Journals
Saturday,Nov 26 2005, 01:51:10 PMFirst days of Paradise!
November 18, 2005
An old man whistling down the way, walking into the sunset from his long day in the fields… a dog hobbling along the cobblestone, rushing to find dinner at his owner’s door… children laughing, screeching while playing hide and seek in the plaza… roosters continually announcing the day and now dusk… these are the sights and sounds felt as I sit outside after my third day in Pucará. Today was the last day of school so the entire town went down to the school for the Pedagogic Fair. For days before students were painting pictures and murals, finalizing their science experiments, and perfecting their physical fitness performances. Most of the day was spent sitting on the grass, watching local dances, baton routines, and band performances. Already half of the kids know my name and think it synonymous with the ‘pelota’ (soccer ball). We have played every afternoon since my arrival, which children as little as 4 wanting to have a part in the action. Girls have played as well, though usually leave discouraged after not being passed the ball. “Where did you learn to play?” they ask. As if soccer was some long forsaken sport totally unknown to the female race. We play on the grass field at the school; the older boys play futbolina on the basketball court. I would love to get to know them and play at their intensity, but it is obvious that they rule the court and are not ready to have a girl invade their space; all they do is stare and whistle… and laugh at the little kids.
The big budget meeting is tomorrow morning- I suppose it will be my first “official” appearance in town, in front of the Alcalde (mayor) and other officials. Technically, I am trying to push for more funds to be allocated to the Culture and Tourism sector of the budget, though where exactly that money will go is yet to be determined. The previous volunteer, Michelle, started a library, complete with books, games, computers, and a television. It seems there is a great demand for computer classes, both from students and adults, and in order to continue using the library and dive right in to a project, I will be teaching computer basics. I will be going against my will and teaching Windows, and also Word and Excel. Apparently some Pucareños travel the 2 hours to Vallegrande every weekend to attend a computer class, and with travel and lodging it ends up being an expensive course. In order for this computer course to happen I had to write up an operating plan, asking for money from the state, the Participacion Popular, and the Alcaldia itself.
Yesterday I met Maria Yuma, a young woman who is on the library committee. She helped me write this plan for the classes and since then we have chatted a lot. She is the clinic administrator and knows a good deal about everything in Pucará; her energy and friendship has been welcomed with open arms. Between playing soccer, preparing for the budget meeting, and mingling with the school congregation, time has been moving along. Of course there are moments, such as these, at night when I try to escape to a book to find something familiar… or at least take on an activity that I would be doing whether in Paris, in Charlottesville, or in Pucará, Bolivia. I wouldn’t call it homesick; because that insinuates that home is where you would rather be- instead it’s just the need to get accustomed to a series of awkward, uncharted situations.
I have yet to move into my own house, and until then I think it will be hard to feel really at home here. I look forward to the day when I can shut my own door and open it again in the morning, feeling completely rejuvenated and ready to be Bolivian again. I tell my family I will be leaving next week to spend Thanksgiving in Santa Cruz with other Peace Corps volunteers. Its odd when holidays and customs just don’t translate; surely it is the same for us and customs here. I am anxious about leaving, if only for the time it will take to get accustomed once again to living in such a remote place. I am on my second candle, watching it burn as I write or read. I keep waiting for a phone to ring, a car to pass by, or a random horn to blow. But had you never heard these sounds in your life, a day here in Pucará would be perfectly normal… and loud.
Monday,Nov 7 2005, 09:03:25 PMPucará... first time
October 29, 2005
Pucará appeared to me as a speck clinging onto a hillside, hidden between the lush mountains of Santa Cruz and the fertile valley of the Rio Mizque. I arrived by bus with my counterpart, Iver, around 11 o’clock… I met his family and they hardly exchanged two words to each other. This is the second day I have known Iver and conversing with him is one of the most difficult tasks I have had here in Bolivia. He is an intelligent high school professor and president of the governmental group of Pucará- yet is incredibly short on conversation. Pucará is even smaller than I imagined; it consists mainly of a large plaza, a cute colonial church, and a series of adobe houses, creating a small grid around the plaza. I met the Alcalde (Mayor), the Official Mayor (Asst. Mayor), most of the professors, and most of the town in general. I helped Iver teach his English class that afternoon… we practiced telephone conversations and the students now want me to tutor each of them individually. The volunteer before me built a series of greenhouses, both for families and for the school. Iver showed me what seeds they had planted and how they were attempting to build another even after her absence.
