent the day with my friend, talking and eating chocolate from north america. then at potluck (wednesday dinners at mcc) we had prayer time where we prayed for the people of haiti during this horrible time and for my fam. and at home my host fam said to just have peace; it´s better to have known before my family came to santa cruz and have had to rush home.
i talked with my family for almost 2 hours last night, got all our crying and frustrations out and got to hear how grandma is doing. sounds like she is comfortable and ready to go. the grandma i remember is an amazing woman who loves Jesus, loves her family, friends, long walks, and ice cream and took me on the train for my first trip to chicago. we´ve already been missing her the past few years, but there would be times her personality would shine through the confusion and memory loss. i love you grandma gerry :)
one thing that happens often here in bolivia is that people make plans with you, and then don´t follow through. i´ve just learned it as a fact of life here. but having plans change i made with my family? no way those are supposed to be set in stone. later on in a conversation my dad said he was thinking how we say ¨i´ll follow your plans Lord...as long as they fit into mine.¨ well that was definitely how i felt yesterday and to be honest still feel today. but i definitely feel more at peace, calm, and happy today. last night i was able to joke and laugh with my family, hear about 50 cent in the g-rap (gasp!), and pride and prejudice and zombies. i wish all of this could have happened in person. but i´m looking toward the future, and hoping that they can come another time.
thanks for all the prayers and messages we have already recieved. if you see any member of my family, give them a hug for me.
i read psalm 13 last night and thought how no matter how david or the writer started off the chapter, whether in praise or crying out to God for help or lack of understanding, the chapter always ends with praising God. you know, that´s a pretty incredible, sometimes hard thing to do, but amen brother. so...
¨As for me, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help:
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me,
singing psalms to the name of the Lord, most high.
Psalm 13:6-7
then around 9:30am i read an email from my dad saying that he was flying home from his business trip because grandma gerry took a turn for the worse and her nurse predicted she may have 3 days left. he wasn´t sure how this was going to effect the trip and to call when i got the chance. i thought ¨oh wow this is bad¨ and tried to work. but i couldn´t focus, so i went to talk to my boss and had my first cry of the day. i knew a fellow salter was at mcc so i went to borrow her skype equipment and had cry number 2. i called my dad and when i heard ¨´we´re not going to be able to come¨ i just lost it. 5 months of anticipation and planning and excitement and dreaming just crushed. i could not understand the timing. why right now? my poor grandma has suffered with alzheimer´s for 10 years. 10 years! i can´t understand why God didn´t bring her home sooner. i knew there was a possibility of her passing away during my year in Bolivia and i wish i was home. right now i feel the farthest away i have ever felt. and now i feel so selfish because i will not see my grandma one last time and i want my family here with me!
some people heard my crying and asked my friend ¨oh no was she robbed?¨ no that happend a few weeks ago...so they heard was what going on and i recieved a lot of comfort and prayers from the staff here. really wonderful people here. i spent the day with my friend, talking and eating chocolate from north america. then at potluck (wednesday dinners at mcc) we had prayer time where we prayed for the people of haiti during this horrible time and for my fam. and at home my host fam said to just have peace; it´s better to have known before my family came to santa cruz and have had to rush home.
i talked with my family for almost 2 hours last night, got all our crying and frustrations out and got to hear how grandma is doing. sounds like she is comfortable and ready to go. the grandma i remember is an amazing woman who loves Jesus, loves her family, friends, long walks, and ice cream and took me on the train for my first trip to chicago. we´ve already been missing her the past few years, but there would be times her personality would shine through the confusion and memory loss. i love you grandma gerry :)
one thing that happens often here in bolivia is that people make plans with you, and then don´t follow through. i´ve just learned it as a fact of life here. but having plans change i made with my family? no way those are supposed to be set in stone. later on in a conversation my dad said he was thinking how we say ¨i´ll follow your plans Lord...as long as they fit into mine.¨ well that was definitely how i felt yesterday and to be honest still feel today. but i definitely feel more at peace, calm, and happy today. last night i was able to joke and laugh with my family, hear about 50 cent in the g-rap (gasp!), and pride and prejudice and zombies. i wish all of this could have happened in person. but i´m looking toward the future, and hoping that they can come another time.
