Monday, April 24, 2006, 08:51 PM
The ipod is cranked up with whatever fits the mood (thanks pops squared). A little Rage to quell or stir the ire, a little U2 to mellow or amp or dial in or out or some hip to hop with the flow. The cholitas sitting around me are clueless to the tunes running through my head but they are curious, none the less, of the relatively enormous gringo and his matching wide brimmed cancer canceling sombrero. I blend in like a black man at a 1776 fiesta of the Virginia gentry asking for a glass of French wine rather than serving it. But somehow the feeling of anonymity is overwhelming. Exactly because you don’t fit in you don’t feel as though you exist. The countless stares and the never ending gawks reinforce the sense that you don’t exist because of the fact you are so entirely unknown. You can jump on the G bus, sit down, and….well… “blend in”. Music tunes out the surrounding sounds and the stares seem to dissolve with the beats in my ears. I can’t understand the Quechua being spoken around me and they can’t understand the English whispering or shouting in my ears.
So it is on the G bus here in Cochabamba. I frequently ride the G downtown to either go to the post office or to pick up other items in the sprawling market known as La Cancha. And so it was the other day on my return from La Cancha. The bus just happened to be crammed with people. Usually, in this situation, I take a place at the door of the bus where I can actually stand with head room, rather than the head cramping interior of the bus, even if that means I am hanging out the bus door. But the driver was having none of my loitering around the door. He sent me into the interior of the G, a place I’m seldom comfortable with on a day the “G” is full of people. A 5’ 9” man can stand upright and be comfortable in the isle of the G bus. I have no luxury of being 5’9”. So there I stood, backpack on the front, wide brim hat clumsily hanging from my neck (probably in some poor cholitas face), and my head full tilt sideways, my ear pressed against the ceiling while I grasp the rail that runs the length of the roof just glad to have my anonymity.
;)
The G Ride
;)
The G Ride
But being uncomfortable in the isle of the "G" doesn’t last long. The driver has no intention of letting me rest uncomfortably either in the isle or comfortably in the door of his “G RIDE”. He really intends for me to be physically comfortable rather than my preferable mental comfort I take in anonymity, which I mildly am in the middle of the bus isle. So he screams out to the passengers of the G ride, “Somebody get UP and let this big gringo sit down!” His tone of voice was authoritative! I live and hang out with teachers, the creators of the authoritative tone. This G ride driver is in the wrong profession. A school girl practically launches out of her seat as though she mistreated her grandparents and has been thoroughly reprimanded. For a split second her ear pressed to the ceiling just like mine and I looked her square in the eye. Her fear and apologetic look forever locked into my subconscious mind. The entire bus is staring directly at me. There is no choice but to make this young girl stand in the isle while I take her place, the whole of the G ride staring on in fascination and supposed relief that the “big gringo” is now “supposedly” comfortable.
My anonymity here appears to be a myth, a creation, a fantasy of my run away imagination. One sentence from the driver of the G and I’m a large glaring white hideous statue in the middle of the city plaza. The statue everyone wonders about. Who made that thing? And who decided to put it here? What were they thinking? Who even encouraged that guy to be an artist, let alone make something that would stand in the middle of the city and represent us?
But so it is on the “G ride.” I still don my hat and sit my big ass on the “ride” and just go with the flow. The music still plays on in my ears and the remnants of a once innocent anonymity struggles to pull itself together into a coherent form even though the “G RIDE” refuses to let that happen.
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( 3 / 2657 )Thursday, April 20, 2006, 05:29 PM
;)
It's been a tough week getting back into the swing of work and projects. Last week being Semana Santa we (“we” being Carlye, our friend, and I) jumped on a bus to Oruro and then a train to reach Uyuni to travel for the week of vacation. One day was spent on the Salar de Uyuni, the largest salt flats in the world. The famed Great Salt Lake of Utah ranks third after Chile. It is an expansive and majestic piece of earth in its sheer solitude and vastness. It had rained the prior week and the whole area was turned into a giant mirror throwing glints of light off the salt crystals, giving the impression of riding a boat on calm seas rather than a jeep cruising rapidly across land.
Days two and three were spent in a jeep as well touring the areas of southwest Bolivia. The pictures you’ll see are fairly amazing, but as usual, cannot compare with reality. High altitude lakes turned from a stale blue to tropical green as the wind kicked up algae. Dull rust colored lagunas became scorching red seas of flame with pink flamingos patrolling tranquilly as the sun set and the full moon rose over the surrounding sulfur stained volcanoes ruining forever my Miami Vice intro assured illusions of tropical dwelling flamingos and bikini clad women.
