Whew! A ton has been happening in the last couple days, and I just don’t know where to begin. But here we go. This last Saturday Ben and I had this big, important charla in a tiny pueblo near Camiri (a biggerish city to the south of us). So as we were getting ready for the charla (making posters, buying candy for prizes for answering questions, etc.) we learned that we couldn’t go with my boss and had to find our own way there. While talking to the flota lady on Wednesday afternoon, we learned that the only flotas going to Camiri leave Friday nights at 8pm, which would get us into Camiri at 2am (oh yeah, that’s the thing, Camiri is only 40km away, yet it takes 6 hours to get there because the roads are bad and it constantly stops and lets people on and off along the way). Obviously that wouldn’t work for us because we had to be there Fri. morning to help set up. So then she told us our other option would be to take the 10:30am flota to a town about 4 hours north, get off, then take a taxi two hours south along the highway, that way we’d get there around 5 or 6pm Thursday night and all would be good. However, she just found out that the Thurs. morning flota broke down and therefore no one would be going anywhere. Great!! Then she tells us that a big van or something will be taking people to Camiri that same night (wed.) at 7:30pm. At that point it was about 4pm, and seeing how that was our only option, we boughts the tickets, ran home, finished the posters, packed our bags, and headed back to the bus stop to go to Camiri. After waiting for a little while, we found it quite odd that on one else was showing up. So finally we go into the office and ask the lady what was up. Oh yeah, she said, in fact it’s not leaving tonight, you should come back in the morning and do the original plan. Dios mio!! So we trudge back home, unpack a little, and wait until the next day to leave. But after that all went well. We left Thursday morning, went north for four hours, then got off the bus. At that point we really didn’t know what to do. We expected taxis to be going by (as it’s along the highway), but there really weren’t any. So while Ben was trying to talk some random Bolivians into giving us a ride to Camiri, I searched around for a bathroom (this wasn’t a squatting area). Finally I found a bathroom and asked if I could use it. I used it and all was going well until I realized I was locked in!!! I yelled out for help, but no one could hear me. I realized I didn’t bring my cell phone with me, and there weren’t any windows in the place, it was just a cement box. I was freaking out!! I was in there a good ten minutes until a lady and her daughter came around looking for a bathroom as well. I begged them to open the door because it was jammed. They pushed together from their side, and I tried to pull from my side. Finally, after a couple minutes of struggle the door popped open and I was free!! That was soooooo gross and scary! But after that ordeal, I climbed back up to the road and found that Ben had indeed found a taxi driver, but he didn’t want to go all the way to Camiri just for the two of us. So he put a sign in his window saying “Camiri,” and all three of us waited until more people came looking for a ride. That worked like a charm. After 10 minutes or so the tiny little car was packed. In the front was the driver, Ben, and I; Ben in the seat and me sitting oh so uncomfortably on top of the gear shift and the emergency break. In the middle seat was an army dude, a large husband and wife duo, and their 2 kids. In the back was all our luggage and some poor sucker forced to sit right in the middle of it. So, needless to say, it was a packed car. But actually, I found it more comfortable then the flota, so I guess it all works out. Anyway, we made it to Camiri that night and met up for dinner with another volunteer that lives in that town. Friday morning we head to the CIAT office to meet with my boss at the arranged 9:30am meeting time. Low and behold, the office is closed up tight. We wait another half hour, and finally the secretary comes. She says he’s probably out in the campo right now, without cell phone service. She says to try calling him every hour or so to see if he came back into Camiri for food or anything. So that’s what I do all Friday morning. Finally at 1pm I get a hold of him and he says to meet him at 5pm that night at the office. The whole afternoon we just walk around Camiri, buy fruit (they have an AMAZING fruit selection, at least compared to Charagua), and pass the time. 5pm comes and we go to the office. He’s not there of course, and we wait until 6pm, but the secretary finally has to close the office. We ask her, kind of desperately at this point, how to get to the campo tomorrow for the charla. She says there will be a micro (bus thing) leaving from the plaza at 8am, headed straight there. All we can do really is hope she’s right. So Saturday comes and we get on the flota and indeed it does take us there!! Success!! I see my boss running around, doing this and that getting ready for everyone. We chat like none of the mix up ever happened (???) and he points us to where we will be giving our charla. Ok, the set up is really nice. On one side of the road is a huge field of corn, this other plant they’re trying to use for biodiesel, and some other crops that I didn’t really get a good look at. Within this area there are booths, each with it’s own tecnico giving his own charla. For example, there was one about how to grow and produce biodiesel, another on how to save ones crops for their cattle during the dry season, how to build a solar paneled electric fence to keep the cattle out of the crops, and one introducing a new breed of corn that has a vastly higher percentage of protein in it. It was really amazing. On the other side of the road was our tent, and booths full of new hybrid seeds, instructions on how to make your own peanut butter, and different types of organic fertilizers, etc. I didn’t really get a good look at these because I was so busy. Anyway, the whole thing was so much fun. The sun was shining brightly and there was a huge turnout of people. They all went around from booth to booth, listening to what the speakers had to say. I even went around to all of them and was super impressed. I learned a lot, too. Ben and I had our own little chaperone, who took us around to each of them. He worked for CIATCamiri and wanted to show off his English-speaking skills, I think. But in any case he was very friendly and informative. We gave our charla at around noon, mostly to the kids and mothers. It was about the important of the environment and ways to help protect it. I think it went really well. We even got asked by some guy (I think he was the head of some other pueblo a little further north) to come speak at a festival they are giving in a few weeks, but unfortunately we had to turn him down because we will be in Cochabamba during that time. But hey, it’s feels good to at least be asked. Also while we were there, a lady came up to me and started telling me about some meeting that her and my boss (peace corps boss) discussed and that we needed to attend. I obviously thought this was a bit odd, since my boss hadn’t mentioned it at all, but I listened anyway. She works for the subprefectura (I don’t really know the U.S. equivalent of this title, but I think it’s on the level of a county office of some sort. I’ll have to get back to you on that one). Anyway, she wanted me to gather up all the volunteers in my “county” so that we could have a meeting for that Monday. She seemed to know my boss fairly well, and I was curious as to what this meeting was about, so I said yes. This however, caused a bit of a problem, since we were planning on going back to Charagua that night with my boss. However, we just said that we had a meeting in Camiri on Monday and had to stay an extra two nights. We didn’t know how we would get back home at that point, but I’ve learned that it’s best not to worry about that too much, since things change so often anyway. So all day Sunday I play miss secretary and call everyone from the Cordillera area (our country) and discover that most everyone can come, which is good. We then set out about Camiri looking for transportation home asap. After asking around fruitlessly for a while, we finally stumble upon a bright blue house with a sign out from saying “flotas to Charagua.” We discover that there is one leaving at noon on Monday. Perfect!! We buy the tickets and that is that. Monday comes, we have the meeting, and by noon we’re on the bus waiting to take off. The meeting was about a project we are going to be doing to help the county as a whole. Ok, so each of us live in a municipality within that county. Ben and mine, for example, is the municipio of Charagua, while other volunteers within our county live in other municipios. What they want us to do is make a diagnositic of the problems relating to the environment and natural resources of our respective areas. Not only that, they want this done asap. In fact, they are emailing us our first “assignment” tomorrow (wed), and they want it due before we leave for Cochabamba. It’s actually a great idea, because they plan to give our analyses to the mayors of each municipality, who will then have a better idea of what the problems are and what we can do to help. I think a big problem right now is that they don’t know the extent of the problems and/or don’t know how to go about fixing them. Although we try to talk to them about it, I think they would feel more comfortable and possibly take us more seriously if it was in writing, sent to them from their higherups. Anyway, that was what the meeting was about.

