2nd Workshop Down! (2/3-2/4)

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Well our Workshop last night and tonight, went really well! We had a whopping 12 people show up AND they liked our claps and fun games we had prepared for them. As a side note, we have them make the workshop rules that they will abide by (i.e. be on time, no cell phones, etc.) followed by a consequence. Guess what happens when people show up late? They have to sing or dance. Five people showed up late tonight so that was really fun to see them get into their songs and belt out their amazing voices. We've been coming home pretty tired, but it's been really rewarding nonetheless.

I'm still a bit frustrated at the fact that things move really slow here and I'm kind of figuring out why. You see, people will delegate their responsibilities to others and call it a day. Or only one person has the information you need and they happen to be out of town. (they forget they have the internet and can just look it up). Or people forget what you told them only a few hours prior.

Example A:

Cristina needed to send a package and she wanted to send it via DHL so she called the manager and asked him what he knew about DHL. He said that he and the assistant manager would take us to the DHL location to send it and take us home afterwards but to meet them in the center at 2pm. I made this call at about 11am. SO, we showed up at exactly 2pm, waited 20 minutes, called our manager only to find out that he forgot he was going to meet us and was now too far away from the center. He delegated the responsibility to a volunteer and asked him to take us to DHL (which was a 30 minute walk) ONLY to find out that she needed to show her ID and she didn't have any because the managers had her passport anyway. We pretty much wasted 2 hours doing nothing. BUT the story didn't end there. She figured it'd be easier to send it via FedEx since the Employment Center works with FedEx and they would come pick it up on the same day. So, we went to the center and they told her to go talk to this random guy who had the phone number for FedEx to pick up the package. But he wasn't there. NO ONE knew where he was or when he'd be back. AND apparently, he was the ONLY ONE with the number. She asked if they could find it online, but apparently it wasn't online. She got on one of the public computers and found the phone number within the first 3 minutes and called FedEx and arranged for them to pick it up no problem. THREE MINUTES. She was not very happy yesterday. We wasted 2 hours in the center only to find out they could have just come to our apartment here. LESSON LEARNED for sure.

Things definitely work differently here. For better or for worse, We had to learn that we should expect things to not work out the way we want them to, and if we do, we need to constantly follow up with people. But I don't want to constantly be following up, they need to learn how to do their jobs by themselves, and we will just have to do without sometimes. If it's really important, I will not depend on them.

We did our shopping today and for the first time ever, we have FRUIT and VEGETABLES! We are excited, we washed them with a food disinfectant we got from the pharmacy and went right to work with those fruit and veggies. It was quite cheap too (4 lemons= 10 cents, 4 avacados = 1.50, 4 apples, pears, peaches = 1dollar, etc, etc). We have done pretty well staying under our budget. Some weird lady approached me at the grocery store whispering that I buy some sugar. It was really weird..it felt like a drug deal. We found out later that they were low on sugar crops this year so sugar is rationed. She just wanted us to buy some since she had already used up her rations.

Friday, February 4, 2011

We met Yesenia, a student from our last workshop, for ice cream today at the Main Plaza. I explored the big church while waiting, and it reminded me of how much I hated visiting church after church in Jerusalem.

We have been watching the news about all the problems in Egypt. I can't believe that people are looting the Cairo Museum. The have decapitated two mummies!!! And ruined about 70 other artifacts! I was informed that our tour guide while there, Ahmad, was just shot in the leg from trying to protect the museum. He went to the hotel with the JC students and the Jacksons fixed him up. I wonder where the JC students are and if they got out?? It is so weird to see Tahrir Square on TV and know that I was just there last semester.

Hermano Salazar picked us up LATE tonight for our workshop. We didn't get to our own workshop until 7:15. We ended up having to sing and dance in front of our class. We sang this popular Bolivian song we learned in the truck on the way over:

"Dibujare un corazon

Partir en dos….." and that’s all we know, but its about a guy who breaks girls hearts.

So, we had to teach 1.5 workshops in less than 3 hours!! Crazy, but we did it. I hope the people liked it. At the beginning of the workshop, I felt like such a failure. I didn't know if the people were having fun, if they understood my Spanish, if they were learning anything, if they would do anything about it, or if it would change any lives. Also, we only graduated 7 of the 12 (although we had 3-4 who were there to review the workshop from last time). So, I was worried that I was a failure. Anyways, after reading the other interns blogs and how great their classes were and how they cried to say bye and they graduated 12…. Anyways, you get the picture.

SO, I almost started crying when at the end of the workshop, they told us how much they enjoyed the workshop and how grateful they were to us. Some chared with us their plans and advertisements for their businesses. They even planned a lunch for us all a week from Saturday so that we could enjoy eating some typical Bolivian dishes. We also got invited over to a vegetarian meal on Monday afternoon. It is a really poor area and a bit dangerous. Lots of dirt roads and huts. BUT, it meant the world to me to know that what I am doing is making a difference (no matter how small) and that they did enjoy the class and understood my Spanish. Its just difficult for me to see the impact I'm making. MORE than Anything, I think I have a difficult time BELIEVING in myself and the POWER I have to help other. Something, I am working on and will need in my future career and family life.

