An SCCCYG Update

Hello readers, especially those under the age of 18 (my SCCC youth group)!
I am excited to share a summary of what God has been doing here on the other side of the equator!

I have lately described La Paz to friends and family as a mix of the foreign and familiar, which I have come to really appreciate.

Familiar because....
..I always have a lot of papers to grade...AND I have a group of students that I really do love!

HIS 6th and 7th graders.....my students:)!

...I get to enjoy the sun (that is more intense here) while participating in random outdoor activities. like running, walking with friends, or competing in a dodgeball tournament (that's right...I've played more dodegeball here in 2 months than I have my entire life!).

...I get to hang out with some awesome high school girls weekly for a small group/life group I'm leading with my roommate.


...I seem to be busy every day! Between weekly bible studies, Spanish lessons, after-school tutoring, gospel choir practice, birthday celebrations (I think I've celebrated at least 10 birthdays since arriving in La Paz!) and the basic chores of being a grown-up, I find myself ready for my bed at the end of every day!

...I have great friends who make me laugh and love the Lord!
**praise the Lord for a great group of friends here


Foreign because...
...I no longer drive...instead I rely on a series of taxis, trufis (like a taxi but with a set list of destinations), mini-busses (like a trufi only bigger and more crowded) and a few friend's cars here where the occupancy limit is always at least doubled. Here in Bolivia seats are just suggestions for how many people can fit in a car!

Here's an example of a crowded car on dodgeball "theme" day:)...in case you were wondering if we always dress like this!

...everyone speaks a different language and even though I'm getting tutored every thursday, I still have a lot to learn until I can fully participate in this part of the culture.
**pray that I would have patience and discipline in this area

...I am surrounded by Cholitas! Bolivia is known for the "chola", a Bolivian woman that has kept the traditional customs of this nation, predomintaly by the way she dresses. They are all over the place and always make me smile:)!


...I get to pray with my students everday and reference the Bible freely!
**pray for those at the school that do not know Jesus Christ personally (some are Buddhist, Muslim, atheist, etc.)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

I love the weekends...

Hello my faithful readers :)!
As my last post explained, I now have access to internet on my own computer, so posting pictures and such is a whole lot easier. Therefore, as promised, here is an update of my life...

As a teacher in Charlotte, I enjoyed my students... but loved my weekends. As a teacher in La Paz, it is no different!

2 weekends ago, Stephanie and I were THRILLED to have the opportunity to actually leave the city. Early Sunday morning we piled in the backseat of Christian's, our neighbor/landlord, car along with his cousin, Andre. After a slight delay due to the fact that we had to turn around to get the spare tire that was forgotten, we drove out of the mountains and into the jungle!


It was soooo pretty seeing the huge mountains change from the bare and grey to the lush and wild of the jungle! Even though I got a little sick on the ride back, the view was DEFINITELY worth the windy, crazy roads!


Our first destination was this wonderful animal reserve where visitors from all over the world can come enjoy a relaxing get-away in the jungles of Bolivia and experience nature first-hand! Some of our "nature experiences" included...

playing with monkeys (with some fellow visitors)...


..holding snakes..


...and talking to a bear, among others!


Before leaving for our next destination, we had to push the car a couple of times and then wait for a fellow traveler to lend us his jumper cables....yes, we had left the lights on! Guess we should have worried more about jumper cables and less about the tire! Oh well...I had no problem cooling off by the river while we waited!


Our next and final destination before heading home was a small town on the edge of the mountain called Coroico. It was such a cute little town with a breathtaking veiw!

Me with our travel buddies..(L-R) Christian and Andres

We came back that night sweaty (which felt sooo good after a month in the DRY, mountain air), exhausted and totally blown away by the beauty of this new country we have started to call home!

I HAVE INTERNET!

Yes, you read the title correctly!
Not only is our wireless finally working at the "guest" house of 135 Demetrio Canales, but it is working on MY computer!!!!!
Right now we have some friends over for some cards and pasta, but I just had to share my JOY!
I'll try to post some pictures soon of my wonderful weekends here so far:)!
Ciao....

Mi computadora...

...es un limon!

When an unknown intruder stole ALL of our laptops in February of 2008, my 3 roommateas and I were on the search for new computers! After, what we thought was, valuable research and wise council, 3 of us decided to purchase the same HP Pavillion. It looked good on paper and seemed to be a perfect replacement for what was ungraciously taken from us. Little did we know that we had been suckered into buying lemons (as coined by one of the frustrated owners!).