thanks for all the prayers and messages we have already recieved. if you see any member of my family, give them a hug for me.
i read psalm 13 last night and thought how no matter how david or the writer started off the chapter, whether in praise or crying out to God for help or lack of understanding, the chapter always ends with praising God. you know, that´s a pretty incredible, sometimes hard thing to do, but amen brother. so...
¨As for me, I trust in your merciful love.
Let my heart rejoice in your saving help:
Let me sing to the Lord for his goodness to me,
singing psalms to the name of the Lord, most high.
Psalm 13:6-7
Friday, January 8, 2010
20-10 or 2000 and 10?
happy new year! already am finishing up a week of work after the whirlwind vacation. i think i´ll write about it over a few short posts cuz one long post seems a litte daunting right now.
on wednesday morning (dec 30) had slight bank fiasco because i wasn´t sure of my pin number and didn´t want the atm to eat my card, but it all straightened out. we didn´t go to tiwinaku because no buses were running, so we explored the city some more. we went to a park that over looked the city and took some great pics and relaxed. then we found the ¨witches market¨ where everything from herbal remedies to llama fetuses are sold. didn´t buy any souvenirs there. we also toured the coca museum. it was just this little cramped room but full of info about the coca leaf´s history and culture. in north america we may hear coca and instantly think ¨cocaine! crime! rick james!¨ but that´s really the westernized use of coca. in western bolivia the leaves are dried and people chew and leave a wad of leaves in their cheek, usually when their working. it kind of helps increase stamina and staves off hunger. when the spaniards first came they forced the andean people to work in the mines at shifts over 20hours long. at first the spaniards outlawed coca, but when they realized that chewing it helped keep the workers in the mines alive and more productive, the king of spain encouraged its use. and now coca-cola still uses it for flavoring! gotta love museums.
seeing the cultural difference between la paz and santa cruz was huge. people from santa cruz are extremely proud and brag about it all the time, but honestly i don´t really know what they are bragging about. i don´t really see a unifying culture or theme to connect people besides their pride in their city, where as in la paz the amayra people and culture came before the incans and is still around today. i do like living in santa cruz, but la paz has a lot more character. more later.
krol fam countdown: 7 days
on wednesday morning (dec 30) had slight bank fiasco because i wasn´t sure of my pin number and didn´t want the atm to eat my card, but it all straightened out. we didn´t go to tiwinaku because no buses were running, so we explored the city some more. we went to a park that over looked the city and took some great pics and relaxed. then we found the ¨witches market¨ where everything from herbal remedies to llama fetuses are sold. didn´t buy any souvenirs there. we also toured the coca museum. it was just this little cramped room but full of info about the coca leaf´s history and culture. in north america we may hear coca and instantly think ¨cocaine! crime! rick james!¨ but that´s really the westernized use of coca. in western bolivia the leaves are dried and people chew and leave a wad of leaves in their cheek, usually when their working. it kind of helps increase stamina and staves off hunger. when the spaniards first came they forced the andean people to work in the mines at shifts over 20hours long. at first the spaniards outlawed coca, but when they realized that chewing it helped keep the workers in the mines alive and more productive, the king of spain encouraged its use. and now coca-cola still uses it for flavoring! gotta love museums.
seeing the cultural difference between la paz and santa cruz was huge. people from santa cruz are extremely proud and brag about it all the time, but honestly i don´t really know what they are bragging about. i don´t really see a unifying culture or theme to connect people besides their pride in their city, where as in la paz the amayra people and culture came before the incans and is still around today. i do like living in santa cruz, but la paz has a lot more character. more later.
krol fam countdown: 7 days
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