More Hiccups (1/31-2/2)

Monday, January 31, 2011

We didn't do much, but tried to start a schedule to work out and eat well. We have been ding our Pilates and Zumba DVDs that we brought. We also went to Cotoca with the manager's two sons. Cotoca is in the outer skirts of Santa Cruz and it's one of the poorest areas in the city. The manager's son had served his mission in Santa Cruz so we went to one of his old areas. We first went to this place called Parque Fantasia. It was really fun, but really ghetto. There was no one there. Only six dogs who kept following us and barking at the horse randomly there. There were all these miniature versions of world sites and even a mini-version of the statue of liberty. There was also a zip-line! We hoped it was safe and got on it. So much fun!

Upon returning, Jose wanted to take us to eat at Tobys. Let me explain Tobys, Camilo said that it was feo and not very good. Jose always says the opposite of everyone else. So we thought we would try it ourselves. Jose said he would cam at 8 after I told him that I wanted to be home at 8 so I could talk to my family. So we called him back and said we would go at 6:30 or not at all. We walked there and it's just a fast food restaurant. It wasn't that good and a bit over-priced. Cristina was grumpy cause she wasn't satisfied and had to waste her money on that.

Sometimes she doesn't like talking that much so people are always asking her if she's alright or if she's mad or if she doesn't like them. She's never had that problem before, but here she does. I think it’s the culture…you have to be overly friendly with Latin Americans..something I learned on my mission. Anyways, it takes work to keep a conversation going, and since my Spanish isn't as great, (and I'm a bit self-conscious about it at times), this will really help here to learn how to start and keep conversations going. It is good practice for the mission I tell her. She is just used to being around people who do all the talking and so is used to observing and listening…which doesn't fly so well here. I try and push her out of her comfort zone a bit :)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The kids started school today. The roads were blocked off as we walked to the center. Cristina and I felt so proud of ourselves for walking all the way there without getting mugged or ran over. After crossing the street by ourselves for the first time, we looked at each other and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing: I feel so cool for doing this..ha ha (like a four year old again).

After arriving, we found out one of the employment specialists did not inform his stake of our workshop dates and now we are teaching the four-day workshops in three-days this week! Let's hope it goes well. We are pumped, excited, and nervous. There will be more people today and most of them will probably be older. So we'll have to explain things as simple as possible.

WED:

We went to the center at two today so Cristina could send her dad's birthday package before he left Peru. Hermano Aguilar said he would take us to DHL at 2, but when we got there, he had forgotten and was far away. So, Alex walked with us to DHL, it took about an hour and it was HOT. I stepped in gum. Anyways, when we finally got there, they wouldn't let her send her package because it had sunscreen in it. SO she took it out, and then she didn't have ID, so she couldn't send it (The center still had her passport anyway). She was so frustrated, I felt bad, but I hated wasting my day and still ahd to do prep for our workshop tonight. We have had a lot of hiccups and things go wrong here. The culture, I think. We are really being tested on patience. Things don't work out for us lately. But at least, we are safe and healthy :)

Hermano Salazar picked us up tonight for our workshop. Only two people were on time. The rest didn't show up until after 7:30, which provides an additional challenge for us to teach all the material in the even shorter amount of time. Also, they had forgotten to bring a few essentials for us (markers, cups for the soda, the legos, name tags). We had to make due without.

More Hiccups (1/31-2/2)

Monday, January 31, 2011

We didn't do much, but tried to start a schedule to work out and eat well. We have been ding our Pilates and Zumba DVDs that we brought. We also went to Cotoca with the manager's two sons. Cotoca is in the outer skirts of Santa Cruz and it's one of the poorest areas in the city. The manager's son had served his mission in Santa Cruz so we went to one of his old areas. We first went to this place called Parque Fantasia. It was really fun, but really ghetto. There was no one there. Only six dogs who kept following us and barking at the horse randomly there. There were all these miniature versions of world sites and even a mini-version of the statue of liberty. There was also a zip-line! We hoped it was safe and got on it. So much fun!

Upon returning, Jose wanted to take us to eat at Tobys. Let me explain Tobys, Camilo said that it was feo and not very good. Jose always says the opposite of everyone else. So we thought we would try it ourselves. Jose said he would cam at 8 after I told him that I wanted to be home at 8 so I could talk to my family. So we called him back and said we would go at 6:30 or not at all. We walked there and it's just a fast food restaurant. It wasn't that good and a bit over-priced. Cristina was grumpy cause she wasn't satisfied and had to waste her money on that.