Corn and potatoes are the main crops, and basically the only crops around Pucará… at every meal this week I’ve eaten molé, steamed kernels of corn, potatoes, and rice. In terms of food supply, Pucará is desperately lacking any type of fruit, legumes, and meat. My first day there I couldn’t help but mentally list the amenities that Pucará lacked: light, produce, accessibility, communication, and general town maintenance. My room for the week was the front room of Iver’s family’s house. I slept in a bed behind a curtain and realized much to my dismay that I shared this room with several rats… This was the beginning of a long, sleepless night spent wondering how I was to make my next two years productive, especially considering my job was to promote tourism in this remote community.
The next day brought more fog, chilly temperatures, and rising uncertainties. I went for a run and explored the countryside, which I immediately fell in love with. This is literally a melting pot of topographies, and the intersection of departments (Sucre, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba). I just walked around the town a bit, introducing myself to people, went to the first tienda and came across the town “Golden Girls”. Two cups of coffee and an hour later I had answered every question imaginable about myself and heard about the latest news to hit Pucará. This mainly consisted of the new evangelical gringos that moved in and who don’t try to speak Spanish and who was the best family to rent a room from. It’s amazing how universal a group of women chatting and a warm hospitality can do for the soul. I immediately changed my outlook on my future 24 months and took a deep breath. The people have proven to be nothing but hospitable and excited to have another volunteer. Later that afternoon I went with Iver and the Alcalde to La Higuera, which is the site where Che Guevara was captured and killed. We were to attend a meeting concerning a new road being built in La Higuera and all the townspeople are vehemently against it. The Alcalde, being up for reelection this December was undoubtedly trying to appease his audience; it was a long meeting, which ended in the decision to have another meeting next weekend. I was able to visit the museum and chat with one of the guides who has lived in La Higuera his entire life. He is probably 70 or so years old, and how excited I was to realize that I was speaking to a walking history book.
The rest of the visit was rather smooth. I found a room to rent though it will only be able to move in after December 8th. That is the day of the annual Pucará festival and apparently people from all around Vallegrande and Santa Cruz attend. I am interested to see the magnitude of such a party in this small village. My room is in a new house, and overlooks the church, plaza, the mountains, and the Rio Mizque. I will be living with an old abuelita (grandmother), and thus think that it will be a quiet, pleasant arrangement. Later on, I made my way back to Vallegrande (about 1.5 hours away) and was amazed as to the abundance of this city. I can find anything imaginable here, including brie and gouda that are made by a German family who lives here! I can also get my mail delivered here, which is much better than having to travel 8 hours to Santa Cruz to do so!
Upon my return to Santa Cruz and today to Cochabamba I have realized that perhaps the most difficult thing about these next two years will not be when I am in Pucará for days on end, but the duality I will experience when going in between there and the city. It was difficult to see all the lights and noise of a city. Its amazing how this little village seems almost stuck in an era devoid of modernity. On a lighter note, we all went out on the town last night in Santa Cruz. Having forgotten our “going out” attire back in the states, we were quickly denied entry at most of the clubs downtown. We tried to turn on the charm and sweet talk our way in wearing jeans and flip-flops while others flounced by in flowery skirts and stilettos! We finally found a “club” which, after entering, realized it was more of an under -18 dance hall, decorated with streamers, pumpkins, and Fanta punch. The 14 of us were just happy to get out and let loose, so we accepted the small loss of integrity and had a great time dancing!
