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!