Sometimes she doesn't talk much so people are always asking her if she's alright or if she's mad or if she doesn't like them. She's never had that problem before, but here she does. I think it’s the culture…you have to be overly friendly with Latin Americans..something I learned on my mission. Anyways, it takes work to keep a conversation going, and since my Spanish isn't as great, (and I'm a bit self-conscious about it at times), this will really help here to learn how to start and keep conversations going. It is good practice for the mission I tell her. She is just used to being around people who do all the talking and so is used to observing and listening…which doesn't fly so well here. I try and push her out of her comfort zone a bit :)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The kids started school today. The roads were blocked off as we walked to the center. Cristina and I felt so proud of ourselves for walking all the way there without getting mugged or ran over. After crossing the street by ourselves for the first time, we looked at each other and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing: I feel so cool for doing this..ha ha (like a four year old again).

After arriving, we found out one of the employment specialists did not inform his stake of our workshop dates and now we are teaching the four-day workshops in three-days this week! Let's hope it goes well. We are pumped, excited, and nervous. There will be more people today and most of them will probably be older. So we'll have to explain things as simple as possible.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

We went to the center at two today so Cristina could send her dad's birthday package before he left Peru. Hermano Aguilar said he would take us to DHL at 2, but when we got there, he had forgotten and was far away. So, Alex walked with us to DHL, it took about an hour and it was HOT. I stepped in gum. Anyways, when we finally got there, they wouldn't let her send her package because it had sunscreen in it. SO she took it out, and then she didn't have ID, so she couldn't send it (The center still had her passport anyway). She was so frustrated, I felt bad, but I hated wasting my day and still ahd to do prep for our workshop tonight. We have had a lot of hiccups and things go wrong here. The culture, I think. We are really being tested on patience. Things don't work out for us lately. But at least, we are safe and healthy :)

Hermano Salazar picked us up tonight for our workshop. Only two people were on time. The rest didn't show up until after 7:30, which provides an additional challenge for us to teach all the material in the even shorter amount of time. Also, they had forgotten to bring a few essentials for us (markers, cups for the soda, the legos, name tags). We had to make due without.

Wally (1/29-1/30)

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Wally day! Wally is like Volleyball. Except, you get walls you can bounce the ball off and you can also kick the ball. Pretty Sweet, huh? My manager and his family are PROS. No lie, they've been playing for YEARS! We got divided up into groups and mine won quite a few. Until we got tired, then we'd lose. That was such a workout though. I really enjoyed it despitemy reluctance to play initially. I did really well! We went to the pool afterwards and got to witness our manager do the doggy paddle and bark like a dog. I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time. NO LIE. And to end this awesome day, we went to Los Lomitos, and Argentinian place where they had some of the best meat I have ever tasted. We took leftovers home since we did NOT finish everything they served us. Two of the girls that were returning home and couldn't save their food gave us meat they hadn't touched and the rest of their rice and french fries. I had enough food for lunch and dinner the next day!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Finally, on Sunday, we went to our corresponding ward, Barrio Estacion. It's actually a branch, but people there were super nice. They have a couple elders there. One of them is from Cedar City, Utah, and the other is from Cuzco, Peru. So one of them is ridiculously tall and the other is short, a great pair indeed. :) I think the one from Utah is new and doesn't speak a lot yet. Unfortunately, Alvaro (the managers son), who used to serve in this mission, said that the mission has gone down hill and the members don't trust the missionarys as much because of some disobedience. Our manager's wife and son were at our ward because it was a ward conference and the wife is in the Relief Society Stake Presidency. They offered to take us home which meant, free ride!!

We spent the rest of the Sunday home chilling til a friend, Jose, came over to visit for THREE hours before leaving! It was enjoyable for the most part, but I wanted to call my family and it was just an inconvenient time.

I learned something cool in church, you either ADAPT to the ways of the Lord in your own way, or you can ADOPT the ways of the Lord into your own life. I'm choosing for ADOPTING.

Cristina and I have been reading preach my gospel together since she is preparing for a misssion. I help teach her about how we taught it on my mission and how a mission is, and she helps teach me Spanish. It’s a great trade-off and I think we work really well together and are respectful of each other. We take turns doing things and serving each other. We both have our trials and problems, but we both help each other learn.

Check back for Pics later!

Free Week (1/25-1/28)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

We stayed home most of the day today trying to send my grad school interview. Our internet is sooo slow that we ended up spending about all day and still didn't get it sent. The first time, it loaded to 60% and then failed (I had to pay ten bucks for that). The second time, I skyped my bro and we tried to do it through his work. It loaded to 80% after about 7 hours and then Cristina's internet stopped working! Apparently, our internet is not unlimited (like they said). What made it a longer day was that she had to constantly be doing something on the internet all day so it wouldn't shut off.

We kept ourselves busy with doing exercise, and I laid out in the house. 2:30 is the perfect time to get sun. We also did a dance video that was super funny.