Back now to Bella Vista, where I have only 10 days left to spend with my family and fellow trainees before swearing in! This week is not only Halloween, but also Todos Santos, a huge family celebration with an abundance of food and social engagements.
Happy Halloween!
Monday,Nov 7 2005, 09:02:16 PMPucará, Santa Cruz
October 18, 2005
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I woke up this morning to a despedido, or goodbye to the daughter of my Doña who was here with her family from Buenos Aires. They left at 4 in the morning and after saying goodbye to them I went back to bed for a bit. Now I am drinking Toddy (the Brazilian equivalent to Ovaltine…) and sitting in my room, anxious to start my day.
I found out I am going to Pucara starting mid-November. The site looks amazing. Small town of 1,500 people upon a hilltop… Apparently there is an ample water supply as it lies beside a network of rivers… but does not have electricity. I have warmed up (clearly won’t be doing that literally) to the idea as I have known for a week that I might be put there. It is a welcome challenge, and like my Program Director said, “Claire, its perfect, you can have a nice romantic setup with candles everywhere!” The mayor’s office has solar panels and therefore will be able to charge my computer or use vital things while at the office, and the town of Vallegrande is about 45 minutes north in taxi. My language partner and closest volunteer here in training, Jonathan, has been placed in Vallegrande, so I am thrilled to have a close friend within an hours drive. Vallegrande is a town of about 8,000 people and has all the amenities I may need and apparently is a hot spot for great food and shopping. I am about 7 hours away from Santa Cruz city in coach bus… a perfect distance from civilization I think. We leave this Sunday for a week to meet our counterparts, visit our regional city of Santa Cruz, and meet our host families. I am beyond excited to finally know where I will be going and to be able to see myself somewhere 4 weeks from now! In the group 14 are going to Santa Cruz, 2 in Cochabamba, and 3 in Sucre. Everyone was content with his or her decisions and I think that we are all relieved to be towards the end of training.
If you ever make it to your local bookstore, Vallegrande is on page 287 of the Rough Guide: Bolivia. My town is of course not on the map, but it is between this big town of Vallegrande and La Higuera, which is the place that Che Guevara was killed. I will be able to write more about my projects after next week and for the next two years, but my goal is to make this town a tourist attraction while people are on their way south to visit La Higuera. Pucara lacks even the most basic of amenities (besides electricity!) such as restaurants, hotels, and tiendas, so my goal at the beginning will just be analyzing existing conditions and a plan to make it more attractive.
In other news, my family in Bella Vista is still recovering from their feria (festival), which I missed due to Tech Week. There are still chicha buckets in the lawn and the town looks a bit disheveled. We are going to make crêpes on Friday together, for the length of time that I talk to them about food and things I eat in the States and France, it is time I let them experience it! Spanish class awaits me and I still have “homework” to finish… Hope you are all well, thank you for the emails, letters, and packages, they make each little complication of life here in Bolivia fade into the background! chao~
Monday,Nov 7 2005, 09:00:32 PMTech Week
October 13, 2005
A Thursday in Independencia at noon, overlooking a soccer field and primary school.
We have been here since Sunday for our tech week….which included but not limited to: teaching a class on natural resources, painting a mural in the town square and another for arbor day, giving a workshop to restaurant/tienda/hotel owners, trailblazing through Pajchanti, a 4,000m cloud forest, and planting 50 trees with 6th graders.All is going well and we are finally winding down… we are all exhausted, but it has been a great warm-up for what is to come. Aside from a clumsy Claire fall in the river and cut across my hand (and bruise to my ego!) we are all healthy and happy. The hike on Tuesday was to Phiña Laguna and the Bosque Pajchanti. It was an amazing 8-hour hike with an altitude (4,000 ft.), views of La Paz, and climbing through native grasses thigh deep! Some of the time we were able to use the animal trails or fallow, terraced fields, but out goal is to create a trail and map for tourists where there presently is none. Now we have to organize all our pictures, design a map, and make a trailhead sign to place outside of the town of Independencia.
