ELECTION '08...JUBILATION!!!

Hallelujah!! It was pure joy the watch the election results on CNN last night, and despite my heavy eyelids I relished every moment. My students predicted Obama's landslide victory by voting 22-0 in all four classes, and Bolivians seem as thrilled as anyone at what the new leadership might bring to the world. Hope might be a tough act to follow, but if anyone can follow through on the unprecedentedly high expectations abounding, Obama's IT!

The huge political news seems to eclipse all the small stuff happening in our hectic lives. We've got a laptop virus that killed the voip phone, skype, etc for the last week or so, which is frustrating when all I want to do is call everyone I know to celebrate the 44th President-elect. It's the last week of classes and the kids are nutty; I've got to admit I have a new understanding on why school gets out at 2:20 and teachers get 9+ weeks of vacation annually.

We spent the long weekend relaxing in town and pseudo-celebrating todos santos in lieu of Halloween, which is, I daresay, underrepresented in La Paz. Maybe we'll get it together to retroactively celebrate before Thanksgiving!

At any rate, wishing you all happy fall holidays of all kinds and sending out happy vibes!!

Highest High Holidays Yet

Shanah Tovah to all who celebrated Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, or at least considered doing so! I'm pleased (and relieved) to report that Fernando's first experience in synagogue was a resounding success, and sitting separately was surprisingly no big deal. We were actually FACING each other across the aisle (oddly, given the idea is to avoid distraction...hmmmm) and he was in the good company of a friend from Cornell who guided him through selecting a yamulke, reading right to left, kissing the dozen or so Torahs paraded around before the service, and standing at sitting at all the appropriate times. I was lucky to be joined by said friend's wife and two year old daughter, who kept us entertained with the wonderful assortment of toys she'd brought along for that explicit purpose.

We rang in 5769 (?) with my first attempt at making both brisket and potato kugel as well as tsimmes, the traditional sweet potato and carrot dish that's a personal favorite. Unfortunately, with my new second job teaching English on-line at the Instituto Exclusivo around the corner, I was even more rushed than usual and erroneously grabbed a huge quantity of YUCCA instead of YAMS and our friendly neighborhood supermarket. The dish came out edible, but I'm eager to try again with the right ingredients. And maybe try a normal kugel as well if I can ever lay my hands on cottage cheese again...

In other news, school is nearly over for the year and the kids have major summer fever with 5 weeks to go. We're rehearsing like mad for next week's Fiesta de Colores for which they must perform an entrance, syncronized dance routine, traditional dance, and video. Being 11 year olds, you can imagine the difficulties (especially in our Russian number which requires boys and girls HOLD HANDS!)

Fernando and I didn't let our colds interfere with home improvement projects this weekend. We spent last Saturday in the knock-off neighborhood looking at Persian rugs, then yesterday compared with merchandise available in the more affluent Zona Sur. Pretty equivalent I daresay, and we miraculously seem to agree both about what we don't like (easy!) and mostly about what we do, and I am optimistic about recovering the cheap-o living room set by Christmas, our first together and certainly in our own home...which brings us to the impending fun of decoration shopping in Christmas crazed La Paz in the weeks ahead. WHatever happened to Halloween??

No Need to Panic

Those of you aware of the recent violence in Pando need not worry...I feel safe and anticipate nothing more than a few protests in the streets of La Paz, as happened earlier today.

We're getting more and more used to such blockades, and really other than meat prices going up as a result, there's little effect. I suppose we'll cancel our sixth grade field trip Thursday...

This afternoon several hundred campesinos marched down from the hills and alarmed the residents of the suburban Zona Sur where I teach, so panicky parents came to collect their children early to avoid dealing with the traffic later on. But the word "evacuation" hardly fits the situation on the ground.

I had no trouble getting home smoothly and am sitting tight until there's more news. Since the American Ambassador's departure at Evo's request, things have been a bit zany, but Bolivia's basically a non-violent protest sort of place, so I hope you'll join me in avoiding panic!

US Embassy and USAID personnel deemed "non-essential" have been given the choice to stay or go, so I expect to lose a few more friends than I would have otherwise this month. But never fear, I am working on maintaining a balanced social life amidst the mayhem, as never is there a more opportune time to bond with others abroad than in times of pseudo-crisis!

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and messages and peace be with you!

