Home Sweet Home

August 25, 8 PM:

I finally set foot on Texas soil!

Spilling over with excitement, I left the plane and descended the longest escalator of my life into the arms of my amazing family. I won't extend upon the sentimental details, though one passerby exclaimed "You're going to make ME cry!"

We headed back to a totally decked out house...I was met with a huge sign, a giant cake, and two of my favorite things in abundant supply: fresh flowers and margaritas. My best friend Sara, the neighbors, David's fiancee Augustine, and her daughter Atheena all joined in welcoming me back. It was quite the evening of adrenaline, laughter, and merriment. I slept SO well that night!

2 days later family and friends congregated once again for the grand Elizabeth/Nate/Dad Birthday Bash. Festivities began that morning with a little surprise from Anna and her new Guinea Pigs, Julius and Mulch.

That evening I distributed the countless souvenirs I had accumulated during my year in Bolivia...Indigenous-style aprons, hand-carved spoons, genuine loofahs, organic roast coffee, alpaca wool clothing, and purses, candy, and cookies hand-made at Hogar. It was great to so tangibly share a little bit of my year with everyone.

What a fabulous day... I think my 24th even beat the unbeatable Barbie Roller Skates Birthday so many years ago. (I recently came across this photo and just had to include it. Man, if only those skates still fit!)

So, this is somewhat how I imagined my first few weeks back:

Well, life ended up a bit more hectic! Nonetheless, there's sure no place like home. My 3rd day back I was offered a job and began work a week later as the office manager for Irving Gymnastics. I love my job so far, especially when customers speak to me in Spanish.

A few days after that I went to my cousin's school to give a fun presentation about my year in Bolivia. Sara has already entertained me for a weekend at her house in Fort Worth, and I happily saw much of my extended family at a Labor Day weekend gathering.

In my "free" time at home, there are no spare moments. I enjoy all that keeps my busy, from cooking meals for the family to taking guitar lessons from my Dad and brothers. Plans for the near future include bread-baking lessons from my Mom. I enjoy tutoring Gus and Anna in their Spanish, and hope to find time for some long-awaited reading.

I am so content to carry on life as it is until the new year. I have no certain plans for 2011, but perhaps it will be time to move on to something or somewhere new. I do not have any hopes of leaving the country for a long time; one year abroad was sufficient for me! We shall see what the future holds. For now, I'm simply proud of accomplishing a year of mission and happy to be home.

Thank you to everyone who followed my blog this year. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks a million, too, for all of your prayers and support.

Adios!

Salteñas y Chau!

Those last five weeks came and went like lightening! I cherished all the final moments with the girls, Madres, and volunteers. We had some lovely times as we wrapped up the year. One evening before Jenna left, we took all the girls in kindergarten to get ice cream. They had a blast running around the main plaza - a first for all of them. One of the greatest joys of living at the Hogar: being able to provide simple pleasures that bring immense delight. Back home, there is no ice cream or park that provide such euphoria. If you're seeking to please in Bolivia, there's no need to rack your brain!

Two weeks before I left, the Hogar threw a joint Birthday-Goodbye-Thank You party for the SLMs, 2 visiting volunteers, and some of the staff. My favorite part was stealing Sandra Deisy, a favorite three-year old of mine, from the Jugeteria before the party began. I spent the afternoon doting on her and dolling her up. She loved the 1-on-1 as much as I did and all I wanted was to take her home with me. Her new skirt and top really pleased her, but not as much as the bright orange underwear. She showed it to everyone she encountered. She is SO adorable! And hilarious...right before this photo, I realized she was munching on the petals from my rose. I guess it smelled so good she had to give it a taste.

Sandra Deisy sat on my lap for the whole evening, save the interlude when Jenna and I were performing. I dressed up as Jack and Jenna as Rose, and we sang and danced our way through the Spanish"My Heart Will Go On" (keep in mind that Titanic is a HUGE deal in Bolivia). Every part of our act was planned for comic effect. It worked, especially when the music track began skipping and repeating and we did our best to play along. I definitely had a lot of fun.