Our last day in Independencia was spent painting our trailhead, making a brochure for an ecological farm right outside of town, and cementing our signs into the ground. I woke up and ran around the soccer field, kicked the ball around with some boys and helped them move their goals. Girls never play on the field, they are limited to playing on the basketball court next to the big field… not sure if that is just the way it is, whether they could play on the field if they tried… but I plan on changing that when I get to my site. I realized this week while living next to a soccer field that getting out there playing and coaching excites me. Working with girls in general to develop their social skills and confidence outside the home is clearly a necessity- and what a better way to do it than through the outdoors and sports. So Bolivian National Women’s Soccer team, here we come! With Shannon, Sarah, Greby, and the two volunteers Liz and Emily, we placed our signs and had a celebratory dinner. We then went to Liz’s house and had a bonfire, complete with wine and s’mores… later we went and performed a C’haia… a Quechua offering on the bridge where we placed our sign. We offered beer, alcohol, coca leaves, and cigarettes to the Pachamama (Mother Earth) to watch over our sign and ensure that it lasts. In reality we just hope it doesn’t get cut for firewood as most signs do in the campo! We walked home down the hill on an overcast night with the moon peering through the clouds. The mountains were so dark it looked like black and white cutouts against the clouds… and despite the frustrations of the week and the exhaustion that will ensure tomorrow, I still wonder why I was the lucky one to be experiencing this. This week we are in Cochabamba: Monday we find out our sites, Thursday-Friday Sarah, Shannon and I have to work the artesania fair downtown, and Sunday we leave to visit our sites and meet out counterparts and host families.
Monday,Nov 7 2005, 08:59:19 PMDia Mundial de Turismo
September 28, 2005
World Tourism Day announced itself a sunny, clear Tuesday in Cochabamba. We set up our booth with posters about natural resources and listed the “Leave no Trace” slogan translated into Spanish. We were one of the only educational booths, not offering package deals to the Chapare region or Amazonia, but instead offering games and conversation about responsible travel and saving what little natural resources we have left. The theme was Travel and Transportation, celebrating the centennial of Jules Verne’s death in 1905. This was a quote that struck me: “En 1950 eran veinte millones, el año pasado 760, y para 2020 se calcula que el número de los viajeros
internacionales superará los 1.600 millones anuales. “ Basically saying that the amount of travelers worldwide in 1950 was 20 million and by the year 2020 that number will be up to 1.6 billion. Our booth was one of the most popular, kids enjoyed the games and adults were fascinated with what the gringos had to say; I also think that the engaging manner of standing in front of our table, willingly entering conversations (and apologetically declining offers for dinner and tours around the town) was an approach unlike any Bolivians are used to.
What amazed me was the success of our presentation with the bare minimum supplies (markers, chart paper, poster board, and candy). PowerPoint, color copies, laminations, brochures, and advanced technology were not an option, and in hindsight would have been extremely unnecessary. The best part, however, was looking at my watch and realizing that Shannon, Sarah, and I had conversed with hundreds of people in Spanish for a 5 straight hours! I remember staring up through the jacaranda trees in the main plaza and thinking how lucky I was to be able to do this only a month after arriving in-country!
The days are getting warmer and my village of Bella Vista is getting ready for its annual festival. Each night in the church square, people are dancing the tinku, diablada, caporale, and cueca- all practicing for the big weekend. Unfortunately the same weekend we leave on our “tech week,” traveling to different sites and visiting current volunteers and observing their work. Tomorrow I am giving a presentation to 8th graders at the middle school about renewable natural resources and the physical characteristics of Bolivia; I hope to learn as much from them as I am teaching them- especially considering most of my information is out of a textbook and not through experience like them.
In other news, I have undergone a new Bolivian haircut, learned new card games, wandered aimlessly in Cochabamba, and fall more and more in love with Bolivia each day I wake up. I hear of my site announcement in about 2 weeks and am anxious to find out my new home!