September Spring

Dearest friends,

Time continues to fly by, and I'm back at school after a glorious 4 days off last week for R&R. Despite a flu and fever, we made a great escape to Coroico, a town in the Yungas jungle 2 hours outside La Paz (pretty much downhill.) We stayed at a resort with 9 swimming pools, and took great pleasure in sunning ourselves by most of them, though didn't get to try all the funky slides. Next time! It was wonderfully relaxing to hear the river, and we "roughed" it upon arrival, walking with our pack from the crossroads where the bus deposited us to the resort, about a 45 minute "hike-ette" during which we were surrounded by exotic butterflies!!

I'm glad we got out of the city albeit briefly, but spent most of the rest of the week grading exams and doing errands. I was able to finish reading Angela's Ashes and start The Human Stain, and just generally chill. We've been socializing a bit more and now that spring is in the air I'm sure we'll swing even more BBQs, though knowing many of you are enjoying Labor Day in far different a fashion than are we still gives me a pang of jealousy. Looking forward to hearing from all of you, and until our Vonage phone works again (by October, surely) we're easily reached on skype or the landline or by email....besos y abrazos and all happy thoughts!

Family Fun

So, I may not be the most reliable blogger on-line, but I hope to make up for it with my other talents! Since having Vonage we've been able to reliably speak by phone, even when Skype (let alone video) is less than constant. For those of you I haven't been keeping informed via other technology, here's the low-down:

My parents came for a 10 day visit, basically the last week of winter vacation from school. We had a fabulous time seeing the sights of La Paz and environs, and introducing our families, who got along swimmingly despite language and cultural differences. We took a trip to the ruins of Tiwanaku and another to say in a cabana on Lake Titicaca, and altogether despite its brevity made the most of our time together, feasting on Bolivian treats I'd forgotten were so different from cuisine back home. They loved the hot drink api we served upon arrival at dawn to ward off altitude sickness, and didn't complain at the quantity of coca tea we requested they drink. Everyone was able to walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the views, and they took enough pictures to make many a slideshow for others' viewing pleasure.

It was back to teaching 4 hours after they left last Monday, and so far so good...the kids loved the Jeopardy game I created with possessive nouns and compound words as categories, and despite the cold are excited for a field trip Friday to Calamarca in the Altiplano (rescheduled from Friday June 13....) We'll have an Open House Saturday where I expect to meet more parents than have come to my weekly session, and other than that we'll likely spend another weekend reorganizing the house and furniture post-parental visit!

Love and hugs to you all and do keep in touch via whatever means available!!

An English Teacher, An English Teacher...

Hopefully many of you can fill in the music from the Bye, Bye Birdie song and get my drift...

I started teaching 6th grade English at Saint Andrew's, a private school in the Zona Sur, on June 2, just 3 weeks from the end of the semester (assuming midterms proceed as scheduled next week despite the public school teacher's strike and the government's response of starting winter vacation early!!)

Definitely a challenging move, but I'm learning their names and I *think* they're learning past tense, possessive nouns, and the like...we're doing a unit on the Egyptian pyramids (and mummies!) which has been fun and yielded good vocabulary for quizzes!!

I start back up July 14 after a visit from my parents, so am gearing up for their arrival the 5th by beautifying the apartment. Our new bed should arrive Monday, and since the Vonage phone is finally working, all would be well in pacena-land if my computer hadn't been infected by a virus last Tuesday and gone totally kaput. I'm hoping for good news next week before joining Fernando in Santa Cruz for the weekend, but am resigning myself to whatever fate has in store. So I may be writing to all of you requesting contact details again, and starting from scratch on pictures, music, and all the documents one loses when this sort of thing happens. :{

Ah, the highs and lows of dependence on technology! ANyway, thinking of all of you from wintry La Paz. Besos!!