Later, we went to Cine center and saw Enredados (tangled). Cristina loved it and this was my thrid time seeing it, only this time in Spanish. We were going to go with the single adults later at a different theater, but we didn't want to see imparable. On tuesdays, you can get into the movie theater for the price of 2 for 1. So it is only 25 Bolivians (3 bucks) for both of us to get a ticket. We also ate at the cinecenter and then Jose came and picked us up afterwards. We walked to the plaza and then through the park below our condominium and then just spent some time observing the people. It was pretty late and kids were just starting their practices for Carnaval. They prepare their dances about 2-3 months before Carnaval every night.

We found out from Jose some sad news. Today, a 9-story building by the center fell down. They were doing construction and it wasn't well-constructed. For the next few days people will be picking up rubble and trying to get the buried bodies out. In total, about 10-15 people died and as of today (a week later), they still haven't uncovered all the bodies. The US offered to help but Bolivia's Government said that they could take care of it themselves.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

We finally sent my video today. Though we had to go to the center and use Luis' computer. It only took 20 minutes! We complained about how slow our internet is and that Cristina's now does not work. I feel bad, but internet is a MUST, especially with school. They do everything they can to help us, but in Bolivia things move so slow and nothing ever works. (phone, internet, dryer, washer, dirty apartment, schedules, etc.)

Thursday, January 27, 2011

We called Camilo and Jose to go to the Zoo with us today. Camilo came over at about noon to bring us a big water jug and tell us that Luis wants us to go to the center to do Passport stuff at two. Unfortunately, we had plans to leave for the zoo at noon and we were a bit peeved that people could just drop something like that on you randomly. However, I called Luis and told him we were going to the zoo and were planning on spending a couple of hours there. He was understanding. There was no way we were going to make it back by two, even though the zoo was supposedly small. It was still cool to see the monkeys, pumas, llamas, and the tigers were really playful and fighting each other. That was fun to watch. I especially thought it was funny how there was a sign next to the tiger cage that said "cuidado, este animal muerde" (careful, this animal bites).

We also ordered Pizza tonight. It was an American chain so it was really good. We will have enough for the next few meals. It was only like 5$ each for a large 12 piece pizza to be delivered.

Friday, January 28, 2011

So Camilo told us he would pick us up between 7 and 8 this morning. I told him he can't give us an hour-long time frame. So he said ok, well more like 7:30 or closer to eight. We set our alarms for 7 so we could be ready by 7:30. Camilo called us at 7:01 and said "are you guys ready yet?" !!!!!????? He said that he had sent a taxi and it would be here in ten. What was he thinking? We raced out of bed and got ready for the long day ahead of us in 5 minutes and grabbed cold pizza to eat with our medicine on the way out.

We were about an hour and half early for the employment seminar by the time we got there at (7:15). We were both a little bit angry with Camilo. My anger wore off, but I know now how I need to be firm with and take a little bit more control over my time and what I expect from others. If I don't want to wait an hour and a half for someone to pick me up (or be picked up an hour and a half early), I need to give people a fifteen minute time frame in which I will be picked up or take my own cab.

The seminar was mostly for the stake specialists. But it was fun to get to know the specialists from each stake. We also got Polo shirts, planners and fed all day. I got to learn lots of new Vocabulary and got used tp the way people talk here.

When we went to lunch, one of the ladies invited us to stay at her house when we go to Cochabamba. It sounded fun and she has two daughters our age, but after asking our manager…he said we would suffer there. (I guess she was exceptionally nice and sociable that day and that she usually causes problems at the meeting each year). So it was difficult trying to dodge that one without offending her.

We went to the chapel for lunch and had Bolivia's delicious peanut soup. And, then, there was still more after that. Pineapple juice, and chicken, rice and and something green and yellow. I tried it and liked the taste, but after inquiring, found out that I was eating CHUNO!! Let's explain chuño a bit. It's freeze-dried potatoes that are then fermented. It was...not that bad, until they told me what it was. When you have the image of women stomping on these potatoes until they're juiced out, it kinda takes away your appetite. BUT the meal was really really good. Apparently Cochabamba has better food, and people like to eat there, a lot. I'll probably fast before our two-week trip to Cochabamba hahaha

After lunch, we walked past the building that had fallen down and found out we could volunteer to help remove the rubble at night. However, Camilo told us not to and that it probably wouldn't do any good anymore because the people are already dead. I think the death count was around 28.

After the conference ended at 6, we went to the center for premiacion. We waited two hours before the people came to dance for us. I was so tired and wanted to go home. It was supposed to start at 6:30, but didn't until 8. Anyways, we stayed and it was really fun to watch the youth group do some folklore dances for us. We ate empanadas afterward which were pretty good, but I got a chicken bone and an olive pit in mine. I hate having to spit things out in front of the cook.

