109. Surprise Volunteers!

Friday, 2/8/13     

       After last night’s activities, I did not wake until 10:00. I hurried over to help Ali with breakfast. We then looked from the balcony to the house we prepared last night. Warren was standing out in front. They finally arrived! Woohoo. I wonder who the other 6 volunteers are.

       I did not have to wait too long. Warren came up the stairs with his son Warren, Venezelean Samuel (He is the only one besides the director to stay for more than a week) and the couple of Jacques and Tabitha. Jerry and Jenny also came back along with two more mystery volunteers. Little Warren mentioned they were Korean and I got my hopes up—I was correct!!!!

       Greg and Amos entered the room! They are two great friends of mine from Southern Adventist University that decided to surprise Chad and I. I was their Resident Assistant at Southern and they were my Teacher Assistants for some Biology classes. They graduated last year, and are currently missionaries before Medical and Dental School. They are smarty-pants.

       I look forward to a whole week with all of these new faces as we prepare the campus for the students! School starts next Thursday! Oh boy!

      

       **Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

108. Bed in the Jungle

Thursday, 2/7/12

       Today was peaceful. Tonight was the opposite.

      

       I spent the day helping Ali with the kids. We pretty much cooked and played all day and even did some laundry. Ali also tried to overcome her fear for tarantulas. That did not work too well.

       

       Then the fun began. At 11:00 p.m., Joy asked us to help her. The new director and about 7 more volunteers were supposed to arrive at 2:00 a.m. Knowing Bolivian bus travel I doubted it, but Chad and I helped nonetheless.

       Long story short, we were up until 2:00 a.m. carrying beds and mattresses into houses, falling off of the truck, sweeping floors, and even carrying a bed frame out from the jungle!! By the end of the night, we were really hoping the new volunteers would be worth it! Naw…we had a good time, some good laughs, and could not wait to see who would show up the next day. Trust me, we were not disappointed!

       **Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

      

     

107. Uno Night

Wednesday, 2/6/12

       We spent the day in the creek and then had Uno night. The pics should tell it all.

Guess he was telling me it was bedtime! :)

       **Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**

Other Great Blogs

Here are some other blogs by my friends at Familia Feliz and Bolivia. Check them out if you would like more info:

Chad McLennan: myboliviaadventure.blogspot.com
Ali Cresswell: from-differnt-eyes.blogspot.com/
Amos Chon: amosisinbolivia.blogspot.com

106. Uminta

Tuesday, 2/5/12

       My favorite Bolivian food is a corn snack called uminta. Emy told me a while back that she would show me how to make it if she could get some cheese. Well…she did today!

       I surprised Emy with some cheese! Her and the kids were uber-excited. The kids thanked me for hours. Especially Moises. As promised, she demonstrated how to make this stuff. It took the whole day but was definitely worth it. It is a mix of corn and cheese steamed in the corn husk. Delicioso! 

Uminta with a pirty bow

Wrapping it up was quite the ordeal

     Angelica left for her family in Santa Cruz. So Ali is now all alone. To make it harder for her, a new family arrived. The three girls will live with Ali and the boy will live with Juan and Emy. However, I will be living there during the day to help take care of the new kids until the reinforcement volunteers arrive next week. The kids are cute and are very shy and mainly speak the native language of Quechuan. Thankfully, Emy is fluent with it and can translate quite well.

The new kids on the playground

       Then we did some photo ops before bed. Lizelle is leaving for a while some we gave a hug and a nice high five and said “hasta luego!” (See you later!).

       **Keep adventurizing!...I know I will!**