April adventures

Having missed the entire month of April, I hardly know where to begin. Rather than recount our mishap with Fernando's visa and my 2 week solo visit to Beantown (which I managed to nonetheless enjoy) I'll pick up upon my return to La Paz last week. Due to a three hour delay of my flight to Miami, I missed my connection and stayed 24 hours longer in the States than intended, arriving Monday morning barely in time to head to work. Informed that sorochi is not a figment of Fernando's imagination, I took the morning of the 28th off to recover a bit and then it was back to reality. We've had a tumultuous few weeks in Bolivia, with a major referendum in Santa Cruz on May 4th (my birthday) which resulted in an 86% vote for more autonomy, to be followed by several more referendums both in the 3 other provinces seeking greater autonomy from Morales' government, and in 90 days one that actually asks the people to vote on whether Morales or the prefectures stay!! His strategy of proposing that as a legal alternative to the vote that took place backfired majorly and may result in a less favorable mass response than he hopes, but regardless we're all relieved that all has remained calm and we were able to move freely across the city last weekend despite more dire predictions.

Fernando and I spent Saturday shopping for a long overdue coffee maker and toaster oven, discovered The Nanny on DVD, and had a romantic dinner out after which we failed to find a dance club open to suit our schedule (places here start up around 1 am, and I'm afraid I've just turned too old to appreciate that timeframe.) On Sunday we lunched with his parents and sister at the tennis club, which was holding a championship it was fun to watch, and then had a tea party with his uncle's family back at the house, complete with homemade cake which could win a beauty contest and the song "happy birthday" in two languages with accompanying musical instruments. It was great to receive many cards, calls, emails and other communications from abroad, and to finally install fast enough internet to support skype among other favorite means of staying in touch!

I will do my best to post more regularly from May on, but now must head to the next birthday party with my local friends (who said I didn't have any! They're coming out of the woodwork!) Besos y abrazos from the Andes...

Three Months in (oh) Linda La Paz

Since celebrating 90 days in the country last week, it hit me I haven't sent an update in ages! Forgive the delay and please know all is well in the Andes, with us anyway. Despite the political turmoil most of you have likely heard about, my life has been consumed with learning the ins and outs of pivot tables and bubble graphs. Although I put in fairly long hours (compared to what I anticipated), we've been socializing a bit and even had some friends over for mid-week chess recently. I'm still working on branching out friend-wise (and at least meeting some of the people I was in touch with virtually for months before arrival) but we enjoyed going to see 10,000 Years Before Christ with my colombiana amiga Claudia and her beau, and hope to repeat the experience soon. But basically it's just the two of us, venturing out remarkably little and, even more remarkably, missing such outings much less than I would have guessed.

We rent or buy DVDs and make nice dinners (and lunches) daily; we're enjoying our new in-house laundry facilities and runs to the market to buy fresh mangoes, raspberries, chirimoya, avocado, and papaya. Among my favorite things is certainly the fresh produce (and its prices!)

As for other favorite things...I love that I can walk to work and there's a lot to listen to and see in the streets here. Constant music of every variety, every corner has kiosks selling bread or sandwiches or soda or snacks, or CDs and DVDs or kitchen stoppers and odd items. I don't love the poverty this of course represents, but it does make for fun people watching, even if the streets are so crowded it makes it impossible to rush along when late. :}

I am loving the light, it's sunny 90% of the time and recently the pounding rainstorms have been at night, so it's been great to frequent the Plaza Abaroa around the corner, where we were able to watch the Day of the Sea parade on Easter morning (interesting to me that the latter took precedence in this Catholic country, even though THEY LOST THE COAST TO CHILE, obviously. Imagine the festivities if they'd won!!) Evo spoke and there was pomp and circumstance from 8-12, when we went to a quick mass before heading south for outdoor family fun, including playing a game called "sapo," sort of like horseshoes, where you must throw a lead weight aimed at the toad's mouth. Fernando won for the first time in memory. Supposedly his 3 uncles also got "sapo" but as we were by then learning cunape (pao de queijo-like cheesy bread) recipes in the kitchen there weren't any reliable witnesses...

On my wish list is still setting up our Vonage phone line for more regular contact, but on the plus side of having little technology-wise is that I'm semi-forced to stop planning the big picture, getting ahead of myself by the decade, and to instead focus on the present, enjoying the small stuff, such as painting (Fernando's working on Illimani at my request) or reading aloud before bed (who knew this could be pleasurable after age 5?) or dancing to favorite iPod tunes in our living room. Different as it is from my previous life, we're living well and happily here.

Which is not to say I won't continue do my very best to connect the phone, and even, dare I say, revisit the questions of owning a TV or microwave in the months ahead...

Til then, all warmest wishes to all my (semi?) faithful readers out there. Besos y abrazos!!

