The rollercoaster of life in Bolivia continues in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Here are some highlights and excitements of the past few months:
--Early December, reunion at MCC for cookie-baking and merry-making. Each participating MCCer made a batch of their favorite Christmas cookie and then we shared them around. Twelve kinds total, featuring all from Russian Tea Cakes to Peanut Butter Blossoms to Gingerbread Men! It felt a little odd to be baking Christmas cookies in sweltering hot weather, but it certainly was refreshing to celebrate with a familiar tradition.
--Rehearsals in Santiago pick up speed as we prepare for the Christmas concert. I experience all the joy and frustration that happens as a concert date draws close and music feels unprepared. However, true to Bolivian culture, I tried my best to not get too stressed out, drank ''tecito'' (a little afternoon tea) to calm myself, and in the end all went at least decently as planned. The concert was very well received by the community - so well in fact that we decided to do a repeat concert shortly after New Year´s to give others the opportunity to see it, as well as to make a recording for history´s sake (not necessarily due to the superior quality of the performance, but let´s face it: we were proud!). Photos of the actual concert will come.
--Christmas Day began just after our Christmas Eve Concert/Midnight Mass combination. I took up the invitation from a family of some music students to join them for their late-night supper, and we enjoyed talking until 3:30 a.m. when the grilled meat, rice and potato feast was actually ready. I collapsed into my bed at 5:00 a.m., thankful for the priviledge to join in new holiday festivities in Bolivia but utterly exhausted.
--I made friends with the couple that runs the local restaurant and helped them prepare ¨chancho al horno con salsa de tamarindo'' (roast pig with a sweet-sour tamarind sauce) for their New Year´s Eve celebration. I have surprisingly enjoyed pushing the boundaries of my vegetarian-cooking knowledge!
--In mid-January, I returned to Santa Cruz to participate in some extended SALT-orientation where we went out to visit MCC´s rural programs, as well as to attend the MCC Focus Weekend in which we discussed many of the structural changes that are happening at MCC Bolivia.
--I visited two other Jesuit Mission towns: San Javier, known for its milk products and Concepcion, for its woodworking). The restoration work in these old Jesuit churches has been completed, so it was quite interesting to compare them to little Santiago (the least elaborate) and learn a bit more of the history of the area. I hope to post more pictures of this excursion soon, too.
--Thanks to heavy rains of last week (resulting in shutting THE bridge that goes between here and my home) and now the wild celebrations of Carnival (in which the entire city throws one non-stop parties, pegs anyone or anything moving with waterballoons--sometimes filled with ink--and there is general debauchery and drunkenness -- NOT a good time for traveling), I have been stuck in Santa Cruz and haven´t been able to leave the city to return to Santiago. It has been good to reconnect with MCC friends, but I am getting antsy to return to my pueblo and jump into classes again.
I continue to feel challenged and stimulated in my work here. I struggle at times to feel order and consistency in the midst of so many changes: difference in concept of time, flipping of seasons, constant changing of plans, stark differences in mentality related to completion of a project (i.e. students coming an hour late to rehearsal, if they come at all), and language differences - not ever knowing exactly if what I´m trying to say is being understood and vice versa. It has also, bizarrely, become time to think about ¨what´s next¨ when I leave Bolivia, which puts me in the delicate place of trying to fully immerse myself here while getting excited about potential jobs back home. They are two different worlds!
But meanwhile, I will walk as humbly and observantly as I can. I have been seeking joy, a kind of grounded joy that surpasses understanding. Perhaps someday my disjointed thoughts will bring themselves around and I´ll have some wisdom!
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I haven´t always been the best at responding, but know that the words you send are like gold. In your prayers I ask for continued safety, creativity, and humor, and for the energy and stamina to continue deepening my understanding and connection wih the people with whom I have the priviledge of spending my days.
Mil besos.
