SOS 
Sunday, September 4, 2005, 02:14 PM
The DoD puts the body count for US soldiers involved in the war in Iraq at 1883. Another source puts the body count for Iraq civilians between 24 and 26 thousand. Vietnam, in comparison, had around 400 US casualties in the first two years with an estimated 17,000 Vietnamese deaths. But these aren't wars you can compare. No economics, no policies, no dead bodies piling up at enormous rates. But, as Gen. Tommy Franks is known to say in regards to tracking civilian casualities, "We don't do body counts."

So if you want to support our troops and a good friend of ours about to head to grad school, check out the following link. JR's Ebay Sale






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Anybody feel like moving to LA and becoming a Laker Girl? I do.  
Wednesday, August 24, 2005, 09:50 AM
Living here in Cochabamba elicits several words from my mouth each day. I find these words daily repeated. And no it has nothing to do with being a Laker Girl and I'm scrapping the cuss words as well. It simply goes along the lines of, "You know, it's another nice day in Cochabamba." Almost every day here is pleasant. Christ looks down upon us from one hill and the Mormon temple shines down from another. If there was only a statue of Buddha and maybe an Indian god, then all would be truly holy and well and balanced.

Cochabamba is a pretty tranquilo city. A great place to live. Bolivia on a whole, in the meantime, is racing downhill toward December. It is during December that general elections will bring a new President to this incredible country. Not just a new president, but a new vice president, and parliament as well as other regional offices. The whole of the governance being replaced, or reelected in some cases. No one seems quite sure what will happen in December. There are the possibilities of more of the protests that caused these early elections in the first place. As of now the President of the Supreme Court is President of Bolivia. Try to imagine for a just a moment, of something similar happening in the US. Can you? Officially, elections are supposed to occur in 2007. The elections are just a couple years early: so goes life in Bolivia. The future, as is usual, uncertain and undecided. People waiting and fighting and arguing over the future. It is important.

Meanwhile, we live in the here and now. What some people call the present. There are still many people in need here in Bolivia. People who want to make a better life for themselves, who are tired of being exploited, or in the case of some people I know, they just want better lives for their kids. Carlye starts volunteering at Colonia Ecologica today. She will be working with three of the older kids teaching them English. Simply giving them some more tools for their tool box.

Can I tell you what an amazing feeling it is working with people like Kiko and Carmen (the Bolivian couple that runs Colonia Ecologica)? They have two kids of their own and another 15 that live with them. In the afternoons there are upwards of 60 kids that go to Colonia to do chores, study, and play. Every kid knows they belong. Every kid knows that they are loved there. It does not matter what life is like at home. Whether mom or dad are even at home. Whether mom or dad even exist. Whether they are abused, mistreated, or unloved outside of Colonia. At Colonia Ecologica they are loved, accepted, and belong. The kids know it. You can see it on their faces. You can watch it in their behaviors. It is an incredible place. I feel honored to get a chance to be around and interact with such great people. Kiko and Carmen give their lives for these kids. I asked the other day when they had time to themselves, to rest? Between 1 am and 6 am, they responded. Every day of the week. They are happy. They are installing values and education into a new generation of kids now, in the present.

So we live in the now, the future will be the now when it is the now and no sooner. Use it for what it is and what it isn't.

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Quotes of the Day 
Wednesday, August 24, 2005, 08:51 AM
"I would not be the whore of my own existence. Can you understand that? I would not be the whore of my own existence." My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok


"The state of mind required, looking back, was not to plan, not to sort out: but to listen, and carry on, and discover." Hopeful Monsters by Mosley

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A Feverish Pitch 
Saturday, August 13, 2005, 01:26 PM
It was bound to happen, don't you think? You don't always get the choice to love who and what you want. To deny something you love would be to deny a part of yourself. To deny something in the core of a person. So I chose a public forum to profess a love affair I have recently had. A love I can not deny, because if I did I would deny myself. Carlye was bound to find out anyway. She probably has known since I returned home from 2 weeks in Samaipata, a small town outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Carlye, of course, is my only true love and she will, of course, understand.

I have lived in Bolivia for a year now, and it was only two weeks ago that I had my affair. I went to Samaipata to spend two weeks doing massage at La Vispera. It was there that the affair began. I went to La Pajcha to camp and hike in the surrounding hills when I fell in love with Bolivia; the land, the people. The green hills, the waterfalls, the condors, and the kind people have lured me and tempted me with their wares and I have cracked. Their embrace is sweet. I caved. I loved and do love.

A two hour taxi ride over a winding dirt road through valleys and over hills led me to a waterfall called La Pajcha (I believe it means waterfall in quechua). The picture link has photos of my time there. Click on Samaipata and you will see photos of the waterfall, hills, condors, and people I associated with while there. There were only two people living there, an old Bolivian couple named Carlos Peralta and Agrepina Guman. They own all the land surrounding the waterfall and have raised 10 kids there. They have 15 grandkids. Two great grandkids. Carlos can out work and out walk anyone. Anyone. I challenge you. He is 70. The next closest people are a 30 minute drive or half day walk away. And then you'll find 2 or 3 other people.

Love began to strike on my way up the ridge I had planned walking on my second day at the waterfall. A good 4 or 5 hour walk to the top peak of the ridge. The first steep climb already brought condors in to check out the gringo in their land. At one point I had this feeling, like somebody staring at you, or following closely behind you. You know, the feeling of a presence nearby. The feeling was so strong I turned around quickly. I knew I was the only person anywhere nearby. I had a commanding view. There was nothing there. But the feeling persisted. It was about then that a large shadow passed over me. I looked up right above my head and physically reacted to the noise and sight I beheld. I literally ducked. A condor with a 5-6 foot wing span was riding a current of air 5 meters over my head, virtually hovering in one place. I could hear the wind in the birds feathers. It was looking me directly in the eyes. I would not have believed it if it had not happened.

Throughout the rest of the day several condors followed me up the ridge. Each time I came out on a peak or was about to enter a saddle with strong air currents, the condors would arrive to surf the wind. When I arrived at the highest peak on the ridge I took off my shoes and had lunch. I counted eight condors within eye sight. I looked hundreds of feet down into the valley below and saw the backs of condors. I looked hundreds of feet in the air and saw the feet of condors dangling beneath them. Five continuously rode the air currents 5 meters over my head. They took turns checking me out for half an hour until I had to leave. Their shadow and the air in their feathers alerting me when they were just about over my head. It occured to me once or twice that perhaps they were just waiting for me to fall over one of the many cliffs. I imagine I would make quite the meal for several condors. But I never really got the sense of malicious or even natural intent.

Being alone in the mountains and experiencing the local presence of the bird that dominates the Andes gave me an interesting perspective on the area. It is a spiritual land. A spiritual people. I find it hard to comprehend but I feel it none the less. The very air breathes peace into the body and soul and whispers of danger in the same breath. I understand Bolivia a little bit better now. Time operates differently here. And I'm not just talking about the "Maņana" mind set usually thought of when talking about Latino time. The land and people here operate on ages and generations. They don't operate on minutes and seconds; on days and weeks and years. Millenium can go by here with little change. To separate the people from the land kills one or the other. One begins to understand the conflict between the western imposed world and the steadfast timelessness of the Bolivian people.

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New Photos 
Thursday, August 11, 2005, 10:51 AM
New photos are up from our travels this summer to Argentina, the US, and Samaipata. Just click the link to the right. There are also some photos from the last Despedida at JR's house. A new post will be put up just as soon as we get a little more time. It has been busy trying to get everything caught up after being away from home for over 2 months. Hope you enjoy the photos!



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