Newsletters from Bolivia

I remember quite well my first days in Bolivia. I arrived after about seventy-two hours, completely depleted and without my luggage. My only thoughts were about a hot shower and my bed. But, there was one last obstacle that left me trembling in my trousers: meeting my host family and acclimatizing with my home for the next six months. What if they did not like me? What if I did not like them? What if there was absolutely no chemistry between us? I was terrified!

Before starting autumn and winter, and taking adavantage of sunny and warm days, volunteers and staff in Bolivia decided to go for a picinic day to Cabaña de la Torre. It is a natural Spa with thermal springs, which is located at 32 kilometers from Cochabamba, in the direction of La Paz city. Being there you are in touch with nature and huge areas to do many activities. This is why we've prepared a really interesting group activity for volunteers: Finding something...

If someone had asked me, before coming to Bolivia, what field of medicine I saw myself going into, the last area on my list would have been paediatrics. It just seems so wrong, so unjust that children so young should get ill and in some cases die, before life has even begun. However that was 2 weeks ago and now I couldn’t think of anything else I would prefer to do.

It was a very nice experience even for me because I was never a good drawer or painter but that day I did my best. I drew a cat that, for some of those present, seemed to look like a monkey!! But it was good to have fun and so we enjoyed our activity. Making jokes is a really nice way to have fun with what you do so it was really, really pleasant.

You will be dazzled when arriving at La Paz city by bus at 5 o'clock in the morning. Even if the cold is softly killing you, you won't be able to take your nose of the window once you discover the impressive Illimani welcoming travelers to the hoyada*. The all-year-round-snowed mountain can be quite captivating and an amazing first impression of La Paz.

You don't know 'Mis Huellitas'? Then you should learn about it. It is the place where I work in the mornings. A day care centre for babies (from 6 months old) and for children (up till 6 years old). I am the 'mum' of the babies and children up till 3 years old in the Sala Azul (Blue Room).
I love to work here. The children always sit on my lap, hug me, kiss me and throw all there soup over me. We paint, we play, we learn the fruits and vegetables and they pull on my hair. The time is gone before I know it.

The actual purpose of our visit was to get involved with activities with the farm and the local children, and this all started on Saturday. After a 6 AM alarm call that was very promptly ignored by Tom and I, we were led of to our respective jobs. I signed up to 'make chicken pens'. The reality was somewhat different, and put me in mind of prison camps in America's Deep South or perhaps slaves during the construction of the pyramids. In essence, our job involved carrying trees, flattening ground and destroying tree roots in 40 plus degrees of heat.

We start our trip on a bus that leaves from Villa Fátima, a crowded little market in the north of the city. After one and a half hours, we start descending down the dusty (and sometimes muddy!) road. Here, the cars drive on the left-hand side of the road with the 300m high cliffs towering next to us. On the right-hand side of the road the cars, buses and trucks are returning to the city.

Just 160km away from the city of Cochabamba is Villa Tunari. It is a little tropical paradise where you can, from time to time, escape from the noise and the hectic routines just to lay down under the sun, swim in crystal clear rivers and catch up with some reading.

Every year in October, Totora hosts the Cultural Festival where artists from all over Cochabamba and Bolivia participate. Musicians, dancers, painters all together wandering, exploring and enjoying the streets of Totora. Also, every year Totora organizes a painting contest which has to reflect the traditional houses, streets and colonial style of the town. They choose 12 winners and publish their paintings in that year's calendar.