Pictures to come!

Grad School Interviews (1/23-1/24)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

We were supposed to go to Warnes (a province outside the city) to go to the ward of one of our workshop participants. We were also supposed to give a talk during Sacrament and inform people of the TAL workshops we taught. We were up and running by 7am, despite not having slept too long. BUT, Reynaldo never came to pick us up!! So........we didn't get to go to church. Not because we were slackers, but because we didn't know where our own ward met, since we had just moved into the apartment earlier that week and had planned on going to Warnes to give talks. We checked online but couldn't find any info. We don't have a phone yet either (we do but its not activated). So, we cleaned out the FRIDGE and then some. The apartment is starting to look more homey. And we watched Pride and Prejudice, the LONG version. Cristina had never seen it, she liked it better than the newer version. Then I spent all day tagging photos of me on facebook since Cristina taught me how to do it. It was kind of a long day being in our one room with AC all day. PS, we didn't have any food either, so we just ate rice and crackers. That was all the food we had. We may have torn up a piece of ham in it.

Monday, January 24, 2011

So Monday, we went to the Center to film my Interview so I could send it to BYU's MFT Grad Program. That's how we spent the entire morning, it was nerve-racking a difficult. But, it feels great to be done with it and to have finished it so quickly and so well. THEN we went to go eat Mexican Food!! It's called El Chile and the burritos were good, although they weren't authentic, but still, it reminded us a little of American food at home. At a reasonable price too. I think I paid $5 for the entire meal (even though its apparantly a really expensive restaurant just for tourists??). I felt more at home for sure. Well we came home because there was a guy who was supposed to come fix the dryer, but it turns out he couldn't so he's sending us someone else sometime this week or next week (although it probably will never happen with how the things move here). Everything moves quite slow here, definitely not used to it yet. And last but not least, we went to a store called Hypermaxi and bought a bunch of stuff for the apartment. AKA more WATER. Hermano Salazar and Camilo drove us there in the truck so we could by a ton. It wasn't as cheap as I expected, but we stayed under our budget and were super frugal with what we would and would not buy.

Ah well this is what's happened until now. It hasn't been easy adjusting to a new country and a new culture. But, I know the Lord has a reason for everything and there's a reason I'm here. I'm teaching workshops that can and will change people's lives.

I decided we should read a chapter in the Book of Mormon for "Family Home Evening" to help us be patient and have the spirit with us. (Ever since we have been doing this and reading a chapter a day and praying a lot and I already feel a world of difference. I feel Safer, more relaxed, and at home and can enjoy myself despite the terror..ha ha). We wanted to read something that applied to us, so we're reading about Mosiah's sons mission to the Lamanites. We feel like we can relate a liitle, and have no reason to feel sorry for us and every reason to trust in the Lord. Tonight, we read about Ammon and his cutting off the arms. Haha it's a great story, but I kind of feel like we are a bit like the sons of Mosiah. We each went our separate ways to teach the "workshops" to the "Latin Americans" and we're told that we should be patient towards them and have faith that God is with us always. Times are hard, especially when you're far away from your family and close friends. But it's the Footprints in the Sand poem, there's another set of footprints right beside ours.

Las Cuevas (1/22)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

We went to a place called Las Cuevas, which is about 3+ hours from the city. It was really fun riding in a "micro" with 30 other single adults (some had to stand the whole three hours, we really squished in there)

Camilo was late picking us up of course (and forgot to tell us to bring a swimsuit), the bus left late (Bolivian time = one and one half hour later always) But I met Carlos, from Utah who is visiting his dad for the year. His girlfriend Carolina was soo nice. She lent me a tank, and her friend Yesenia lent me binker shorts to swim in :). Camilo also bought us some empanadas and strawberry milk for the road to add to our packed lunch. Carolina gave me a Saltena to try. It was pretty good, like an empanada but more juicy. We made a lot of new friends.

Las Cuevas was GREEN beyond reason. I really felt like I was in the jungle.

We did see a bunch of horses and cows, some peacocks, tiny villages and shacks, a random guy walking in the canyon with a machete, and cocaine leaves. Also, any time the bus stopped in any small village, women and children mauled the bus trying to sale stuff. They were such cute indigenous people with the long thick braids, hats, and blue skirts. Also, I have never seen so many Butterflies in one place in my entire life!!

There were some really cool waterfalls and lots of mosquitoes too. I swam in the waterfalls and played on the beach. Cristina got bit in one of her eyelids by a mariwi. We had to be careful about repellent since Dengue fever is such a big deal here at this time of year. The mariwi bites itch sooo bad. I did get a bit sunburned too. I had really good time appreciating the wonders of Mother Nature and taking pics. The bus ride was long going back, and the roads were super questionable (steep cliffs, dirt roads, bumps and narrow) At one point we blew a tire and at another everyone had to stand on one side so the bus wouldn't tip when we went through the hole. but it was worth it.

