Gracias, Henri Nouwen!

I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Gracias: A Latin American Journal in my spare time this past week. I have been home all week with stomach and back pains...a result of a kidney infection and more parasites! But, I was able to watch the whole first season of House and get into Gracias, which is absolutely amazing!

Henri Nouwen was a Dutch priest, who felt the urge to learn Spanish and work with those of Latin America. He attended Maryknoll's Language Institute in Cochabamba, Bolivia and then worked in Lima, Peru as a missionary. According to Nouwen, our job as missionaries is "to search with the poor for treasure hidden in the ground on which they stand." This was an idea developed by Maryknoll--a "radically new perspective" to missionary and volunteer work. I completely believe I am working here in Bolivia to help the babies and girls of Ninos con Valor find treasure not only in their land and culture, but in themselves. Each child I have gotten to know here has a special gift, a special treasure inside. I see it everyday.

The Dutch priest beautifully describes the irony of "Latin America: impressive wealth and degrading poverty, splendid flowers and dusty broken roads, loving people and cruel torturers, smiling children and soldiers who kill. It is here that we have to hunt for God's treasure." Yes, it is here in Bolivia where I find faith and see the teachings of Jesus. It is not in a huge cathedral or at a prayer group, but in my daily experiences at the two homes, people I see on the street, and grassroots movements I hear about. Bolivia is a place where desperation and poverty and helplessness are constantly in your face, yet it is also a place of hope and incredible beauty!

I could quote many things from Fr. Nouwen's book. Every page contains an important lesson that not only pertains to live in Latin America, but about how we can help others and help ourselves!

The Infamous Pyjamada!

Last Friday, Clare, a fellow volunteer, and I planned a pyjamada for the girls! We decorated the house with balloons and streamers, and set up a floor of mattresses to watch movies all night and a dance floor on the second floor! Although I think Clare and I had more fun dancing than the girls, the pyjamada was a hit!

We started the night dancing to the girls favorite artists--Jonas Brothers and Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus ans Selena Gomez, Rhianna and Justin Beiber! The littler girls had a lot more fun on the dance floor than the older girls. After some dancing, we watched Camp Rock 2, which the girls have been dying to watch! A DVD of current, popular music videos was the next on the list. And, finally, we ended our night with some Karaoke! Yes, the girls love karaoke and had a blast singing to High School Musical songs and other pop artists from Latin America!

I am so fortunate to have this opportunity to work with these girls! Each girl is absolutely amazing! I will never forgot the special moments I share with them, like the pyjamada! They have truly made my life in Bolivia complete!

This week I am traveling with the volunteers and directors of Ninos con Valor to the region of Miaque in the department of Cochabamba. We will be renovating a daycare in a small town with very few residents and no running water or electricity! I am excited to meet the families we will be helping, and working with the kids and teachers in the daycare! Also, I am excited to see another part of Bolivia!

I miss everyone so much! Sending all my love!

The Uyunian Adventure!

Finding words to describe the beauty and the isolation, the vastness and the pureness of Salar de Uyuni and the surrounding area seems impossible. I only hope this part of Bolivia remains untouched because it is truly spectacular!

We began our trip at Café Paris in Cochabamba’s main plaza! The first leg of our journey was a 5 hour bus trip from the bus terminal in Cochabamba to a random street in Oruro. We thought we had 20minutes to find our bus to Uyuni, which seemed like an impossible feat. We asked everyone we saw where the bus left from, and everyone gave us a different answer. We were literally running around the streets of Oruro at 11:30 at night to find our bus. Miraculously, a woman heard us panicking and frantic, and told us to knock on the bus company’s closed, locked door. Sure enough, we were in the right place, and the bus did not leave until 1 AM. So, the workers of Todo Turismo were nice enough to let us sit in their office until our bus arrived.

We boarded our sleeper bus at 1:15 AM and tried to sleep through the night, but a bumpy road will sure prohibit any sound sleeping. We arrived in Uyuni around 8:30 AM, and it was absolutely freezing! We dropped our luggage at the tour office and found a quick breakfast. We had time for a little shopping, which I loved! The town of Uyuni seems so quaint and cute! I wish we had more time to explore, but the adventures that laid ahead were far beyond what I imagined!

Around 10:30 AM we piled into our Toyota Land Cruiser 4-wheel-drive and headed off on our adventure! Oscar, our driver and tour guide, and Rosemary, our cook, were so amazing throughout the entire weekend! Oscar let Caroline and I name his car! We decided that Panchito was a fitting name! Our first stop was the Train Cemetery. This is a huge tourist attraction, but I found it not nearly as interesting as what we were about to experience! We spent about ten minutes climbing on trains and taking pictures! Our next stop was SALAR DE UYUNI, the world’s largest salt flat! It is 12,106 square kilometers and is over 12,00 feet. The Salar is a center of salt extraction—about 20,000 tons per year! Salar de Uyuni is truly magical—it is just the white ground, the blue sky with amazing clouds, and you! We walked around in awe for a while, snapping pictures and playing in the salt mounds. We then visited Cactus Island (Icawanku), which is located in the middle of the salt lake! The island is covered in tons of cacti, and we even spotted some llamas! Rosemary prepared our lunch here on the island. We enjoyed llama meat and vegetables as we still we in shock and awe that we were actually on Salar de Uyuni! Our next stop was Galaxia, a cave that used to be under the sea and is about 2200 years old. It was beautiful, and you could see the leaves that were fossilized into the top and bottom of the cave. Next to Galaxia was the Devil’s Cemetery—a pre-Incan burial ground. There were actual skulls and bones in the small holes made by the founders. After a full day of activities and very little sleep, we headed to our “hotel” in the small town of San Pedro. It was very basic—only electricity at night, concrete floors and beds, no heat, etc. But, I survived!