On one of our last mornings, Jenna and I went out to enjoy one of our favorite Bolivian foods, Salteñas. 

 

They're a savory beef & chicken-filled pastry ... the kind of food you crave anytime. All year we would frequent the same quaint Salteñaria. It was tiny, famous, and right off the main plaza. That last morning, we asked for their recipe. To our surprise, the owner, a very sweet old woman, invited us back to view the whole production process. We were thrilled! We came back on two occasions and got loads of hands-on experience. Everyone was so kind to us, and they got kick out of our enthusiasm. It was an incredible cultural experience!

Kneading together flour, sugar, salt and water that make up the huge amount of dough for a day's batch of Salteñas.

We learned to

1) roll out the balls of dough

2) fill them with the meat-filling

3) close the pocket with an intricate crimping technique

We had a great time! The women were so patient with us, and didn't laugh at our beginner mistakes TOO much. I always grin when I think back on that morning.

YUMM

We bought the first four Salteñas that we made and took them home to enjoy. They tasted as delicious as ever. Later on that day, a delivery was made to the Hogar of 20 more Salteñas we had made that morning. What a surprise!

My last week was a blur...I was in frantic-mode, trying to get clothes washed, rooms cleaned, bags packed, gifts made, etc. When my last day came, I had not a spare moment the whole day. I was afraid I wouldn't find all the girls to say goodbye, so I bought a ton of candy and spread the word: Say goodbye to Liz at her kitchen and get some candy! It worked, and it was perfect becuase I had wanted to give the girls a small token of my gratitiude for letting me into their lives all year. How nice that candy is such a huge deal to them! I somehow made it to Mass and Confession that night, and got to bed before midnight. The next morning we were heading for the airport soon after dawn. The whole ordeal was so surreal. I could do nothing but fill my mind with travel practicalities. I only cried once, saying goodbye to Carmen, and then disappeared through security. And there it was - my year was over!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Winter has finally hit us! I'm sitting in my bed, covered in jackets and blankets, listening to the wind and rain beating on the tin roofs. I can hardly type my fingers are so cold! When I dreamed of winter throughout the year, my dreams didn't include a great desire for central heating...but it's still a nice break from the relentless sun. One of the most difficult realities of the winter is the lack of hot water. I was recently astonished to remember that at home, sinks have a hot water faucet. Astonishing! Thankfully, our shower head has an electrical device attached to it that heats up the water a little. An extremely dangerous setup, but it’s the Bolivian way. It was broken most of the year, but now it's fixed and I'm getting into the habit of NOT touching the metal faucet when the electricity is turned on... I was in the shower the other day, and suddenly felt a terrible  sensation on my head, only to glance up and see electricity currents shooting between my head and the faucet... I accidentally got a little to close. That gave me a fright, but I guess I'm fine. Even showers are an adventure here!

Since my trip to Sucre, time has whizzed by. I went on a pilgrimage with a few of our girls to the town of Cotoca, where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared. It's a huge Bolivian devotion, and tens of thousands of people make the pilgrimage annually. We began with a beautiful mass in Montero and began walking around 11pm. We walked straight until we arrived in Cotoca at 5:30am. Everyone told me to bundle up, but I refused because I scoff at the Bolivian idea of "cold." Big mistake! It not only got really chilly, but it rained on us too. The experience was more cultural than spiritual for me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. At times I wondered why we were out there walking when we should be in our beds. It felt so strange...but as I looked around at everyone, mostly young people, I realized how beautiful it was that we were all in it together, all exhausted, all hungry, just marching along and praying. Our goal was the church and 6am mass. We made it just in time, and it felt so good, being in that warm church and reveling in our collective accomplishment. I took my girls out for breakfast afterwards, and then we hurried home to our beds. 