La Boda (1/21)

Friday, January 21, 2011




Can't believe we made it this far. Today, Cristina and I finished our first workshop! With 3 people! We had a 50% retaining rate it seems. The next few workshops will be more fruitful since they are in each stake. We got a phone today (however, it never actually got activated before the weekend…things move so slow here). Today after the workshop, we ate at a local place behind the Employment Center and then walked back to our apartment. I had soup, rice, salad, meat and a drink for only 16 bolivians. The equivalent of about $2. I ate the rest of it for dinner.





We have the day off but got invited to a wedding tonight so that should be fun. Tomorrow we're going on sort of a YSA trip to Las Cuevas. AND on Sunday one of our Workshop Graduates, Reynaldo, invited us to give a talk at his branch's meeting out in Warnes Province. He is the 2nd counselor even though he is our age. We have the next week off!!!




The wedding was pretty awesome. Parties here don't start til 10-11pm and don't end til 5am. It's crazy! They even had a one course meal and everything. It was a beautiful wedding. They had decorated the chapel so well, you would have never known is was a church building. They had 20+ tables and had hired the most popular band in Bolivia. This is a photo of our table:



We ate and danced a ton. People just stared at me and Cristina and I introduced some crazy American dancing after trying to dance Salsa and Merengue with Camilo and Jose. Then we went home at 1am, though everyone else stayed til 5am....I can't imagine staying up so late, I'm getting OLD.

I Hate This Day (1/19-1/20)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

We packed up and checked out of the hotel early this morning, leaving our luggage there to pick up later. Today's workshop went well, we lost two people but it was still a fun class. That day we found out we got a new apartment. We were SUPER excited. We had lunch at CineCenter, which is a mall that has a movie theater inside. I had some kind of burrito wrap, which wasn't really a burrito. It was filled with ground beef and that was about it. I didn't like it much. Cristina's Lomo Saltado wrap looked better. I just can't order food here that I get in the US, you expect one thing, but its never the same.

AFTER lunch came the long day. We were asked to teach a 3-day workshop at night along with our day-time workshop, so we reluctantly agreed (the workshop is supposed to be four days, and no less than 12 hours.)We went to go see our new apartment and it was so dirty, and not as nice as they had made it sound, etc. On the bright side, its within walking distance to the center and our security guard is cool. We took a trip to the bank to exchange money, then to the market to get blankets, then a short trip to the supermarket and bought some stuff to clean and to eat, but we barely had time to drop it off and leave for the night workshop. We were so tired. We showed up at the Canoto Ward, but only 3 people showed up. Cristina and I were almost in tears and not happy. We really had to rely on prayer, and went into the bathroom to say a quick prayer before starting.

We had to cancel it. It was a good and bad thing because we were really, really tired but we still wanted to teach the workshop. In the end, we came home and didn't sleep well on a old, gross, sloping mattress, hoping there wouldn't be any bed bugs. Did I mention that only ONE room (the main bedroom) has AC? I'm trying not to complain, I really am. But seriously? Dirty floors, washer and dryer that don't work, dirty microwave, fridge and dishes, and questionably dirty gross mattresses. Also, we still have no phone, and will be without internet for a few days. In addition, we didn't have any time to prepare for our workshop tomorrow morning, and we were teaching a lesson I hadn't even seen before since I was at the doctor the day they demonstrated it. It was a long night.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Our manager and asst. manager arranged for someone to come in and clean our apartment this morning while we taught the workshop. It looked a TON better, but she still didn't clean the fridge, microwave, etc., but at least it looks a ton better!

We love our class, they are young and really intelligent. However, today was difficult to teach since I hadn't seen it demonstrated before, also, the center accidently scheduled something else in our room and we had to teach outside the room in a weird location. The students seemed uncomfortable and tired, but they graduate tomorrow!!! We will finish our first workshop and it was not even bad at all, so fun and easy! Camilo walked us back to our apartment and then had his friend Jose come and pick us up in his Taxi to get some food to take back to our apartment. Jose served his mission in Peru. We stopped at the store deli with Jose's friend and her mom. They invited us to her wedding tomorrow at the church!We already have our first wedding invitation tomorrow! The food at the store wasn't bad. I got fish, rice, some kind of fried carrot thing, an empanada, and fried bananas for 2 bucks and ate this for two meals!

When we got back to the apartment, Camilo let us check our email. I got the email from BYU's MFT department informing me that they will let me do a video interview for the MFT program! YAY! But also stressful, when will I rest? They need to have a physical copy in a week!

