Bus rides and interviews

Today I got back from La Paz and Chulumani, the capital of the South Yungas. We had a long weekend because of carnaval so we decided to see more of Bolivia. Even though we were warned to wear rain jackets because of the water fights, it was still a shock to get pelted by water balloons as we entered Chulumani in the middle of the Carnaval parade. I would have loved the event as a child, but found myself staring down all children, and men of all ages, to warn them not to hit me with a water balloon. We had arrived in Chulumani after 4 hours in the very back of a bumpy bus ride with my bug bite covered legs hitting the metal of the seat in front of me. It was fun to see everyone having fun, but the true Chulumani showed through when the town was quiet the next day and everyone was friendly and greeting us with many hellos. We hiked around the area, which is fairly similar to Carmen Pampa. It's technically about 2 hours from here if you can find transport, but we took the easier and longer route... four hours to La Paz and then four hours to Chulumani.

In La Paz, we met up with Prisca, who is going to be a new volunteer at Carmen Pampa. She was the first person we met in Ecuador and we became instant friends. It's nice to see a familiar face and it will be great to have her here at Carmen Pampa. This morning I walked by the school my gramma volunteered at when she was 19 and it was exciting to think of her here. The school is in the middle of where all the action is in La Paz!

So far at Carmen Pampa I have been spending time getting to know the students. Kirsten and I have been interviewing students who are at the end of their studies and doing their thesis projects. It's been interesting to interview people on things that I know nothing about. We are meeting a lot of people and learning our way around campus as we try to track people down. One student, Judit, has been working on her thesis regarding different ways to grow spinach. She wants to promote it in the area because of its health value and its market in the tourist industry. She came from a village 24 hours away to first go to high school here and now to college. She chose agronomy at Carmen Pampa because her family is from the countryside and she worked in the fields growing up. She says that she likes to work in the countryside because it contains all of life and that it is important that people have relationships with plants and animals. While completing her thesis, she has been raising her 1 and 1/2 year old son with her husband and hopes to run a fruit farm in the future. (And he's really healthy from all the spinach he's been eating!)

Checking out the area

These last few days have been filled with lots of events to get to know the area and figuring out how things work.

On Saturday, we went with Andy and Sam (2 of the volunteers here that we will be working with a lot) to the market in Coroico to buy groceries for the house in order to learn the places to go to and which ones to avoid. We enjoyed a juice of strawberries and milk after filling three large bags with food. We lucked out by meeting up with one of the students here, Celia, and she helped us shop. We saved a lot of money with her making sure we were getting the right amount to match what we were paying for and by selecting the best of the best. It was great to watch although I know I will never be able to look at the worker and say, "Can I weigh that myself?" after it seems like it's not right.

We are going to be organizing weekend events and had our first event on Saturday. I worked on the lower campus with Sam to show the new movie "Che" to the students. I had a lot of fun popping popcorn on the stove to give to the students: some batches were great, some not so great. I would call the event a success. We had about 30-35 students stop in to check out the movie and maybe about 15-20 of them watched the whole movie.

On Sunday, all of the volunteers went to a rutucha, a ritual for the first hair cutting of a child, because Hugh was the godfather and we were all invited. (Hugh started as a volunteer here and is now the Vice Director General) I rode in the back of the truck, which was perfect for sight-seeing. When we got to the house, the boy had the cutest mop of hair and it was a shame to cut it off. Each participant cut a lock of his hair and then donated some money to be saved for something important in his future. I was a little nervous that I would cut him or cut off too much hair. I cut a door in his bangs, similar to the one I gave myself when I was in second grade. Luckily, the idea is to cut off all of his hair , so at the end Hugh gave him a full short haircut to make it all as close to even as possible. Turned out the boy was just as cute with choppy short hair as he was with his long locks. Afterwards we had a meal together and Hugh did a ceremony with the locks of hair, money, and some rice for prosperity. The family also had three cute girls that I played a version of peekaboo with. I love genuine kid laughter. We also got to go in the goat house and I held a little goat. I was nervous my allergies to life would get the best of me, but it turned out I survived. And he sure was adorable. The goats are part of a project that Carmen Pampa has. I got attacked by some bugs that have decorated my arms with welts. Surprise surprise. I have been doing super good with the bug spray, but never good enough.

On Monday, which actually ends up being part of the weekend due to the Tuesday through Saturday schedule the campus follows, we went on a long hike to Trinidad Pampa. Sliding through the mud on slippery paths through the trees is a great way to experience the surrounding areas. Along the way, both to and from, we talked to area farmers and kids to make sure we were headed in the right direction. We climbed up to the Puerta de Viento (Door of Wind) which offered an outstanding view of the valley and both campuses. The students and classes are divided between 2 campuses that are about a 20-30 minutes walk apart. We live on the lower campus, and the students seem to be evenly split between campuses. After that we climbed down through the trees on small slippery paths and through farming fields to Trinidad Pampa to meet with a student and her family. I arrived covered in mud, but what else would you expect of me? They were the friendliest family and invited us back anytime. Going back we took the long way on the road in order to avoid climbing the muddy paths. The whole trip was about 8 hours.

First Blog and First Day of School

I arrived here in this green paradise filled with college students just a few days ago, on February 11th, and will be staying here for the next two months before heading back to the states. Kirsten and I crossed the border on February 9th and spent two nights in La Paz before taking a three hour bus ride to the town of Coroico and then a 45 minute minibus ride, known as a combi ride in Ecuador and Peru, to the town of Carmen Pampa. From the moment we got past some frustrating parts of crossing the border and we were on the way to La Paz, I knew I was going to love this country. I can't quite explain it but there is a feeling in the air, and inside me, that is unlike anything else.

Unidad Académica Campesina de Carmen Pampa is a college in rural Bolivia founded on the concept of providing a higher education to young people from rural communities and generating social and economic change through community-centered education. I couldn't help being excited when I first read that the college was a "catalyst of change" and that the students were "agents of change." Could this place really be for real? The answer is yes. The energy of the students, staff, and volunteers was evident from the first day. The bonus part for me was that it is all located in beautiful green mountains.

In between touring and meeting people, I have had a lot of time to reflect on the journey that has led me here. It all started as a dream, inspired by my gramma, who taught in Bolivia when she was a few years younger than I am now, and my great-great uncle has been a priest in Bolivia for the last 45 years or so. After saving money and quitting my job, Kirsten and I hopped on a plane to Ecuador on August 6th with a one-way ticket and only a month of our trip planned out. It all began in a similar green paradise called Marianitas, teaching English to the 6 amazing women of Colibris, a women's artisan cooperative, (while organic gardening and making jewelry). After that, we headed to Misahualli, Ecuador to teach English in two indigenous communities and clean caterpillar poop in a butterfly garden. In month four, we settled down in the dry, hot city of Arequipa, Peru to work with street children, talking, playing, and helping with homework. When we found this program at Carmen Pampa, it seemed to be everything we were looking for, and in the last few days I have not been disappointed.

We were lucky that our schedule matched up with Carmen Pampa's, because on day two we were able to witness the inauguration ceremonies of the new school year. The student body of approximately 700 gathered in the square outside before going into the church for mass and an official welcoming. I was honored to be one of the "official" photographers so I got to whip out my camera and not feel like I was being intrusive. It was great to see all the students gathered together.

This blog, my first blog ever, will be dedicated to sharing all that I experience and learn about during my time here. Maybe it will inspire you to save some money and hop on a plane down here.