Each of us has struggled with various aspects of the computer and last week was my "last" battle! I guess it wasn't satisfied with cutting out my internet at random times or not responding to our school printer because, on Friday, it decided to turn into a black screen that responded to nothing! So, after spending WAY too much time in DOS typing in commands that I don't even know what they mean, I was able to save some of my important documents and then whisked it away to the local repair man (who speaks very little English, mind you)!

Today I will be able to survey the damage done. My PRAYER is that it can be somewhat bandaged-up to last me until I come back to the states. It will be at this point in time that I plan on divorcing this thorn in my side and replacing it with something a bit more reliable! So, if you have a computer that you love and it has stood the test of time (and overseas traveling if applicable), please let me know! I don't want to experience anymore buyer's remorse and I'm ready to be connected to the outside world again!

Thanks for your patience with my lack of communication, and keep my lemon in your prayers!

Highland Livin'

I would like to begin this entry with an apology! Yes, it’s been a while since I have posted…partly because life is busy, but partly because I can’t really access the internet on my computer at my house yet! So, thanks for being patient, and hopefully this post was worth the wait!

First of all, I am officially a MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER...IN BOLIVIA!


Kind of crazy to me that LESS than 2 months ago I was still teaching 2nd graders at Lincoln Heights. And, now I find myself teaching students that are basically my same height (except the boys…they're still waiting for their growth spurts!), discussing Confucius with a class that actually knows who he is and relating math to the Bible as a part of my lesson! It's a little overwhelming to think that I now have 3 titles to my name instead of one (math, social studies AND grammar...ha ha, the last one is by far the funniest!) and I really do believe that last week (the first week of school) was the LONGEST WEEK OF MY LIFE! But, all in all, I love my job and am so glad to be here! I have a beautiful view of the mountains every day and a great group of students.

my school

my 6th graders and the my middle school partner-in-crime, Stephanie Feagin

When I'm not at Highlands International School (which so far hasn't been that often), I find myself doing a variety of things....

a.) Trying to cook something other than quesadillas and guacamole, since that's about all we ate for the first week! Even though we've succumb to some easy and familiar meals (like top ramen), we've also been adventurous and created waffles in our "sandwich genie." This was definitely the highlight of my first Bolivian holiday....Bolivia's independence day is August 6th.

Here are our Pacena (someone/something from La Paz) waffles!

b.) Practicing my HORRIBLE Spanish on anyone that wants to listen, which is harder than one would think. Case and point, when I was looking for waffle ingredients I tried to explain baking soda to a man who offered his help. But, instead of appreciating my Spanish attempts, he kindly said, "In Enlgish, PLEASE!"

c.) And the latest addition to my weekly schedule is a gospel choir! It is comprised of mostly Bolivian 20-somethings and a few of us Highlanders (teachers from my school). We meet bi-weekly and perform for random occassions. The first perfomance is in September, so I will keep you updated on how the crowd enjoys our assortment of songs, including "O Happy Day" and "This Little Light of Mine"!

I say it's altitude...

Sorry about the ridiculous font issues of my last post!
No, I didn't mean to have 3 different fonts and 4 different sizes!
We've come to blame many things on the altitude here....this situation is no different!
Oh well....at least you can see the pictures....I didn't know if they would ever load!

Vivo en Bolivia!

I live in Bolivia!

To God be the glory….I managed to lug 2 (OK…if you count my pillow and blanket combo, 3) carry-ons around 4 different airports in 2 different countries over the span of about 24 hours. And, I am happy to say, there was NO DRAMA to report! Obviously there were MANY prayers going out around the world (or at least the US) and each one was needed…thanks!

Upon our arrival, my new roommate, Stephanie, and I were driven straight from the airport (at 14,000 feet…in case you were wondering) to our new house!!! Some missionaries had come in before to make our place welcoming…so sweet!

Here is my VERY OWN BEDROOM…yes, this is pretty exciting!

And here is 1 of the 2 “catch all” closets for the house…also known as my personal closet “filled” with my Bolivian wardrobe (see Stages of Grief if you want to know how I feel about this!).

Ironically enough, I’ve yet to sleep in my own room once! The nights are just so cold and Stephanie’s queen bed with a movie playing on her laptop is much more invitingJ! Oh well…I’m thankful for my own space just the same!

There is so much more to share, but because this post is already pretty long, I’ll leave you with a few pictures that “typify” La Paz…as I see it that is!

Many people carry HUGE loads and walk up steep hills...they're obviously used to the altitude!

As Logan, our director's son, said "I love La Paz because, no matter where you are, you can always see the mountains." Couldn't have said it better myself!