So it’s Wednesday around noon and my boss just left. The last two days were full and exciting, which is just what I needed! I will now recap the last two day’s events. Monday around 4 or 4:30 my boss, his assistant lady (who I LOVE!), and a third year volunteer who specializes in natural resources, arrived in Charagua and came straight to my house. Luckily, Ben and I were waiting for them with chips and dip (being the oh so gracious hosts we are, plus in Bolivia food is love). So we spent an hour or so chatting with them, asking how the drive was, etc. At that point, being the old lady that I am, I was already thinking about dinner, maybe reading a chapter or two in my book, then hopping into bed nice and early. However, my boss had different plans. See, he’s a social guy, so he wanted to immediately talk with everyone in town. So off we head to the mayor’s office, where my counterpart works. We chat with my counterpart, sign some papers, then head to the mayor’s office, chat with him, and sign some more papers. At that point I thought we were done, but no. I had told him that I had talked with CIAT (I know what it stands for now! Centro de Investigacion Agricola Tropical), and that they want me to start working with them right away. This news excited him so much that he wanted to go talk with the boss guy there himself. So off we go to CIAT’s office at 6:30 or so and chat with them (there are 3 guys that work there, but we only met 2) for at least another hour. I kind of spaced out for a while, but all the hand shaking and head nodding makes me pretty sure that they like each other and that I’m going to start working with them immediately, probably even today, in fact. After that I was sure we were going to eat, but he wanted to talk to Ben’s counterpart right then as well. So we swung by the school director’s office, but she wasn’t there. So instead of just leaving, we chat with some other guy (actually, the owner of my house), who happens to be the school superintendent. At this point I demand food, so we go to one of two food places in Charagua. The menu (not written, of course, but verbal) always consists of chicken or beef, with a good old fashioned side of rice and potatoes. Anyway, by the time dinner is over, it is quite late. I don’t know what time exactly, but time for bed for sure. The PCVL (third year girl) stayed at my house, so I slept on the floor on my pad. I must say, I almost preferred that to my bed, which is horrible! Early the next morning, the PCVL and I went to Ben’s house to help him give some student-teacher kids a charla on compost (because there’s a compost pile there). After that my boss and his assistant met us and we were off once again to chat with everyone. First we went to the school director’s office and this time she was in. So, after signing some papers and chatting we went to CIPCA’s office (the other organization I am trying to work with and where my Spanish teacher’s dad works). The response was complicated and I’ll get more into it later. But basically I can work with Maritza’s (Spanish teacher) dad privately, but not as part of the organization. Anyway, we also had to ask him (Don Julian) if Ben can live in their house for the next two years! Apparently Ben’s host dad is never there (he’s sick and getting treatment in Santa Cruz) and there’s a scary drunk guy who rents a little room right next to Ben who always asks him for money and is just no good. So currently only Ben and the drunk live there. The assistant lady immediately went around looking for new rooms for Ben, but they’re all crappy and expensive. So our last resort was to ask Don Julian. Luckily he said yes, and I guess Ben will be moving there by the end of the month. Crazy how fast things happen here! Anyway, after that we went to pick up my counterpart to head off to a party ISTACH (the other group I’m currently working with on the vivero) was having (it’s the school’s anniversary) out somewhere in the campo (middle of nowhere tiny community). By the time we got there, people were already drunk, dressed up in their cowboy clothes, and playing random party games. Everyone was having a good time, a HUGE BBQ was grilling up meat, and we got to mingle with all the bigwigs of town. Tons of people were there, including the mayor, who was drunk and still had a dead aim in their pseudo “horseshoes” game (except instead of horseshoes they used the knee bone of a dead cow). We arrived at noon and were immediately served soup. They’re big on soup here, and normally it’s either gross or bland. But this soup was amazing!! It was delicious and actually had beans in it!! I was in heaven, just scarfing it down as fast as I could, until I got to the end. I looked down and right in the center of my bowl was a huge fly larva!! Yes, maggots in my soup! I don’t know if there were more, in which case I ate them all, or if that was the only one, but boy, that certainly was a surprise. But hey, extra it’s just a little extra protein! But after that they brought out the meat. I’m talking several dead cows were on that grill. Two people had to man it because it was so big, one couldn’t even reach over to the other side! Literally troughs of meat were served, along with rice and yucca (kind of like a potato, but better). It was a feast! The beer was flowing, the meat was grilling, the cowboys were being cowboys, in short, it was a good day. Eventually we were called out into a pasture to watch the horse races. I was a little nervous, just because everyone was drunk, and riding horses drunk for some reason just didn’t seem like a good idea! But luckily they found two small, less-drunk guys to ride, and the games began. They rode two horses at a time, bare-back and shoeless (I don’t know if that was preference, or part of the game), and the guys bet on the winner. That was interesting to watch, but by that time it was getting late, and my boss wanted to go see the Mendonite colonies. Yes!! I knew he’d want to go! So we climbed into his car (oh yeah, he had a sweet land rover, and it just feels good to be in a car every now and again) and drove a couple kilometers over to the Mendonite colonies. First off, it’s like entering a different land over there. It looks like the California Central Valley, flat, mostly tree-less and acres and acres of crops as far as the eye can see. The only difference is that there is no electricity, no cars, and tons of windmills. Everyone drives horses and carts (I swear I saw a 7-year old driving his younger sisters home on a cart!), have the same designed houses, and wear the same clothes. The women get married at 16-years old and have kids until they either die in child labor or can’t have anymore. It’s crazy!! And they can’t intermarry with Bolivians, no no no. They’re all blond-haired and blue-eyed. The women aren’t even allowed to talk with a Bolivian. It’s a strange, strange culture. But it was super cool to go check it out. I really wanted to buy some cheese from them, so we finally found a house that sold it and got to look around a bit. Everything is neat and tidy and they are extremely polite. The only thing that bothers me, or just kind of freaks me out, is that I’ve never seen a Mendonite smile. I’ve decided that one of my goals for the next two years is to get a Mendonite to smile. It’ll be tough, but I think it could happen. Okay, after Mendonite land, we went back to Charagua. It’s only 6 or 6:30 by then, and we have to go talk to Don Julian again at 7pm to get more details about Ben’s rent, etc. So at 7pm we go to his house, but no one’s there. After driving around for a while looking for either him or his wife, we give up, get a bite to eat, and go to bed. Wednesday morning we met bright and early and made the good-bye rounds. We stop by all the people’s offices/houses we’ve talked to the past two days and say goodbye, which for some reason takes 3 hours. We then eat some saltenas (these little beef or chicken pot-pie-type things that I can’t stand, but that everyone else, Bolivian and American alike, adore.) and then we are done.
So, finally my boss left and we are left alone again. But I’m really glad he came! It was good to meet everyone more formally, and it looks like I’m going to have my hands full of work, which is exactly what I want! Oh yeah, somewhere in that mess some girl asked me if I would join her soccer team. I said yes, of course, even though I don’t have cleats, I haven’t played in years, and I am dreadfully out of shape and probably can’t compete with Bolivians! And I’m not even sure what I’m getting myself into! They play every Saturday at this big stadium thing, and I even have to wear a uniform get my picture taken for the player’s cards! Yikes! I was thinking of just having a little scrimmage every now and again! I might be in over my head, but I’m at least going to try it out. There’s also a three-day festival this weekend to celebrate the ganaderias (the cow and horse people place), and I told all those drunk cowboy guys that I’d go, so I can’t let them down, especially since I’m going to be working with a few of them for the next two years.
Well, sorry to go on and on. I’m finally done with the update. I hope you’re all doing good and hopefully not much will happen for a while so your eyes can have a rest!