Charque, Pirumani, and Zapatitos

This past Saturday was another Bolivian holiday as it is traditionally considered to be the coldest day of the year. The Bolivians use this holiday to burn their fields so keeping with Bolivian culture we did the same. It was by far the most intense manual labor I’ve ever done. We were actually in the flames trying to keep them from getting too high so that they didn’t reach the house or melt the casing off of the electrical wires. By the end of the morning we were all covered in soot and my arms ached from machete-ing the bushes and batting down the flames. Saturday afternoon a few of us returned to La Cancha, the outdoor market, and did some shopping for souvenirs. That evening we went out to dinner and I tried two of the traditional Bolivian dishes, Pique and Charque. Pique is beef and potatoes with vegetables, and Charque is dehydrated llama with hominy. I loved the Pique however the texture of the Charque was a little too much of a stretch for me. It was drier than beef jerky and kind of crumbled in your mouth but the taste was similar to that of beef. 

On the hike to Pirumani

Sunday Kyle, Andrew, Brittany, and I hiked Pirumani, which leads to a waterfall in the middle of a canyon. It is only a short trufi ride to the trailhead from the guesthouse but we ended up walking the 3 or so miles up the road because we couldn’t find a trufi. The hike itself wasn’t too difficult and was breathtakingly beautiful.

Monday I spent the morning at CDA 1 with the babies and I am quickly falling more and more in love with them. That afternoon I slept for a few hours as I seem to have come down with a case of Bronchitis or something along those lines and have been feverish and achy on and off with an awful sore throat.

Tuesday morning I went to Zapatitos an all boys orphanage that houses 35 boys ranging from elementary school age to college students. Playing with all the little boys was my favorite thing in the entire world. If I could I would move into Zapatitos and spend the rest of my life teasing those sweet, sweet little boys. My favorite, a little boy named Christian, melted my heart, as he and I became friends sitting under a table in the dining room. We spent the first half of our time there doing a clinic for the kids, which involved taking height and weight and inspecting their teeth. We then did a short presentation on dental hygiene and nutrition. The rest of the afternoon was spent spinning, tickling, and racing the little boys (which did wonders for my Bronchitis as you can imagine). These little boys are just so full of a contagious vigor for life and I know I have so much to learn from them. They are all so brave and so willing to fight against the adversity that they have already faced in their lives. That afternoon Hannah and I cleaned an old Ambulance that they plan to begin using again. We tried really hard to convince ourselves that the dark reddish/brown splattering everywhere was not blood but anything else.

Llamas

My relationships with the other volunteers have just continued to grow and I feel so close to so many of them. It is such a great experience to meet and truly get to know so many people from such different backgrounds. Brittany, one of the Westmont girls from San Diego, moved into my room this past weekend and I am happy to have company because it was getting quite lonely by myself. She is extremely similar to myself in a lot of ways but also very different and I have loved getting to know her. I think our instant bond can be contributed to our many similar food allergies and due to these allergies we have spent many hours in the kitchen cooking together while we blast country music... Specifically Wanted, our favorite song.

Walking down our street, Anacarare

I am really hoping to get healthy soon because I am already tired of feeling so awful. I spent all afternoon sleeping again and it is just a bummer to be missing out on so much and to not be contributing as much as I was before. I trust that the Lord is using me even in idleness but I am still impatient to be back to my normal self so that I can more fully serve the people here.

More pictures from our hike (click on them to make them bigger)

 

The Westmont Team plus the two Messiah Boys