Unconventional Carnaval

carnaval is a time of water balloons, comparsas, binge drinking, and foamy string...

last year was spent in Vallegrande but this year, i was unable to make it to Oruro for the best Carnaval of Bolivia. i planned on going until i became sick with bronchitis again and had to stay in Cochabamba until I finished my antibiotics. feeling a lot better but longing to get back to Pucara, i decided to cancel my vacation plans and return to santa cruz to take a bus back to vallegrande...

unfortunately there were major landslides the day before i was to leave and after sitting on the bus for an hour or so, i saw that the chances were slim that a landslide could be fixed in a couple of hours...after all, this is bolivia, the land of "ahora" meaning tomorrow, and "ahorita" meaning after a siesta. so i waited a couple of days and, with another volunteer, decided to take a taxi to make any detours and turning around (if necessary) much easier on a two-lane road. We prepared to leave as heavy rains hit Santa Cruz and the surrounding area. The landslides worstened and entire villages were being washed away, some estimated 1,000 trucks and cars, most of them carrying goods and fresh vegetables were stranded on small strips of deteriorating asphalt and sinking in quicksand. The rains continued and we thought perhaps flying to Cochabamba and taking the long way home would be easiest; we booked flights only to find that the "long way home" road was also closed due to heavy rains.

i was looking at being stuck in santa cruz for the weekend... and not just any weekend, but Carnaval... where plastic ponchos and silly string are typical daily acoutrements of any person between the ages of 5 and 80. I must admit i haven't been hit too badly yet; aside from being pegged this morning during my yoga routine on the balcony of my hotel, i have been quite lucky. buses, taxis, men selling orange juice, women flipping hamburgers... all fair targets during these couple days.

The sun has been shining for two days now, so my hope is that I will be able to head back to Vallegrande and Pucará tomorrow or thursday. i look forward to getting back to liliana, alejandra, nina, richard, david, cristian, maria, and all the other kids who frequent the library every morning. i also begin a series of tourism lectures in March so i need to begin preparing for those. but more than anything, i anticipate returning to my "simple life" (no, not even remotely similar to that of paris or nicole!) but the tranquility of the countryside, the views of the andes, and the villagers of my little pueblo. i long for hour chats over nescafé, making roscas with doña mary, strolls along the creek with oso, and sitting on the steps of the alcaldia's office contemplating life with don choco and iver.

Feliz Mardi Gras!

Rainy Predicaments

I was talking to an old friend the other day online, and upon him asking me how things were going and what I was working on, it occurred to me that it had been quite a long time since I have written in my journal. Let me start off by saying I am at a difficult crossroads with my community, Pucará. In mid-September I was approached by the Vallegrande guide service to teach a new cycle of tourism classes. They want to train new guides and knew I was working in tourism. I was excited at the opportunity to work, as it had almost been a full year of struggling to find anything resembling a tourism project. José, the president of the dysfunctional guide association would help with the class, as would Barbara, a Swiss volunteer living in Vallegrande. I told them that I didn’t want to leave Pucará altogether, but that I would come in once a week and stay for 3-4 days.

So life took its course, and I have since been teaching English and tourism classes to a group of 10-12 people. In October I had my friend Thomas come visit, sit-in on one of my English classes and gave him the grand tour of Pucará. Since Emily’s visit in January, I had gotten used to living alone and not noticing how different life was here in my little hamlet than in the United States; but having Thomas there I again noticed the little things that I have just become accustomed to. We hiked and got caught in the middle of nowhere in a huge lightening storm, witnessed some beautiful sunsets over the Andean peaks, and enjoyed a typical Bolivian dish that the Club de Chicas made for him.

One of the main reasons I look forward to going back to Pucará each week after teaching is being with the 8 girls of my Club de Chicas. We have so much fun together: baking, cooking, playing cards, and working in the greenhouse. We were able to sell lettuce two weeks ago (pocketing $1.50!!!), and are just waiting for the moment the tomatoes, zucchini, beets and carrots are ready! The rains have really begun beating down on the Valles Cruceños and with the rains come planting season, which is again in full swing. My 72-year old friend, Doña Laura, is out helping her husband plant just enough potatoes for their own consumption; they can only be gone a few days, because their livelihood, the main store in Pucará cannot afford to be closed. Doña Laura tells me this over coffee and empanadas last week, as we sit and chat about the general happenings of town: when the priest will come say mass next, whether the streets will be fixed before the party of our patron saint, and how frustrated she is that the hospital is running out of her heart medicine.

