What a Week

Once we arrived at the MCC office and grounds, we were all so tired. We unloaded our bags right into our new home. It's a spacious three bedroom place that has a nice outside sitting area in the front as well as the back. There are banana trees around, and maybe even a coffee plant. The kids were quick to discover that we have a turtle living in our yard. How exciting!

The weather was quite cool our first few days. Fifteen Celsius isn't that cool when you can go into an insulated house with carpet, but when everything is open to the outside, it's hard to get rid of the chill. It was funny seeing some people walk around with earmuffs on!

Thursday was a day to rest and unpack a bit. One of the country reps, Lizette was busy at the hospital with one of the Salters, so we just briefly met her. For supper, we got to go out with Lynn and Laurie and their kids. It was so nice to be reunited with them (we met them at orientation in Akron) and to ask them how their first few weeks had been. By the time supper was over, I was exhausted and ready to go home to sleep. I slept SO well.

We spent the next few days meeting with Cesar (one of the country reps; Lizette's husband) and the staff at the office. We were introduced to some of the programs that happen right here at the office, as well as some of the satellite programs in Santa Cruz. Sometimes we would stay and our kids would just play outside, other times we would leave and then they would be cared for by Nati, a national MCC worker. We have been taken out for most lunches and dinners, which has been nice that we don't have to cook, but there is something about a house that is made a home when you cook in it. We also have had brief introductions into Bolivian culture, politics, history, and MCC history here in the country which have been quite informative.

On Saturday, there was a fundraiser being held by some students through a MCC sponsored program. We went to buy some of the food for lunch and listen to the music. It was good to be with people and to eat traditional Bolivian food. While I was standing around, holding Asha, I looked over at a girl that seemed very familiar. She saw me looking at her and asked me my name. When I told her, I immediately remembered who she was. Kenia was a girl I met 10 years ago when I was here. Her dad, David, drove the micro for our missions team and she always came along. I couldn't believe it was her. We screamed and hugged each other tight. How amazing to be reunited with someone that you thought you'd never see again. I introduced her to Carl and the kids, and we visited a bit before she had to get back to the food table. I told her that I lived just in the house on the property and that some time she should call and we could get together. My heart was very full that day.

On Sunday we went with two other MCCers to church. Carl admitted that he was a bit nervous going on the micros because he had never gone before. I was kind of excited about going again, but had to admit I had no idea what routes they followed or anything. I can't even figure out the streets even when we stand still! It was an adventure getting 4 kids and 4 adults on and off the micros to get to church. On the way there, Joel and Kezia had a hard time not tripping on the uneven roads. I think each of them fell at least twice. And Joel has this desire to pick up everything on the ground; he wanted to be helpful and pick up trash so he started with an empty liquor bottle. Just yuck! Quickly pull out the hand santizer! We haven't been here long enough to build up antibodies! There's so much trash around, Joel could be busy for a millenia.

The service was really good; we even recognized many of the songs. Kezia happily bounded off to Sunday School, but Joel wanted to stay with us. He got teary eyed and said that he really missed Braeside. I figured he would be the first to voice his homesickness. Poor guy.

After the service, we had lunch and then naps. Then we had two families come and visit us, which was such a nice treat. First in the late afternoon, our friends Darryl and Elaine and their 4 kids came to welcome us to Bolivia. They have been missionaries for over 9 years here and we have college and high school connections with them. Then I walked to Laurie's house to invite them over for the evening. I was very proud of myself that I managed to walk somewhere by myself without getting lost. The police man at the end of the street asked me if I lived around here, and of course I couldn't really answer him. So I mumbled something in awful Spanish, he looked at me weird, I tried again, he laughed, then I laughed and then just kept walking. Oh well, it's not like I'll talk with him any time soon.

So the last few days have been us trying our best to get our bearings around here. We are trying to figure out small things like, what do the cleaners in the closet do? And how do we figure out when Nati comes over to watch the kids? And what micro do you take to get to the grocery store? Which market do you go to get vegetables? How do you use the stove? What is a goma? How do I get one for the shower floor? Which day is laundry day? Do we do our own or does someone else do it? How do we keep track of expenses? How do we use the gas stove? Who do we talk to about getting more cat food for Wilbur? How do we use the phone?