June and July have been a smattering of events and activities. June 13 was a huge deal here - the Feast of the Sacred Heart, after which the Hogar is named. The girls practiced new dances for weeks and weeks to perform at the grand party attended by all the donors and friends of the Hogar. Jenna and I took part in the personnel dance, which was a terrible performance. I have never seen a more disorganized dozen adults as we practiced minutes before going on stage. Afterwards, we dissolved into laughter as we blamed one another for looking like fools.

 

The girls wearing adorable cowgirl costumes for one of their new dances.

 

Several SLMs from nearby sites came for the big party. L-R, Michelle, Carmen, Margaret, Jenna, me, Laura. Love those girls! 

Zulmita and her adoptive parents were still in Bolivia at the time of the party and they spent the evening with us. She's super attached to them, and the happiest little girl! It was great to see her and say goodbye one last time. 

The girls have had several days off from school as well as a two-week vacation. We traveled in shifts to the town of Concepcion, where Madre Rosario's family owns a ranch. The girls had fun running about, free of homework and chores, and stuffing themselves with sugar cane. (I've become very fond of chewing on sugar cane, but it's definitely an acquired taste.) It’s always nice to be in the countryside and see another part of Bolivia.

The Fourth of July was a nice little retreat. For the first time, every SLM in Bolivia got together in Yapacani, about an hour from Montero. There are 11 of us in all. Our hosts Steve and Chris cooked up an all-American buffet of macaroni and potato salads, baked beans, hot dogs, burgers, and brownies. It was wonderful being all together again, reminiscing about the weeks of training when we met one year ago.

The weekend of July 11th kept me busy as I worked to make Carmen's 24th birthday measure up to all she did for mine this past August. It's hard to surprise Carmen, but we succeeded by beginning the celebrations the day before her birthday. We decked out the volunteer kitchen like there was no tomorrow and cooked her a huge breakfast to begin the festivities. The girls and I created a big scrapbook/photo-album, which sent Carmen into seizures of happiness. The girls also helped me chalk the driveway and sidewalks with birthday greetings, and together we planned a big birthday sleepover in their dormitory that evening. On Carmen's actual birthday, we got tons of ice-cream and made coke-floats for the whole Hogar. They were a hit with the girls…how could they object to more sugar in their ice-cream? Whether or not I upped Carmen’s birthday bash for me, she loved everything and couldn’t have been happier.

It looks like the next few weeks will be pretty low-key, with random school cancellations due to the cold, and all of us just struggling to keep warm. It's incredible how this weather has brought much of normal life to a halt. I'm not sure how long it will last - some say till next Tuesday, others say till September. As always, we never know what's just around the bend. 

I can hardly believe I'm saying it, but I only have 5 weeks left! I fly home on August 25, two days before my birthday. Now, on top of realizing I have just lived a year of my life in a Bolivian orphanage, I can spend the plane ride contemplating my age. And what I will do with my life....How in the world did I already reach 24??

That's all for now. I need to go down and thaw my fingers by the stove. 

Sucre and more...

The time finally came for our week-long retreat! Jenna, Carmen and I took a perilous regional flight to the town of Sucre. Upon arriving, I felt like I was back in Italy! The streets and architecture were entirely quaint Italian with a bit of French flair. The town is famous for it's chocolate so we were bound to have a marvelous time. The week was both spiritual and touristy - lots of praying, masses, dining, and shopping. I made my first confession in Spanish! It was one of the highlights of my retreat. We were thrilled to have our Pentecost mass at the main Cathedral with the Cardinal. The people of Sucre were very kind and we had some great encounters with the locals. 

 

We spent a leisurely day at The Mirador, an outdoor lounge restaurant that overlooks the whole city. We enjoyed reading, journaling, talking, eating, and eavesdropping on all the tourists from England. 