Last Wednesday and Friday we had a dance and music competition within the whole municipality. Students from the schools in Pucará, Las Huertas, Lacayotal, Salsipuedes, and Kiñal participated in reciting poems, singing songs, dancing, and playing instruments. It was a beautiful sight to see so many little kids gathered to be the center of attention; usually they are squeezed in a corner hiding, watching their parents drink heavily during a town fiesta or at the local “bar”. Prizes of new backpacks, notebooks, and soccer jerseys were handed out to all the participants, and those who didn’t live in Pucará headed back to their small pueblos with big, empty backpacks on their back and even bigger smiles.

I was headed into Vallegrande for a workshop this week when I was told, by my counterpart, that the Council of Pucará wanted to see me. Apparently, to them, I am breaking my contract by going to Vallegrande and teaching. I was flabbergasted at their audacity to not only not be able to tell me this to my face but also by their desire to address my service for the first time in such a negative manner.

In other news, I may appear on a Madrid-based television show, highlighting the joys of adventuring the Bolivian unknown. Two Spaniards working in television and wanting to create a documentary came through Pucará and La Higuera this week exploring the Che route; one was traveling with his bike, the other opted to walk between hitching rides. While waiting for their bus to carry them through to Villa Serrano, I opened up my room to them to have a picnic, repack, and relax a bit. They took their cameras and video recorders out to film the beauty from my window, but also wanted to capture the story of an extranjera living in this little lost paradise. We were lucky because it was also the day of the school musical competition, so Pucará was teeming with young faces and overall glee that often is associated with the end of the school year. They had visited La Higuera where several Italians have invested money in the community and understood the difficulty of bringing aid to impoverished areas without setting a destructive precedent. I think this is one of my main difficulties that I do not want to give in to- setting up a project that gets popularity solely because I am bringing money to the community. It has been detrimental to the community of La Higuera years after the international funding has disappeared and just not sustainable for the future. I am hoping that I can take my tourism curriculum and teach it in Pucará as well; perhaps then they will see that knowledge is the best road to a wealthy community.

I will keep y’all posted as to what happens in the next couple weeks. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving with several Peace Corps Volunteers then the visit of Maman, Papa, and Emily in December.

Thanks for reading, and remember, I only have a year left, so please let me know if you would like to come visit!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Casi un año

The days are perfect. Windows open at twilight and crickets chirping while the odd rooster crows. I arrived today on the bus from Vallegrande sitting next to six tourists on their way to La Higuera; they were snapping pictures and marveling at the valleys down below. Arriving in Pucará, a Belgian couple decided to walk to La Higuera, leaving their large backpacks in my house until their return; the others took a taxi on their journey west. It was a beautiful day to witness Pucará for the first time!
My work with the Mayor’s office is slow and frustrating. My presence is neither expected nor acknowledged- and without support from them, it has been near impossible to rally the community to form a tourism committee or even discuss the issue seriously. My computer classes have stopped; those who were interested have finished the course and that is that. Despite lack of “traditional” work, I still am in love with Pucará and its people. They are the reason I get up each morning (usually!) and make me feel like a pucareña.

I have formally organized a club de chicas; we have been hiking, baking, and reading books in English and Spanish together for a while now and I love spending time with these 8 girls. They are now helping me unwed and replant the greenhouse with fresh vegetables to sell on the plaza on Sundays. I am working on setting up a recycling project with them as well. My 7^th grade class in the school here has begun an exchange with a school in Iowa; we are learning about the Plains Indians and basic English and the 7^th graders in the U.S. are learning a bit of the Incas too. I also have been inquiring in Vallegrande to teach new guides about tourism and some English vocabulary… I am basically trying every outlet towards still working on tourism these days!

When I see experiences such as today with the tourists coming through Pucará, I wonder whether the pucareños aren’t right, and that maybe the level of tourism here is nearly sufficient; after all, most travelers to these parts are looking for the adventure, the hiking, and really experiencing the heart of the Bolivian countryside. Winter is almost over, and aside from a light snow and freeze two weeks ago, it has been uncharacteristically mild.At the end of August I am going south to the Grand Chaco region to visit another PCV, Andrew, in his site outside of Yacuiba where they hold an annual rodeo! Several of us will then venture a couple hours south into Argentina to visit the wineries of Salta. I have been here a year and realize I have chosen the best rollercoaster ride yet of my life!