After enduring the cold that comes with being at around 5000 meters in altitude we parted ways with our friend and headed down to the balmy climate of Potosi at 4100 meters, the worlds highest city. At one point in its history it also boasted the title of the world’s richest city. Thirty-two colonial churches and narrow streets rest in the shade of Cerro Rico, the mountain responsible for filling the Spanish coffers for decades. Friday night is the traditional….well I don’t remember… but anyway, the streets were packed with people going to seven different churches as part of this nameless Good Friday ritual. For each new church you enter you receive three wishes to do with what you please. We went to two churches so we’ve got a combined 12 wishes between us. You had better be nice.
Unfortunately that Friday was also a ferriado and not a damn thing was open. So it was that on Saturday morning we took the tour of Casa de Moneda before taking a taxi to Sucre and then a hellacious over night bus to Cochabamba where we arrived at 3:30 am. The Casa de Moneda is one of the original eight mints established by the Spanish to print coins before being sent by ship to, well, Spain. At the time it was at the height of technological achievement and large wooden gears were turned by mules while lots of slaves plied their trade to stamp out a variety of silver coins with likeness’ of just about no one that actually produced them.
So check out some PHOTOS and enjoy. Did I mention we love this country?
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( 3 / 2659 )Saturday, April 8, 2006, 10:53 AM
It’s about time for an update, don’t ya think? Apparently a lot of our friends, family, and the extended network of people who read our blog and keep up to date on our comings and goings don’t really know what we are up to these days. So here is a long over due update on our adventures in Bolivia.
Most importantly we are in need of your help. Along with my folks and Carlye’s brother, we have recently started a charity in Washington state called Charity Bolivia. The paperwork for becoming a 501 (3) C nonprofit has begun, but the need for financial support is already underway. The goal of Charity Bolivia is to support kids from Colonia Ecologica in their effort to obtain a higher education through helping establish their independence and supporting university expenses.
For those that don’t know, Colonia Ecologica is the project Carlye and I volunteer at here in Cochabamba. It is a project started by a Bolivian couple, Kiko and Carmen, to give a much needed home and family to kids. This (a family) is the gift they have given us in our time in Bolivia as well. Specifically, this means both orphans and abandoned kids, who may have family but whose parents either can’t support them or don’t want them, have a place to call home and where they are loved unconditionally. Currently there are 21 kids living at Colonia ranging from 4 months to 18 years in age. In the afternoons another 30+ kids come to Colonia as an after school program. They get assistance with homework, reading, a structured environment (including chores!), and a safe place to play. Carlye goes 1-2 days a week to teach English to some of the older kids and also brings some of her students two Fridays a month as a volunteer program. Three days a week I go to Colonia in the afternoon to help with schoolwork, read with the kids, work on projects and to hang out and play. I might be considered the 6’5” pet gringo who manages to humorously hit his head everyday on the low hanging roofs. I’ve long passed the humorous stage, but alas, kids are kids and adults injuring themselves are a never ceasing source of entertainment. There is a swing set on the property, but I also serve as the live action jungle gym!
Right now there are two students we are beginning to support. Susy and Roger are siblings that plan to start university in June, and are currently in university prep classes. I will get a bio of each of them up over the next few weeks, like what they are studying, their histories, etc. so you can get to know them. They are dedicated, hardworking kids that we’d love to help get ahead in life. In order for them to receive money from Charity Bolivia, they will work at Colonia a set number of hours each week helping instruct kids, doing manual labor around the place, implementing learning projects, and whatever else needs to be done. In this manner Colonia will begin to become self sufficient as older kids get educated, help teach younger kids, start careers, and are able to eventually give back financially or in time and expertise.
Also, we’d like to help support Carmen in her goals to go back to university. She is interested in studying teaching and child psychology, both of which are highly needed at Colonia and which are in scarce supply here in Bolivia. Next February, Favio, another high school graduate working as a volunteer for a year, will be joining the group of students bringing the total to four. Carmen, of course, lives at Colonia so her education costs will be minimal for her. Just to give you an idea, public universities here cost around $10/month for tuition cost. This doesn’t include supplies and books, but imagine! Favio, on the other hand, has a lot of artistic talent and is interested in graphic design. The only program in Cochabamba is at a private university which costs significantly more, around $200/month. We’d love to assist him in his dreams as well as Carmen, Susy, and Roger, not to mention the kids that will graduate in the next few years who would also like to attend university.
Other than tuition and university costs, we also plan to support these students in terms of housing and living expenses. For the benefit of both the students and Colonia, it’s time for the older ones to move out! Kiko and Carmen need additional space for new children; plus, these students are longing for some independence and a living situation closer to the university. Again, a small amount of money goes a long way – it’s about $50/month in rent and utilities, along with one time costs of general items (i.e. bed, sheets, comforter, pots, silverware, etc). We are donating all of our household items once we leave in June, but don’t have all of the necessary items to give, like a bed, since our apartment comes furnished. For each student, only $200 is required to furnish an entire apartment with bed, stove, etc.
