My Journey Round The World

So we did it! It was so rewarding to see people smiles, happy face… As well as the emotional face of the project initiator’s! I’m glad I could join and participate in this event. Everything went smoothly, no riot as some of us where a bit afraid of. I guess the gringo’s rigor did work! :) – Today, I saw 2 riots on the main plaza when people where giving free things away, quite impressive and a bit frightening! – Even local radio & TV came to cover the event thanks to a friendly bolivian spanish teacher Project initiators Marco, Adam & Steve were satisfied & hope to renew this experience next year, maybe in their own country… So if you want to join, don’t hesitate! www.christmashare.blogspot.com

Today I went to a lovely café – Café Amsterdam, C/ Bolivar 426 Sucre - to have a tipical Bolivian Christmas dish: Picana. All profits of this Café are meant to support Centro Educativo Ñanta – http://www.centro-nanta.org/ – a centre for alternative education to help the working children of Sucre on medical, educational and social ways. See Grégoire, I don’t even need to share my plate, I can just eat to help So if you’re around, go to have a drink or lunch/diner there! Food was great!

Hey everyone! I wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS from Sucre – Bolivia

Tonight I’ll take part in the Xmas share: www.christmashare.blogspot.com I met Adam in Cusco & today I just bump into him at the Mercado in Sucre while he was buying food for the occasion with some others folks. This afternoon we made more than 500 sandwiches, bought some juices, bananas and sweets and we are going to distribute them tonight on the main square… Only small things to make some people more happy… We hope…

For my last day in Cochabamba, I wanted to see closely the giant christ  – 33 metres, the biggest in the world, yes, yes! – dominating the city at 2 500 metres high! So after my morning duty at school I went there with one of the girl I was leaving with at Casa Buen Samaritano – Hilary. Great view on the city and surroundings! We were too lasy to climb the 1 350 steps - it was too hot! - so we took the cable-car

As already said, I would’t be a teacher for kindergarden or primary school… So on Tuesday I escaped school and went to one of the biggest market in Bolivia: Punata – said to be one of the most beautiful and authentic one. Chichicastenango in Guatemala is really small compare to it! You can find literally everything there! From underwear to shoes, cow to pig – did you already hear a pig screeming?! It’s awful!!! – fruits and vegetables – of course plenty of potatoes – I always wonder if typical clothes and hat were one day new, I got the answer!

After a local soup in a typical Chicha, I headed back to Cochabamba stopping on my way in Tarata, typical village of the Alto Valley. Such a peaceful atmosphere with local architecture after the market

Did you already hear a pig screeming?! It's awful!!!

clic on the picture below to hear the sound! 

Thanks to Sister Adeline, I currently graciously sleep and eat at Casa Buen Samaritano. This place hosts sick people who leave far away, have poor resources and/or doesn’t have family to take care of them.  Sunday we had the xmas party with people from SOLIDARIDAD coming for lunch and presents exchange The morning was dedicated to the preparation of the meal… A paella! As most of you know, I don’t like to cook but love to eat However, it was great to participate in cooking this giant meal for around 40 people! 

Of course, as it is a catholic organisation there was a mess – a priest came especialy for it, but I escape this part… Helping is enough for me. Just before lunch all residents participated in a short nativity performance, with even a real little baby Jesus I really enjoyed beeing part of this community for this event and I even get a present!!! For dessert, we had a huge cake – Ariane, you would have love it! I can tell you that I felt really lucky to know that I have family and friends all around me – even if you’re all far away for now! Thanks to be here guys!!!

On December 21 I went to Cochabamba theatre – for 3€!!! I saw people queuing so I hoped it could be nice  Indeed! Luckily no big speech as it was a dancing school – Jazz Dance Revolution – celebrating its 10 years of H1stOry. 11 groups from around 5-6 years old up to 20 or more. Music was a bit more techno than jazz but choreagraphy were really good and the corps de ballet was excellent!!! The last part was a homage to Mickael Jackson – pretty good!

Leaving in a Bolivian community and working with kids help to recover a bit of my Spanish words… Amanecer Madre de Dios is a school and also a house welcoming children with family problems. Some of them are sleeping there while others are going back home everyday. I spent nearly a week as a volunteer with 4-5 years old kids. What’s great with them: they don’t get upset if you don’t understand right away and are willing to repeat again and again… Incredible how you can already say from their face & behaviour how they might be in future! They already have their proper character! I knew it but it’s fun to see just in front of you  It was a really interesting experience to see how such kind of school are working. I also saw what you should avoid doing with kids! Good to know if I eventually manage to get any one day!

So after a wonderfull night in the bus, I finally reach Cochabamba and was picked up by Ainhoa, one of the Spanish volonteer, who bring me to SOLIDARIDAD – http://www.solidaridadbolivia.org – where Sister Adelina was kindly waiting for me. SOLIDARIDAD is a group of Catholics promoted and coordinated by the Daughters of Cariad of San Vicente de Paul. Its purpose is to welcome and care for the urgent needs of the people without resources and in situation of social necessity and exclusion, fomenting the coordination of the different social services connected with the church and public, and impelling the creation, in each one of the Parishes, of equipment of Social Pastoral, with the last aim to bring back to consciousness to the Christian community of Cochabamba, being stimulated its commitment with the exclusion realities. Big programme! Hope you get it all!

As it is the end of the year, they don’t have that much project going on at the moment, plus I’m not staying long enough for a real project. However, they need hands for preparing presents for penniless people or the one at the hospital. So I gave a little hand with the 2 other Spanish volonteers: Ainhoa & Alvaro, filling up bags with food such as : rice, pasta, sugar, oil, sardine, biscuits, sweets, popcorn – really famous here! – or even soap, toothbrush, comb…

Sister Adelina also found me a small voluntary job at the school Madre de dios in a class with kids from 4 to 5 years old. First 2 days were quite hard as it was really difficult for me to get a word! – I totaly overestimate my capacity to get my Spanish back!!! - I’m eventually starting to get use to it and working with kids is great, even though I wouldn’t like to do it all year round!

I feel so tired… Just arrived in Cochabamba after a 7 hours travel in a bus where I could not sleep… I had a snoring neighbour – not that I’m not use to it! – and I was freezing all night! They tell you that there is toilet: NO, that they make sure temperature is confortable… In your dreams… Only good thing was the view. I was in front and could watch the night filled with stars, seeing 2 shooting stars… All night make you think… Trying to accept things the way they are… Hard job!

Realising this dream is wonderful… Such a fun adventure and I´m really glad to do it! However it doesn´t mean you escape things… You don´t forget your past, people you love, you miss… Your feelings are still here and even thousand kilometres away things still hurts! You cannot ask someone to wait for you as you go away for such a long time. Life is going on… And as someone said to me once: what has happenned has happenned - things need to move on… This is just hard to take even if expected… It will be fine! As someone else said to me: you should not be afraid to loose or leave things behind you - this is how life is, I guess this is the secret… Just need to accept the way it is, to let go… Life cannot be always that much fun! This would be too easy

For my last day in La Paz on my own, I decided to go and see one of the main view point on the city: Mirador Killi Killi. I walked up and down several stairs, as people around, before reaching. The walk was already something, the view was impressive!

In the afternoon, the hostel offered a trip to the Cholitas catchascanistas… I joined, thinking it was the famous Cholitas football – I guess I wasn’t awake properly when I read the offer!!! – It was in El Alto area, again an impressive view on the city and the valley, at 4 000m! After 2 fights it was enough for me. I went out for a short walk around and decided to go back in the center as I had a strong headache! 4 000m might not help…