Here is a picture of the view from our apartment:

Getting Adjusted (1/16-1/18)

Sunday, January 15, 2011

Church was good, we got a couple calling cards from everyone and we have rides to tonight's fireside. This ward won't be our real one, but it was fun going to the young adult class with three people in it. Everyone kept staring at me during sacrament meeting. The only two problems we now face are who's paying for the food at the hotel and the Spanish is a bit difficult to understand for both of us. But on the bright side, we each have our own bed :). After being hungry, and waiting for Luis to get out of church so we could call him, we did find out though, that we can order whatever we want at the hotel to eat. We have decided to save them money by refilling up the water bottles with the water cooler down staris in the lobby. However, the hotel's room service is super inconsistent. Sometimes they don't have it, and sometimes they do. Sometimes they have a cook and sometimes they don't. The food isn't so good either, and it isn't expensive. Breakfast is free and is ok with fresh fruit, but I don't like having to eat here and we don't have Bolivianos yet to buy stuff in other places. The hotel service is inconsistent, undependable, and always comes hours later. For example, we asked for more toilet paper and they brought it about two hours later, or we order room service and it takes about two hours. Things move slow here.

PPS Today at church, a lady who was talking to us and later gave us a ride asked me if I was Cristina's mom. Ha ha, we look nothing alike since she is Peruvian.

Luis and his family stopped by today to take us on a tour around the city. We drove through all the rings around the city to the last and outside ring, which is wealthier and more jungly. I saw a restaurant called chuy, that looked like half of a McDonalds arch (they don't have much American stuff here). Ironically, it used to be a McDonalds and because of political problems McDonalds pulled out. My companion and I are feeling a bit paranoid and sketch about being here. Why did they send us here?? We feel like we don't belong and feel unsafe. I just hope that we find a really good reason God wants us to be here. I feel so out of place and am struggling with the Spanish. I am hating Spanish, which is a weird thing for me to say. Also, I am the only person with blonde hair and white. I am so out of place and everybody stares at me. I am learning what it feels like to be different. I feel like a black person in Utah or something. We have been a bit paranoid and do not leave the hotel. We walk with our money belts on always as we do not trust the hotel staff either. We are told that we should not walk here alone at night (and sometimes during the day too in some places).

It was really fun to see Santa Cruz, except on our way back, the car broke down and we had to call the tow truck. Man was it hot outside! The Tow Truck came and put the car on the bed in the back. Cristina, Jared (the manager's 10-yr old son) and I sat in the car. It was a fun and bumpy ride! Don't think that's legal in the US. We went to their home and saw pictures of them and of places he's visited while we ate ice cream. He really wants to go to Salt Lake City someday. I hope he and his family are able to go. We ate at Dumbo again and I shared an appetizer with Cristina. Afterwards, we walked through the main plaza. There were so many people, artists, and dancers. The night life is a big deal here and people are always out at night. IT begins at about 8 or 9 and goes all night. Luis says it's because its cool at night and people avoid the heat. However, its usually only about 75 to 90 degrees here and often cloudy. So yeah ....it's been a long day. I'm ready to go to sleep and hope that tomorrow we get some good news about the prospective apartments. Hasta manana!

Monday, January 17, 2011

So it's our third day in Santa Cruz. We still haven't found an apartment, kind of like Mary and Joseph (no room at the inn). We just found out that we are training a number of employees at the center tomorrow morning and all week long. We possibly have another workshop scheduled at night time while still being homeless and have not unpacked and dirty clothes. Our manager always talks about how great La Paz is and how there's nothing here that it's unsafe and uncivil. But, they caught 25 gang members in the city today so that was good, but then they released them because they didn't have proof. When we walked in the Employment Center this morning, our manager urged us to go inside his office. He then proceeded to tell us that the guy sitting outside was dangerous. He used to live in La Paz and held up the office with a gun and demanded $20,000. The bishop had to come and talk him out of it. Ironically, the bishop still sent him on a mission....that only lasted three months. He just comes in and sits on one of the tables for a couple of hours everyday. They think he's observing the center, but they won't kick him out. What's more, is that our manager tells us that we can't walk outside alone. There's not enough police here so yeah, welcome to the jungle.

After meeting with the employees at the center, we went apartment hunting and asked different residential buildings in the area if they were renting apartments. We didn't have any luck. We felt like Mary and Joseph. We returned to the hotel in the afternoon and took a much needed nap. My brain was EXHAUSTED. At about four o' clock in the afternoon, Luis came again to pick us up and took us to see a possible apartment. It was...alright. It lacked some essential things and it was in a sketchy area. That sucked. Are there no apartments in Santa Cruz??? We came back to the hotel AGAIN and we began to study our material for Tuesday's workshop. We ordered dinner, which took forever to come and we crashed at about 10pm.

INTERESTING FACT! Bolivia may be the only country with no McDonalds. Apparently it's too unsafe for even McDonalds here.

We always get to watch the news while eating breakfast down in the hotel dining room. Some interesting things are happening. Bolivia is a crazy place! We already had a flood for a 1/2 day. There is a political revolt on milk prices right now, and only families that own houses can register their kids for school (those that rent can't right now). The average monthly salary is about 100$. There isn't much work, so most taxi drivers are college graduates. There is also a lot of racism between the Collas and the Cambas (the indigenous indians vs. the whiter immigrants).

