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!