Boy do I have a lot to catch up on!! It’s now Monday morning and I’ve been at my host family’s house since Saturday afternoon. Well, first let’s start where I left off. Friday we had our first Spanish class and unfortunately they put me in a really advanced class with three other people that know much more than me. I’m scared that I’m in over my head. Plus, the Spanish classes are going to be 5 days a week for four hours a day!!! Talk about overkill! Saturday morning we packed up our stuff then got lectured about all the various reasons we might be kicked out of peace corps (or not even make it to the volunteer stage). Finally, though, they gave us our host family assignments and we headed out to check out the town.
I can’t remember the town’s name, but it’s pretty small and quaint. We all live in different houses within the community, but many houses are within walking distance to each other. They grouped us based on our Spanish classes because we will be having our Spanish classes at our family’s houses. It’s kind of a weird set up. On Wednesdays, however, we go to the training center back in Cochabamba. Everyone will have to find a way to get there on their own. That means taking micros (bus thingys), trufis (these minivan looking things), or taxis. I’m scared!! However, this Monday and Tuesday are holidays because it’s Carnival here in Bolivia. It’s a two week celebration where everyone throws waterballoons at each other and squirt squirtguns at anyone they see. I’ve been soaked almost every time I go outside!! And it’s not just kids, grown men are throwing waterballoons at people!! I’ve never seen anything like it!
Okay, so my family is hard to explain. I’m kind of an orphan. I live in this little shack place, but eat next door where another volunteer lives at every meal. My mom (dona Filomena) is never here (I’m still trying to figure out where she goes) and my little sister Marjori (age 10) always hangs out at the aunt’s house (next door) along with her 3 cousins (all girls ages 7, 15, and 17). The aunt’s name is Dona Ines and she feels more like my mom just because I see her more often and I pay here for all the things I need (showers, toilet paper, etc.). I have three dogs, a bunch of chickens, ducks, rabbits, and guinea pigs. We eat all of them except for the dogs. I really don’t think I’ll be able to eat guinea pigs or rabbits! They’re so cute!! We also went to the store yesterday and they got a giant bag of cow intestines for dinner tonight. I really think I might barf. And oh yeah, they’re really big on their meat and their potatoes and rice. So far we have a mountain of rice and potatoes and fried meat at every meal. If I don’t get vegetables soon, I’m afraid I’ll get scurvy! Although, for breakfast yesterday we had tamales with corn, sugar, and butter that tasted like heaven. It was like eating the most delicious corn bread in the world!! And about the coffee. Apparantly Bolivia grows really good coffee, but because they are so poor, they have to export all of it to other countries. Therefore, everyone here drinks Nescafe, which is the crappy instant coffee crap that people take when they’re camping. Seriously, it’s all there is!! But my host mom (from now on when I say host mom I mean host aunt) puts lots of sugar in it, so it’s not so bad. In fact, they put tons and tons of sugar in every drink. We have refrescos at every meal, which is basically just sugar water. But hey, I kind of like it. Last night I had hot water with sugar because I didn’t want to drink the coffee. Apparantly not drinking anything wasn’t an option.
The bathroon situation is a slight bummer. To use the bathroom I have to walk out of my room, cross a courtyard, open and close a gate while trying to keep three dogs back, then walk across the back yard to the bathroom which I have to unlock then lock while I’m in there. Not so bad unless it’s raining (which it is a lot right now), or if it’s 1 in the morning (the time I have to go pee without fail every night of my life). Last night I forgot about the dogs and nearly had a heart attack when three giant figures sprinted after me in the dark and rain!!
I really like my room. It’s small and cute. They make us sleep in mosquito nets just in case of malaria, but it really isn’t present in this area. But hey, I kind of like the net, it’s like sleeping in a fort every night. Except sometimes I forget it’s there and get up like normal to be blocked by an invisible net. We also have to boil and filter our water. Apparantly none of the water here is guaranteed safe because there are lots of different sources for the water, some of which could be contaminated, etc. So we have these big 8 liter filters in our rooms that we have to pour boiling water into then wait until it filters. It’s kind of cool. However, I’ve been brushing my teeth with tap water and probably drinking some here and there and so far I feel fine. I’m sure my body will adjust before long.
Okay, well I gotta go. I’ll write more later, once we actually start the training! Some trainees and I are going to walk around the community to get to know the place. Oh yeah, there are tons of stray mean dogs, so it’s safer to walk in packs. And the roads are either dirt or semi-cobble stoned. It’s weird. Anyway, hope you’re all doing well! I love you all and miss you!!