Because it's been a bit crazy here with the Salters, one of the country reps gone etc. etc., we have felt like we've had to figure out a lot of things ourselves. Thankfully Carl's Spanish is pretty good, but mine is mas o menos and I'm feeling like an eight year old trying to communicate with everyone. Oh well. Lynn tried to encourage me and said that maybe we aren't told everything right up front so that things can remain flexible. Okay, I'm going to go with that kind of mindset. And really, why should I be in a hurry to have everything answered right now?

Even thought my Spanish is atrocious, people have been so gracious. I carry around my dictionary for vocabulary, but use hand signals when I'm trying to figure out a verb. And then I just give 'er and hope for the best. I'm usually pretty close, and then I'm corrected, then I say the right sentence and then we move on. I've learned new words, but the verbs are still hard. Thankfully, I'm getting much better at understanding what is going on; just as long as they don't expect much in the way of a response! Sometimes, depending on where our orientation has been, or who is leading the tour, the speaking is done in Spanish, and there may or may not be someone there quick enough to translate everything. I try so hard to listen and understand, that after a couple of hours, my head is pounding and feels like it might just pop off. I keep thinking that in a few months, the headache will be gone as I learn the language.

And then things got a bit more complicated on Tuesday after we came from supper with Laura, a fellow MCCer (let's just assume that everyone that I'm naming with be an MCCer unless otherwise stated; our world is a little small right now, but in time we'll get to know more people). We found that Kezia had lice. We have never had to deal with this and now we were stuck somewhere new with no hot water, limited access to a washing machine and no dryer. Thankfully we were able to locate lice shampoo, but I think it was expired and of course, it's in Spanish. Oh my! So we spent until midnight washing all the sheets and blankets and towels, only to find there are no replacements. I was too tired by the end of it to be cranky. And to top it off, she probably got lice in Canada before we even came. So how do you say lice en espanol? How do you explain to people that you barely know?

So that was Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday night, we made another discovery. Something strange on Joel that appeared to be a hernia. I called Laurie, who is a nurse and she agreed to come with me to the Doctor the next day. Carl and I were scheduled to go out to a community in south Santa Cruz to see an MCC project today out at Plan 3000 (which was very interesting; nuns running a holistic clinic with herbs, the chapel there, the resettlement project by the government, the poverty....). The kids were with Nati most of the day, and then as soon as we returned, I took Joel with Laurie to the Dr. in a taxi. We got to the clinic only to find that it would be a two hour wait. We contemplated going to the market, but were told it wasn't safe to go there today (I know this post is getting long, but I'll get to that later) so we decided to go to the air conditioned grocery store, buy some empanadas and sit and visit. Joel was amazing to wait so long and be patient. We made it back to the clinic and I was feeling more confident on the micros. We actually figured out which ones to take around the 2nd ring (where we live close to) and where to get off. I was learning more with this trek than during orientation!

The Dr. was great and confirmed that Joel has a hernia. It's small, and not too worrisome, but that we need to come back in a week to see if it has gotten larger or receded. Then from there, he would decide what to do. Either leave it, or day surgery.

And then to make things a bit more complicated, there are protests here in the city and the country that have made traveling out of the city very difficult and movement around the city a problem. Some places people stay away from, hence the reason why we couldn't go to the market. We don't know how long this will last, but we are watching from the outside in, literally because we are getting our news from CBC website, but also figuratively as well. Anyways, I won't write much more about that.

So it's been 7 days in the country and so much has happened to our little happy family. Hopefully in the next week or so I'll get a Spanish tutor, we'll figure out the workings of our childcare and house stuff. And we're really hoping that no one gets sick, injured, damaged or anything out of the ordinary. I'm just too tired to try and deal with more drama. But I guess in reality, living here will be a constant orientation. Next, I'll have to trek off to the dentist, or the pharmacy or whatever. Then I'll have to get school supplies and gas and flip flops. That's just life.

Sorry I've rambled on. And you are probably wondering, "Where are the pictures?" Well, I didn't take my camera around everywhere. I didn't want to appear like a tourist for one, I didn't want it to get stolen for two, and thirdly, I'm going to be here a while so don't worry, we have plenty of time for visuals!

I'll be back soon to let you know what other adventures we may find ourselves in.