Hi All,

 

I apologize for the latness of this update.  I was trying to get this done the last time I was in town, in February but things just got in the way like getting stuck in the hospital for 4 days.  No worries!  I am much better now and have gained back my big appetite which is a sure sign of salud for me!

 

The last couple of months here in Bolivia have been a roller coaster ride.  Politics are running smoothly, the people seem to be happy with Evo Morales who was elected in December.  This means no road blocks which is a nice change from my first year in Bolivia. 

 

My Desayuno Escolar (school breakfast) program has been coming along steadily but slowly.  The construction of the building itself is about 3/4 done and we have started to train the mothers who will be the cooks for the program.  The foreman gives me hopes of finalization of the construction by late March or early April.

 

The library is continuing to do well.  I took Juana, one of our librarians to Cochabamba to share our expertise with other librarians in Punata.  We had a good time sharing ideas and picked up a few new ideas ourselves for the Alice and Marc Library in El Carmen.  We have lost two librarians who graduated and found work outside of El Carmen.  Three new librarians took there place and have been training with me.  We have implemented a new library card that is printed out in comparison to our old hand written one and have also computerized versions of all of the our logs for checking out books, librarian schedules etc.  I am working now on a book-a-thon of sorts with the elementary and secondary school students. 

 

On a personal note things had been going very well.  After getting sick with quasi Dengue Fever in January-February I was able to return to site for nearly a full month to push hard with our projects.  It is hard to get work done in site when I am not there so this needed to be done.  Hence, an excuse for not writing sooner! 

 

Things were going quite well until February 17th.  That day the teachers were leaving for a workshop in Concepcion, 1 hr. by microbus, when we recieved word that all of the Procchio´s (my host family´s surname) needed to go to Santa Cruz immediately.  We were not sure what exactly had happened but had a good idea that something might be wrong with Profe. Hugo. 

 

Profe. Hugo was my host Dad and work counterpart as he had been for the previous 2 volunteers in El Carmen.  He has 10 children who live in El Carmen, Concepcion and Santa Cruz city with his 30 in total grandchildren.  He was 67 years old and retired from teaching and even being a principal in El Carmen.  He was continuing to work as a public notary for El Carmen and surrounding communities.

 

Unfortunately we found out that Profe. had had chest pains in the morning and passed away that afternoon in the hospital in Santa Cruz.  We were all very shocked since he had left healthy and happy, joking around as he always did with us.  He had even planned to return back to El Carmen with me and my mom who was scheduled to visit this last week. 

 

Things have been turned upsidedown with our huge loss.  Profe. Hugo was not only an ambassador for extranjeros to the community and his home but also one of the most respected people in El Carmen and Concepcion.  His family held a wake service for 2 days in Santa Cruz and Concepcion before burial in Concepcion.  We also held novena which is 9 days of prayer in Santa Cruz, Conce. and El Carmen which is a tradition in our region. 

 

Mom´s trip could not have been planned better.  I really needed her here after losing my host dad.  It had been over a year since we saw eachother so we have been trying to make the most of it even though she has only been here for a week and a half and is returning tomorrow. 

 

We were able to do some travelling in the departments of Oruro and Cochabamba and then made it out to El Carmen in Santa Cruz.  Bolivia wowed her with its friendly people, simple lifestyle, amazing and varied landscapes and yummy food.  I feel very blessed that she was able to make it down and share a bit of my experience here with me.

 

Now I am headed off to return to El Carmen and try to finish up the projects these last few months.  There is still un monton (a lot) of work to be done so I don´t feel the fact that I will be leaving this wonderful place in less than 6 months. 

 

In fact the idea of returning to the states is a bit scary at this point.  I have become quite accustomed to my lifestyle here, my little pueblo my friends and host family.  I am really looking forward to seeing family back home in the states but it is going to be a challenge.  Tranquillo is a word I think of while I write this.  So, that is what I will have to do.  Take it all easy and go with the flow.  If not anything else, Bolivia and Peace Corps has taught me that. 

 

I hope this update finds you all doing well and enjoying the end of winter!  Mom had mentioned it was a balmy 35 when she left Madison!  We are in the 70-80s now and enjoying the rainy season.  It is sooooo green!  I would love to hear from you and what you have been up to these past few months as well as plans for spring!

 

Hugs,

 

Melissa