2009

December was so full of fun events and changes, despite school getting out Nov 29 I didn't have a chance to bring the blog up to date! We celebrated Thanksgiving at least 3 times, with feasts fit for royalty and plenty of pumpkin and cranberry dishes, no problem at all finding tricky ingredients for those who know where to look! We also partied with co-workers, and I with my school colleagues received a GIGANTIC caneston full of yummy treats, including wine and champagne to ring out '08 in style. I took on the role of Director of Marketing and Programs at the Instituto Exclusivo as of December 1, so had to say good-bye to several students. But so far it has been an exciting challenge, and despite the pressure of finding more online Spanish students outside of Bolivia, I'm feeling great about it.

We found our first fake Christmas tree and decorated it, then spent the day (and night before) with extended family. Several special cousins were in town by New Year's, which ensured 2009 is off to a fantastic start. We again danced til dawn, this time in even more fun company, eating nearly hourly all the traditional favorites from 12 grapes to morning api and pastries. We got on the jet plane at sunrise the 2nd and have been living it up Stateside as well...bodes well for a fun year!

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!!