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Today was different. Maybe it's because we got tired of complaining and decided to just work, but things started to look up. Elder Davila (sp?) of the Seventy came to the Employment Center to give a devotional. After the devotional, Cristina and I sat in the main room and went through our material while getting to know some of the people who were going to attend our workshop later that morning (Barbara, Reynaldo, Lourdes, Cesar, Yesenia). Also, the relieving part was that we were NOT training, but rather just teaching these few young people. They were so helpful and patient with my Spanish, and what a better way to practice our first workshop ever. Even though we started the workshop late (because Elder Davila had a meeting with some people in our workshop room), we made good time and we didn't SCREW up! All the people in our workshop are pretty much awesome so I hope that we get to know them better this week and we'll pray for them so that we know how to help them and how to word things so they can understand. I am really struggling to explain these concepts in Spanish. This is really surprising, because I thought I knew Spanish, but I don't as well as I would like and my confidence in Spanish is suffering.

I'm so excited for this week and can't wait to serve the people attending our workshops. AND we have an APARTMENT yet! We haven't seen it yet, but Luis just signed the contract today and we move in tomorrow. It's got a washer AND a microwave. So we're pretty much set. We rested and studied for our workshops tomorrow for the rest of the night.

Also, Today was the FIRST time I got SICK from the FOOD, it happened really quick after dinner (the chef wasn't available so the other guys said he would cook us something). It was super greasy chicken an fries. So gross. And then a plate of fresh fruit. Cristina and I shared, butshe didn't get sick. I think the chicken was undercooked (I only ate two bites). Anyways, I ended up throwing up everything. It took about 30 minutes for me to get sick and then relieve myself. I felt immedately better. I am so grateful our body knows how to relieve itself from poison.

FUN FACT. there are sloths in the city, apparently.

SLC to Santa Cruz (1/14-1/15)

So we left Utah at 8 am and despite our ridiculous layovers (Denver to Houston to Lima to Santa Cruz), we ended up being on the same flight to Lima with the Peru girls! Cristina's dad picked us up for our eleven hour layover and on our way to their house, we saw a robbery YAY! Luckily, it wasn't us :). I liked meeting her family and eating a real Peruvian breakfast: bread, cheese, ham, and chocolate milk. It was not fun sleeping in a tiny bed with Cristina in the heat, after being all sweaty and hot all day. We managed and slept well for the 5 hours that we had. Her dad took us to the airport, and we had time to spare. The coast and ocean was so beautiful, I wanted to swim. The taxi driver was there friend, I'm going to call him when my parents come to take us around.

We finally did get to our destination Saturday at 3pm and we were glad to see that our manager had gotten our emails and was waiting for us. Looking from the airplane, it is very green and lush. Upon driving, it is older and has some brick roads, and dirt roads. It is poor and a bit dirty. As we were walking to his car, we were told he had good news and bad news, but said we should sit down before he tells us the bad news. Good news: all our workshops are scheduled and ready to start on Tuesday! We will get to go to Cochabamba and have 2 workshops there, and possibly we will get to go to La Paz as well. And, we will begin training people at the center on Tuesday (EKE!! We aren't supposed to do that until we practice the workshops a few times). Bad news: we don't have an apartment yet, both deals fell through and he gave us the option of living with a 70 year old grandma from Uruguay or waiting to find an apartment. Hmmmm, we haven't decided yet if we want to live there or somewhere else..ha ha. For now, we're at a hotel smack down in the middle of town across from the most popular restaurant/playhouse called "Dumbo." it reminded me of Denny's with playhouses and live entertainment. Our manager took us there to eat last night, and we ate Silpancho It's rice on the bottom with a round breaded beef fillet on top of the rice and two fried eggs on top of the fillet. We also had freshly squeezed lemonade to go with it. It was really delicious. It's pretty hot, about 90 degrees and HUMID, cold showers are great!

Also, on the way to the Hotel Cancellier, Luis told us about some of the political problems here. There is a lot of racism between the Collas and the Cambas. The Cambas are the lighter skinned people who have mixed with foreigners, and the Collas are the darker skinned, more Indian-looking indiginous people. But really, it is also a fight between the east (Santa Cruz) and the west (La Paz). The lighter skinned people are wealthier and think the others from Santa Cruz and the campo are lazier and are poor. The people in Santa Cruz want to be their own country and everywhere you go, you see the flag of Santa Cruz. If someone puts up a flag of Bolivia, they will often burn it. Its interesting. It has also been difficult because our manager is from La Paz and hates it here, so we are always hearing how there is nothing to do here and how La Paz is better. (Although, the other day we heard the opposite from our friend Jose). We will see.