This fountain was incredible!! I loved it almost as much as fireworks. We came upon it one evening as we strolled through a park,  just as the fountain show was beginning. For about thirty minutes, it was choreographed to music and colored lights beneath the water, as the fountain shot up in beautifully arranged designs. There I stand, mesmerized by the beauty.  

Jenna and I spent a while searching for the Convent of Santa Teresa. I had heard the nuns sell marmalade through a revolving door. I'd always wanted to interact with a cloistered nun through such a door, and I was determined to do so there. We found the convent one afternoon and my little dream came true. A nun, known only by her muffled voice to the outside world, sent my requested marmalade right around! I loved the holy, mysterious aura that emanated from the cloister. Jenna and I remained in the little square for a while, just thrilled to stand outside those walls enveloping so much prayer and holiness. A definite highlight!

This is an example of the ornate Bolivian religious art we saw in many churches. I'm not sure which of the Virgins this is, but she is the most bedecked I have ever seen. The Bolivian's devotion to Mary is a beautiful thing!

Besides our incredible retreat, the month of May was yet another jam-packed month. Carmen's brother Carlos from CA left after a fun 2 week stay with us. He was great to have around and reminded us of the gentlemanly American men we have to look forward to back home. Here he is with Margaret. Doesn't he have Carmen's great smile?

Jenna and I, with our less than savvy tech. skills, have had much trouble with the library computers. Consuming time and energy, this annoyance wreaked havoc on us and the girls' homework. Then... one blessed day our fellow SLM Chris, Mr. Genuis, paid us a visit and we put him to work! He fixed things right up, right quick. In my delight, I vowed to praise him in my blog...so I'm pleased to present our miracle man and "tecnico":

I've been cherishing my little Jugue darlings more and more these days. With Zulma, Pica, and Miora's adoptions, plus Pepito going home with his grandparents, I realized how much these kids mean to me. From the madness to the mundane, I'm noting and loving all they do these days. 

Adorable! Lisbeth has taken one of the favored "nit picking" seats of the Hogar, and is imitating the older girls as she searches Fernando's head for lice. I've gotten to watch Fernando take his first steps this month and quickly become a speedy waddler (which he wishes he were doing right about then). 

Here's a typical mealtime, sans the highchaired babies. These crazy kids can get pretty orderly and peaceful when it comes to food.

 

Meet Moira, entertained as a I dangle and flail from a high-bar, pretending to be afraid for my life. 

I mentioned Moira as one of the adopted kids, although her parents still haven't arrived. They should be here any week. I've always been especially fond of Moira and her spunk, and while I was in Sucre I always pictured her goofy smile and quirky dance moves when I missed the girls. I couldn't wait to hold her in my arms when I got home. The night we arrived, I was shocked to see her up with all the older kids so late, running to the truck as we pulled in to the Hogar. She jumped into my arms and excitedly told me she had been moved out of the Jugue and in with the older girls. Since I've been back, it's been great to spend the extra time with her, since she's around all time - not just when I'm in the Jugue. She's having a rough transition out of the Jugue where she'd lived most of her life. With her seeking me out and me seeking to comfort her, we've bonded quite a bit. 

She feel asleep on me! Love that. 

It's been fun writing this post, hope you enjoy! Though I'm trying not to live by countdowns, I want y'all to note that I've got 12 weeks left. I know! Where has the year gone?? The other day I realized - as I said the words to Carmen - this has been the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. An exhilarating thought! 

My Girl Pica

I'm writing this entry in honor of Pica, a little girl I have watched grow up so much in these last eight months. Pica turned four last week, right around the time I found out that her adoptive parents will be arriving to take her home May 1st. This news was unexpected - we know a lot of the little girls have adoptive parents, but the international adoption process takes so long, usually more than a year. So I've always known Pica has parents somewhere in Holland, but it didn't hit home till I knew their arrival date. I honestly didn't think I'd be still be here to see her leave. Anyway, it's going to be pretty dang hard to say goodbye. Not sure how I will do it! Why does she have to be so super precious?!