Arica

Since starting work as the Quality Analyst in Human Resources at the Banco de Credito on February 18, I've hardly had time to breathe let alone blog! But these first two weeks have been hectic in a pleasantly busy way, with multiple visits to the health insurance provider for long waits in pre-dawn lines as well as learning the ropes at the bank. The staff is friendly and warm, and alternating Fridays has lunch together in and leaves 2 hours earlier than normal. I missed out on my first experience of this as I learned shortly beforehand that as a citizen of a group 3 country (essentially the US and Iraq) I did have to leave the country to change from tourist status to that of "objeto determinado," a temporary category while I apply for residency based on employment (for one year, renewable for 2 and 5 and then indefinite.) It was frustrating not to be able to get full details on what exactly this meant and involved, but by a stroke of luck Fernando and I were able to escape to Arica, Chile on Thursday and get my paperwork in order at the Bolivian Consulate there on the Pacific coast. It's a 9 hour bus ride (we neglected to note the hour time difference til late Friday night due to the relaxed beach climate) through the Andes, with some amazing scenery including Sajama and other mountains of note. After crossing the Chilean border, it's a windy descent to sea level, but a welcoming warmth made it all worthwhile and after getting my visa Friday morning we were able to relax on the beach before returning home to La Paz Saturday. An exhausting but important trip that marks a milestone in my process of legalization in Bolivia, and it feels GREAT!

Celebrations continue post-Birthday and Anniversary

Hello dear friends, far but not forgotten, and hope you are all as happy and healthy as can be. Yet another week is flying by, full of surprises and wonderment as ever, since Fernando's birthday last Friday. His parents hosted a lovely dinner party complete with political conversation which I just soaked up (hadn't realized McCain had the nomination in the bag, MUST get internet at home ASAP and perhaps cable, too!) and then Saturday we lucked out in finding a sofa and armchair that truly make our house a home. We hosted a small birthday dinner with his high school friends which was fun, the cake I made turned out better than the risotto, and I was able to find decorating tips and everything to write on it in chocolate and fill it with dulce de leche. He came down with a cold Sunday so we're delaying proper celebration of our anniversary for a bit, which may be a challenge as the days are filling fast! I missed a book club meeting last night to instead have a physical (necessary to qualify for the bank's insurance plan) which was pretty painless, and Friday we hope to attend a dinner with folks from the US Embassy who sound fun. Til then, a few more photos and a big promise to share the joy when our internet connection is finally installed!

Carnaval and Challa

So I survived a wet weekend, which included a parade of pepinos (grown men dressed as jesters who are COVERED in foam and water as they march through La Paz) and several BBQs with friends and family. Carnaval is quite a spectacle, people get so into decorating you can't help but get swept up by the energy field albeit BIZARRE to walk the streets ever on the lookout for not only children but ADULTS in all shapes and sizes armed with multiple waterguns and armloads of water balloons (mercifully we were spared the frozen variety, which I hear HURTS).

Besides the drinking and debauchery for which Carnaval is famed, in Bolvia there's the tradition of decorating/blessing your home (and car and everything else imaginable) in a ceremony/activity called "challa" from the verb "challar." It involves scaring away evil spirits by LIGHTING FIRECRACKERS INSIDE (terrifying, I can confirm, and I've suggested we try saying "boo" next year to see if it's equally effective) and placing colorful balloons, streamers, and pink pebbles/candy (for love) and gold beads (for fortune) in strategic corners of one's otherwise relatively clean (finally!) apartment. To do this, one must be suitably decked out (see photos to come) and drinking beer, though it's usually done by noon. Certainly sets the mood!!

Next year we may check out the famous folklore and dancing in Oruro, which I hear is THE place (besides Rio) to enjoy a profesional parade, but quite honestly it was a perfect "introductory Carnaval" right here at home in La Paz. And I HIGHLY recommend the challa ritual for those of you looking for more than feng shui at home....or to scare the bejeesus out of a roommate or partner who otherwise thinks you're relatively SANE...

NEW JOB

Greetings from Carnaval-struck La Paz, where I am pleased to report I was offered a job this week! I start February 18 as an analyst of quality/service at the Banco de Credito de Bolivia: http://www.bancodecredito.com.bo/, a Peruvian bank among the largest in the country with an outstanding staff (at least in the HR department where I'll be based, but as a client of the bank I can confirm the high standards and seemingly great work culture.)