So what does this mean? It means these kids need our support. A dollar goes a long, long, long way here in Bolivia. What isn’t needed is a lot of money. Just a little bit to make a huge difference. Maybe it means drinking a home brewed cup of coffee once a week rather than the store bought espresso. That extra $12 dollars per month means so much more here in Bolivia than 4 cups of coffee. It’s a university education and the opportunity to change more than one life. Not much money really.
We are in the process of coordinating with friends of ours that have a charity by the same name ran out of England and Holland. They raise money for the physical construction of a home and other monthly and material needs of Colonia. They have a website at www.charity-bolivia.org that we plan on sharing in the near future. On the website you are able to setup a monthly donation or a one time donation. Soon, there will be an option for donating to either the physical construction or the educational costs of Colonia.
For now, if you want to help out you can send checks to Charity Bolivia, c/o Rita Crawford, at 1420 Ginkgo St. S.E. , Auburn, WA, 98092. Or you can go to a Washington Mutual branch and deposit the money directly into the Charity Bolivia checking account. The information is Charity Bolivia/ Rita H Crawford/ Wendell J Krohn Account # 188380340.
We’ll give everyone an update when we have an online donation option available through www.charity-bolivia.org for the US based Charity Bolivia.
Thanks for your support everyone!!! We wish that you could experience the magic of Colonia and be warmed by the beautiful smiles of these children. They truly have been a gift to our lives while we’ve been living here and we hope to give them the gift of education in return.
Besos y abrazos,
Wendell and Carlye
We have a bunch of pictures up on our website.
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( 2.9 / 437 )Saturday, February 11, 2006, 01:35 PM
The Charity Bolivia Blog is now updated with bike trip stories and what is happening at Colonia Ecologica. Pictures are up from the trip as well.
;)
We've moved into a new apartment, which happens to be 11 stories up in the same building we have been living in for the last 5 months. We are enjoying the views of Cochabamba immensely. Storms and rain have been racking Bolivia over the last month. And while we are watching the magnificent storms light up the sky in dazzling displays of lightening and listening to the steady roll of thunder from our high perch there are people all over Bolivia cut off from supplies, roads and bridges washed out, crops ruined, and people dying from the weather. Quite a stark contrast from life as we see it. It's amazing how things don't seem real sometimes unless they are right in your face.
After much thought and talk and a meeting with a local lawyer, Carlye and I have decided to not attempt a Bolivian adoption. The risks and difficulties are a bit overwhelming and we are looking forward to returning to the states in a short 6 months.
Carnival has arrived in Cochabamba. I took my first water balloon in the back yesterday on my first run in 3 months. For the next three weeks or so we will run the risk of getting wet any time we venture into the streets. Roving bands of teenagers loaded down with water balloons roam the streets looking for auspicious targets, usually good looking girls. Although, it seems, as though large red bearded gringos make decent water balloon fodder as well. What can I say, I'm just a sexy bitch when it comes to having a bullseye tatooed on my forehead.
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( 3 / 1735 )Friday, January 13, 2006, 09:57 AM
We hope everyone celebrated the holidays fantastically and enjoyed family and friends. Next year we look forward to enjoying the company of those we cherish back in the States. As for this year, the holidays were spent in Patagonia. Christmas Eve found us in Calafate at a Chinese/Argentinian "Tenedor Libre." Literally translated, this turns out to be a "Free Fork." What it really was was a pretty shabby excuse for a buffet with a odd cross between Chinese dishes and Argentinian bbq. At least if the food was poor the company was good. Our two friends from Oregon were down visiting and traveling and our friend and roomate was with us as well. Christmas day we spent drinking coffee and wine, eating, and relaxing.
;)
New Years Eve Carlye and I were camping in the Chilean national park, Torres del Paine where we managed to make it to 12:05 before falling fast asleep after a 12 mile hike that day. The last of a 5 day 58 mile trek. We actually were still enjoying the last light of the day when we went to bed at 12:05 am.
This is going to brief and we'll tell more of our travels later on. We posted pics up from our journey, so feel free to check them out. I even tried my hand at a little moderation and only put a fraction of the pictures up that we actually took.
I've also started writing on Charity Bolivia's blog about stuff happening out there. I'm actually leaving tonight on a 2 week bicycle tour of the Altiplano and Yungas with Kiko and 8 of the older boys and girls. We'll be biking about 50 km's per day or so. Pictures and stories of that little journey will be updated when I return at the end of the month. I promise not to put any explicit photos up of what, I'm sure, is going to be a very black and blue back side. And since Kiko says there will be no crying allowed there will be no evidence of my weeping either.
Take care and we wish everyone the best in this new year!
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