They're kicking us out...

We had planned to spend a couple more months here in Sucre as I have found a voluntary project that I am loving and Jim has found a climbing lessons that he is really enjoying. We have settled in to our cosy little flat and have become really fond of the city. Definitely in no rush to leave. After Sucre we were then going to slowly travel up to La Paz, spend some time there and then finish on Lake Titicaca before crossing over to Peru. Unfortunately we have just been told that we only have a month left in Bolivia. Bummer.

It sounds like a long time but it means that I can only do a couple more weeks with the children before we go. We could stay on a working/voluntary visa for another month (which was the original plan) but because we didn't organise it in England before we left it would cost £250 each; completely out of our budget... I had thought it would be less than a £50 and that would have felt expensive! The other sad thing is that once our tourist visa is up we won't be able to return to Bolivia this year so there isn't even an option to fly out to another country, have a couple of weeks there, and come back and start again. We will have had our 90 days and that is it.

Anyway, I know I should be mature and think 'it's meant to be' but I actually just think that visas are stupid and the situation sucks :-(

Finding Wilber...

I have started volunteering. Finally! ;-) I want to go back a step first and talk about the last couple of weeks leading up to the work I am doing now.

It has always been a dream of mine to be part of a really 'gritty' project, help in any way I can and really make a difference somewhere. I chose the language school I am studying in as I knew they offered volunteering opportunities. At the end of last week I went with one of the school's teachers to find out how I could help in a project they had a connection with. I was looking forward to getting stuck in but it was not at all what I expected. So, I have made myself some rules that I will try and remember in the future before looking for voluntary work...

First rule of volunteering: Don't have any expectations!

I knew it was a school we were going to and that was about it. I have heard a lot about the education system here in Bolivia and I had imagined it would be a public school; too many children in each class, lack of resources, not enough teachers and a head teacher who would really appreciate having anyone to help out. The reality was that we had come to a private school (one of the best in Sucre in fact!); better resources than some of the schools in England, maximum of 20 students per class, offering subjects such as Philosophy to twelve year olds and a head teacher who thought she was doing us a favour by allowing us to come and help. It was a strange experience having the teachers actually being annoyed that we were there and not at all keen to have us help in their classes. I very nearly started volunteering at this school anyway but then I heard there might be another option and perhaps I could help out in a local orphanage...

Second rule: Be certain you can commit to the project before you start!

The orphanage that my Spanish school had a connection with sounded perfect (apart from the very early mornings to wake the children up... I am not a morning person!). We tried to get in touch with them but they wouldn't accept people who only wanted to come in for a couple of days or even a week. The minimum would have to be a month and at that point I didn't want to commit to something I didn't know anything about, hadn't visited yet and didn't know if it was a good fit. Apparently the orphanage had been having problems with people saying they would volunteer, turning up on a Monday, being given a tour and shown the ropes and then just not bothered to turn up the next day. I can completely understand why they wanted a minimum commitment of a month as it just wasn't fair on the staff who would have trained these people and the children who would have been expecting them back the next day. Anyway, maybe I will look at it again at a later date but I thought it better to leave that idea until I was certain I could commit.

Third: Don't believe what they tell you!

So, that brings us to the third project we tried. We (me and another potential volunteer) were told it was an orphanage just outside Sucre and asked if we could come that afternoon to see if it was more suitable and wanted to work there... we went along and it turned out it was actually a community centre. We met the lovely director and she seemed very excited to have us there; so much so that she gave me a massive hug when I told her had worked as a teacher before and I could teach Music, Art or English.

We were given a small induction, talked with the director and were told that the institute was a bit like a youth club where the children could do their homework and then after have classes in music, art and other activities. We arranged to come back after the weekend and I would do singing workshops each afternoon followed by the other volunteer doing dance workshops. I should have realised that nothing would be quite as described! We were told the children would be between 7 and 12... so far we have had some lovely little 4 year olds and at one point a group of 16 year old boys. We were told there would be up to a hundred kids each afternoon... one day we had less than 10 children and the adults almost out numbered them! We were told we would have lots of support... in fact we weren't introduced to the children and the director sits in her office with the other staff and doesn't even come to see what we are up to. Finally we were told we would have a huge hall that would be ideal for singing workshops and we could use it each day... we actually have an outdoor basket ball court and a tiny little classroom that is full to the brim with tables and chairs!

Final rule: Even if you're not doing everything, you're doing something!

Despite all of this I think I am getting the hang of this volunteering malarkey now! I arrive each day and do homework with the children, sometimes trying to help 20 at once and other times just one to one with Wilber (possibly the most gorgeous little 8 year old in Bolivia!). I plan singing workshops and each time they turn into educational-ish games workshops instead as we never have the right space, the right amount of children or the age range is too extreme. Occasionally I need to be able to think on my feet and come up with a half hour workshop to occupy half the children while the other half finish there homework. A lot of the time I can't understand what the children say as they come from Quechua speaking families and have very strong accents, other times they are so shy and quiet that I doubt I would be able to understand what they were saying even if they were speaking in English! It is completely up to me to entertain up to 60 children and try to subtly teach them something useful at the same time... I am loving it!

Okay, so I'm not saving the world one song at a time just yet, but I know that I can make a small difference to a small selection of children who don't have much. There seem to be more children each day and it is obvious that they are enjoying themselves. I'm pretty exhausted with my own Spanish classes in the morning and then spending time at the community centre till the early evening but I am really enjoying the time I have with such lovely children. Sounds extremely cheesy but they are definitely teaching me more than I'm teaching them!