Pica has some developmental disorders, and has only just begun to speak better than some of the two year olds. Some recent achievements include referring to herself in 1st person rather than 3rd, and learning to say "I love you" in English when I taught all the kids. Because she isn't as developed as the highly-precocious kids her age, she is especially childlike, innocent, vulnerable, and lovable. Pica was not always so special in my heart. When I first arrived, I really struggled with her. She seemed unresponsive, and I just didn't understand her mental/emotional capabilities in relation to her physical size (which is pretty grande). When something didn't go her way, she would go limp and spend forever pouting and fuming. I usually ended up feeling the same way after trying to deal with her. As the months passed, she began opening up more, and so did I. We have both grown immensely this year, and in the process have really grown quite attached to each other. 

And now, I'm preparing myself for goodbye. All I know is that I will cherish these last few days with her! I can't well express how special she is to me, but her presence has greatly impacted my time here. I guess the best thought I can have is that she will grow up in a loving home and have a bright future, and receive the special attention and education that she needs. What a blessing, to be able to say goodbye knowing that she is headed off to a better life. That will surely make her parting easier.

EASTER, already?!

A very joyous Easter to all! In the words of Grandpa Murphy, "The dreaded days of Lent are o'er!" What a Lent it was, and what an incredible Holy Week. The Bolivian capacity to gather for the Stations, Mass, and countless processions was really impacting these last seven weeks. I hope everyone is now enjoying this Easter Octave as much as I am. I'm running low on chocolate already!! 

Backtracking a bit, here is a tiny glimpse of the procession on Palm Sunday. The palm branches were for sale outside the church and had been woven into the most extravagant shapes. The procession was bigger than I'd ever seen. Everyone's passion and energy were contagious, making for an unforgettable cultural and spiritual experience. 

Here one of the nuns works on the bonfire outside of the church before the Easter Vigil. The mass was the second vigil I'd been to (my first was in St. Peter's in Rome - when I finally make it to one in the States, they'll have a lot to live up to!). The mass here was huge and a true celebration. The people were practically dancing out of the church afterwards because of their joy. It was so beautiful to see! On Easter Monday at breakfast, Maria Ester (remember her?) sat next to me and couldn't sit still for a second she was so excited about something. When I asked her why she was so happy, she practically shouted "JESUS ROSE!". I was amused and undeniably touched...I absolutely love Bolivia's liturgical and spiritual zeal. 

After going to mass again on Easter Sunday, we came back to a huge delicious feast and then Carmen, Jenna, and I prepared four different Easter Egg Hunts for the girls. It was somewhat chaotic (like all events here) but the girls had a blast. Above, Carmen lays down the law for a hunt as Jenna and I scrambled to hide the last of the eggs. Overall, Easter was a wonderful though exhausting experience. 

I hope you can appreciate this, my favorite part of the Hogar. In the stonework at the entrance, one of the girls drew a face to complete the little man. The first time I saw this I laughed so hard...it's just the kind of thing I would have done as kid - if not now too! 

Finally, let me introduce Zulmita. She is a tiny little 3 year old and yet another Jugue charge (I wonder if all these girls look the same to yall). I want you to meet her now because I just found out yesterday that her adoptive parents from Spain will arrive in two weeks! I'm so ecstatic I'm just beside myself. I'm spending as much time as possible holding and spoiling her because she is one of my absolute favorites and I will seriously miss her. Jenna and I call her Yoga Queen...I'm not sure why, but I think it's the combination of her spandex pants and her adorable little strut. She is so tiny that it's always surprising to hear her speak perfectly. She doesn't open her mouth much, but the most intelligent, mature voice comes out of that little girl. Normally she's pretty moody and despondent, but the days when she is happy, she's a little grinning ball of energy. I'm SO happy that she has a family now! 

I FINALLY DREAMT IN SPANISH LAST NIGHT!!!

I feel like I've been waiting my whole life for this. 

Oh I am just so happy. So, so happy.