So at noon yesterday we hopped on the flota and got back home at about 6pm. It feels good to be back, but boy am I going to be busy! In a week and half we half to go back to Santa Cruz, and from there back to Cochabamba to meet for our 3 month reconnect with all of the volunteers from our group. I’m really excited about seeing everyone!!! But I’m scared about the presentation we have to give (about our diagnostic, a different one, that is. Also about our sites in general) and about having to write an 8-page paper in Spanish (also about the diagnostic). I only have a week in a half to do all of that, while still working at CIAT!! That really isn’t enough time. Plus, I have to remind my counterpart to come. Sometimes they forget, and he’s supposed to come to Cochabamba on the 28^th for some project design workshop with me. In total, we’ll be in Coch for about two weeks. We have our reconnect, another meeting of some sort, the project design workshop, and a Spanish class on the 4^th of August (just to brush up). Then it’s back to Charagua, home sweet home.

In other news, I had to miss the last soccer game!!! It was the Saturday of the charla and I still don’t know how it turned out!! At that time we were in fourth place, and if we maintained it we might be going to the finals. Therefore, I might or might not have a tournament this week. I’m sure I’ll find out soon. But even if we missed out on the finals, I think our team starts up again from scratch some time at the end of August. That’ll be nice to start playing with them from the beginning.

Well, sorry that was so long and boring, I just had to get it out. I hope you’re all doing well and having a nice summer!!