Streets of Sucre...

Enfrascarse...

Quiero escribir esta publicación en Español... bueno, intentar escribir en Español porque estoy en un país donde hablan Español... entonces tiene sentido! Pues, estoy estudiando, hablando y leyendo en Español todos los días y en serio estoy reventada! Durante el día no hago mucho pero me siento como si usara mi cerebro demasiado así que me duele la cabeza. A pesar de eso disfruto cada día y la verdad es que no lo querría de otra manera. Por las mañanas tengo clases que están llenas de vocabulario nuevo, hablamos de la vida; de todo y de nada, y práctico mi gramática más que nunca. Mi profesor me ha dicho que es necesario enfrascarme en la lengua si me gustaría hablar con fluidez entonces por las tardes trato de escuchar las conversaciones de algunas desconocidas (parezco un poco entrometida pero todo es por una buena causa!), he comprado unos libros en Español y los leo, hago mis tareas y hablo con alguien que escuchará.

Si todo va de acuerdo a lo planeado voy a empezar el trabajo voluntario muy pronto. A estas alturas estoy tan nerviosa por trabajar con niños (que hablan muy rápido, todos al mismo tiempo y les gustaría corregirme mucho), o con adolescentes (que por el contrario son demasiado distantes para hablar completamente) pero cuando tenga más confianza en mi misma lo empezaré. Realmente, yo tengo bastante Español para comunicarme, es decir que si quisiera hacerlo ahora lo podría hacer. Sólo tengo miedo.

A la vez que aprender Español intento a aprender más de la cultura y la vida en Bolivia. Sucre es una ciudad muy bonita y hemos encontrado un piso con una cocina y todo... significa que podemos dar una vuelta, ir al mercado, comprar todo necesitamos y simular que vivimos aquí! Estamos muy cerca de la escuela justo en el centro de Sucre y es un reto evitar los restaurantes buenos que nos rodean. Tenemos un presupuesto que no nos deja mucho dinero para los lujos, de otra manera no podríamos continuar estudiando y Jim quiere hacer actividades como escalar y 'trekking'. No podemos gastar todo de un tirón si queremos quedarnos aquí por mucho tiempo. La consecuencia es que comemos mucho pan, muchos huevos y muchísimas verduras... pasamos por los restaurantes corriendo para evitar el tentación!

 

or in English...

...we are having a fab time and I'm practising my Spanish a lot!!

;-)

Chasing Jesus, hiding eggs and discovering sushi...

We arrived in Sucre on Good Friday so our first weekend was all about Easter. They take it extremely seriously here and although we are not religious it was fantastic to see all the festivities. The highlight for me was happening upon a procession of hundreds of people following a coffin with a model of Jesus in it, Mary was on a pole held above the crowd and a model of another man with a beard followed... I'm afraid I don't actually know who he was! The crowd all looked extremely sombre and the big brass instruments and drums gave the whole thing a really ominous feeling. Jim and I joined in the walk to the main plaza, we didn't go right to the church, where I assume they were headed, but it was a real spectacle and quite enjoyable to be part of!

It also turned out that the Easter bunny comes to Bolivia and he even managed to visit our hostel. Yummy.

We have now been here for a week and I have fallen slightly in love with Bolivia's capital. It is placed on a hill, or what seems to be several hills and valleys muddled together. The streets roll up and down which is a little tough on tired legs but creates a unique landscape to wander through. The main plaza and the surrounding streets are full of grand colonial buildings, huge ornate churches and extremely well kept gardens. You really feel like you are being spoiled. As you venture out further the streets are filled with gorgeous white houses with terracotta roofs and it is easy to mistake one street for another.

Of course, like most Latin American cities, poverty is just around the corner and there are more beggars here than any of the places we have been so far, mainly old women and small children. Obviously you can not give something to everyone but being a tourist you do get asked a lot. I find it particularly hard to see when it is a group of children sitting on a hard pavement floor all day instead of being in school or just out playing, they look tired and fed up. Really sad.

If you venture away from the tourist centre you then get to the more 'truthful' streets where the fancy restaurants turn into greasy food stalls and the shops filled with lovely weaved fabrics, bags and hats turn into market stalls with bright pink tracksuits, fake label sunglasses and huge piles of second hand shoes. These streets are not as picturesque. There is rubbish on the corners, lots of not so nice smells and all the drivers angrily toot as they pass through. There is one shopping road in particular which is a little intimidating at first. It is filled with shops, carts and stalls spilling out onto the street, people quickly walking in every direction and old women sitting with their tables of herbs, natural medicines and scary looking concoctions. You definitely get some funny looks for being there but it is worth it just to be caught in the hustle and bustle of the real Sucre.

We have been having far too much fun in Sucre! Our hostel did not have a kitchen so we have been spending all our money eating out ;-) The best thing in the world is that we found a place that did sushi!!! I was in heaven... amazing how good some raw fish is when all you have had to eat for a couple of months is fried chicken and rice! We have had a week of living too luxuriously for our budget so we have now moved into a small flat with a kitchen so we have no excuses. We start a Spanish course tomorrow and hopefully volunteering next... holiday is over!

Salar de Uyuni (lots and lots of salt)...