We began our second day with a huge breakfast courtesy of Rosemary! We ate, got ready, and packed up the car. Our first stop was miles and miles of volcanic rock formations, which went on as far as the eye could see. The formations were not that big, but very intricate and fascinating. Next were the mountains of color, which were layered with all different shades! Near the mountains of color, Oscar showed us an active volcano that straddles the border of Chile and Bolivia! We were so close to Chile! Our next two stops were two different lagoons, which were both amazingly beautiful and serene. Thousands of flamingos lived in both lagoons. We had another amazing lunch at the second lagoon. After lunch, we drove a while to the huge rock formations, which included the infamous Tree of Rock! Our last stop for the day was Lagoon Colorado, which literally has red water! It was so cold and windy that we could not spend much time outside of the car! Our hotel for the second night was a little nicer than the first, but still very basic and VERY, VERY, VERY, VERY COLD! We met some fellow travelers from Argentina and Spain and ended up playing dice games with them!

Our last day in Uyuni was insanely busy! We got up at 5 AM to head to the hot, thermal bath, which turned out to be lukewarm and it was way too cold to even think about taking my two shirts, three jackets, gloves, hat, and scarf off. The geysers, however, were amazing! The sun was just rising and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! Our very last stop on the tour was the Green Lagoon. The water was definitely green, but no wildlife can live in this water because of its high levels of toxins and minerals. After the lagoon, we began our 8 hour drive back to the city of Uyuni with a few stops along the way—Dali Rocks, a few small towns, lunch, and more crazy rock formations!

Around 6 PM we pulled into downtown Uyuni. We grabbed a quick dinner and headed to the bus station, which was complete mayhem! We arrived in Oruro around 2:30, and a lady traveling with us was so sick because of the drastic change in altitude, the bus company helped us get a private cab back to Cochabamba!

After three days of no shower, the first thing I did was shower when I got back to our house! It was an amazing few days of seeing and experiencing things so unreal! I will never forget the natural, untouched, simple beauty of Uyuni! Also, I traveled with 5 other women—4 of then over 40 and one the same age as me—and it was so fun! We have all come from very different backgrounds and we are all at different places in live, but we got along so well and had so much fun!

I have had such amazing experiences in Bolivia, and am so thankful each day that I have had the opportunity to travel and get to know this amazing country and its amazing people!

Noche Sin Techo! (and other updates)

Last Friday, September 3rd, 5 of the older girls from Corazon del Pastor, some staff and volunteers from Ninos con Valor participated in Noche Sin Techo. This event was planned by Mosoj Yan (Camino Nuevo or New Road), an organization here in Cochabamba that works to get kids and teenagers off the street. A few times during college, my friends and I participated in the Invisible Children sleep outs. So, I was expecting something similar--a somber occasion where we watch movies and talk in small groups, etc. However, as much as I enjoyed spending time with the girls and attempting to be in solidarity and support those who sleep on the streets, Noche Sin Techo was something far from my expectations.

Instead of talking about the reality of life on the street for kids, and instead of watching a documentary about street kids, and instead of suggesting ways in which we can assist these kids, there were comedy routines and dancers, singers and musicians who lighted the mood. It seemed like a celebration more than a movement of solidarity and support. Many of the participants seemed to believe this was a camp out or a fun night. Also, the entertainment never mentioned the reality that tons of children and teenagers are abandoned and runaway, live on the streets and sniff glue, steal for a simple meal.

I was discussing my feelings about the night with one of the other tias who attended and she agreed. She also told me that many kids sleep in the plaza we slept in every night. So, these kids were kicked out of the plaza so we could show our support? That just doesn't seem supportive and helpful to me! I do understand that Mosoj Yan wanted the participants to be safe, however, kicking "street kids" out of a usual place they sleep is not a way to show support and solidarity. This tia also told me that the same cops that were there to protect us from any danger mistreat "street kids" all the time. They will round them up, take them up to into the hills above Cochabamba, make the kids wash their cars, and then leave them up there to walk back to the city in the middle of the night by themselves. Others will be beaten by police officers, and sometimes shipped to other parts of Bolivia to big buildings where rapes and violence are common. It is funny to me that none of this was mentioned during the evening.

I think it is wonderful for the girls to participate in activities like this. The five girls who came chose to attend. But, it would have been even better for them to really see the reality of "street kids." However, I was proud to work with an organization and with girls who are willing to put aside comfort to spend a night in the cold, sleeping on the ground to show support for kids, just like them! Many of the girls at Corazon del Pastor could be living on the streets, but have a roof and food, love and support because of Ninos con Valor.

Other news from Cochabamba:

*This weekend I am heading to Solar de Uyuni, one of the biggest salt flats in the world! Uyuni is south of Cochabamba. We are taking 2 buses-a total of 18 hours! I am super excited!

*September 14th is the 200th anniversary of Cochabamba! There is no school, and will be huge celebrations!

*September 29th will be the 4 year anniversary of Ninos con Valor! The girls and the babies will be participating--some of the girls will be playing music, some will be dancing, some will be making art projects; the babies will be dancing and singing! I am so excited to see them! Also, the tias, including myself, will be dancing! We will see how this goes!

*September 17th is a dance party and sleepover Clare, another volunteer, and I are planning for the girls! They just cannot wait to dance to Justin Beiber and the Jonas Brothers!

So, things are going well here, minus a few problems with ameobas and bacteria. But, as I keep telling myself, it could be worse! I still cannot believe it is September! I wish I could slow time down! I am very excited to head home, but I really cannot imagine leaving the girls and babies behind! But, I can always come back!

I hope this post finds everyone well back in the states! As usual, I am sending all my love!