The opportunity truly came out of the blue; Fernando's sister's husband's sister's huband is in HR and when his wife mentioned my interest in teaching though my background was elsewhere, he called me at home Tuesday night to tell me about the position and offer me an interview Wednesday, which I gladly accepted for the chance to interview in Spanish for a role I didn't have my heart set on. He and his colleagues were lovely to talk to, and I am thrilled to have this opportunity to learn and grow as part of a great team (coincidentally led by a Spanish woman).

I'll be continuing to have lunch with Fernando at home (the bank's a 25 minute walk but there's plenty of public transport) and they'll start my residency paperwork right away so I should be in the clear to travel to my heart's (and wallet's) content in March/April. I've already cleared my plans to be in Boston April 12-26 and look forward to telling you all about it both via blog and more personally pronto!

Til then, it'll be updates on the crazy Carnaval celebrations already underway with constant firecrackers, water balloon fights, and confetti throwing across the city. Monday and Tuesday are both holidays, and I'm looking forward to the long weekend to celebrate!!

ALASITAS

Thursday January 24 marked the first day of the 2008 Alasitas festivities, a three-week period leading up to Carnaval in which hundreds (thousands, seemingly!) of vendors sell miniature wares representing everything from dollars and euros (and bolivianos) to cars, kitchens, and even pirated DVDs. The stalls are spread around the city and we were able to soak in the flavor at our local plaza right away, witnessing the mayhem of buyers rushing to get their goods blessed by noon in a special ceremony involving fragrant incense.

Delayed by a Friday night thunderstorm we preferred watching from indoors, we finally made it to the main attraction on Saturday, where we witnessed the transformation of a normally busy (and trafficked!) street into a festive fairground, with sellers of miniatures as well as plants of every imaginable variety, candies, cakes and pastries, ice cream, churros and all sorts of goodies and of course toys and games of all kinds. We bought some long-sought after wooden spoons and a wicker napkin holder and bread basket, and walked for seemingly miles in the noon-day sun to take in all the action. Ferris wheels and other huge attractions for kids were interwoven with the ramshackle stalls, and I couldn’t figure out how it all survived the serious downpour the night before.

I managed to get a serious sunburn on my shoulders (fooled by the cloud cover into thinking I was safe putting 30 on just my face) but overall enjoyed the outing so much it was all I could talk about for the rest of the weekend, which we spent between making blueberry pancakes at home and eating fried buñuelos and empanadas accompanied by my new favorite hot beverage, api, in Achumani. Ah, here’s to more weekends (and weekdays) dedicated to such simple pleasures!!

USAID Translation Projects Loom Ahead

Hi all,
Happy to report my job search is going swimmingly, and that besides landing a volunteer gig at GTZ (http://www.gtz.de/en) where I'll have an office and internet connection of my own three days a week starting tomorrow, I'll be doing translation of USAID documents part-time. I've been applying for teaching positions, too, and continue to hope for a minor miracle and great opportunity at the US Embassy, but for the time being am pleased to be able to work from home and continue learning about the local context. GTZ is a few blocks' walk (uphill) and a super group of people, so besides befriending others in the NGO world here it should be a fun and fulfilling stint til something more lucrative can be identified. I'm meeting with some folks at Save the Children tomorrow afternoon, too, so should know more soon about a potential role assisting a study of iron supplements on children's attention. Hope you're all well and happy and more to come as Carnival approaches (and water fights begin in earnest!!)

Happy New Year! And New Apartment!!

All's well here in the southern hemisphere, where 2008 has been off to a great start! We rang in the new year with a family toast at midnight followed by dancing til dawn, complete with dinner (at 1:00), fricasse (at 4:00) and a special hot drink called api served with a warm cheese-filled empanada called llaucha at 6:00. I had a great time dancing to familiar 80s tunes and learning traditional dances like the cueca, and observing some impressive tango. Yay 2008!


We then had the good fortune of discovering our first apartment in La Paz, a mere block from Fernando's office, with a great view from high atop the 19th floor. We moved in this weekend, and while we still have a long way to go towards furnishing it, are thrilled to have started! Today the job search starts in earnest, so I hope to have news on that front soon!!