mexican summer

this morning when i woke up, i was really excited to get into the city for my night out with friends. however, i was soon reading status updates, and found that there were bloqueos (blockades) in several places around quillacollo, the suburb we live just on the west side of. at first it seemed small. not a big deal. but upon reading the newspaper, los tiempos, i realized we're actually completely isolated out here under at least 20 points of blockade. we literally can not get into the city or out of here without driving through potato fields.

i started feeling pretty sorry for myself, thinking of ways i might get around it all. trying to bribe taxi drivers. trying to convince my family i could walk around the bloqueos. lol. no one ever said i wasn't stubborn. but in the end, someone, whose opinion matters greatly to me, told me it wasn't safe for me to go out today, and that i was acting like a spoiled girl. to my dismay, i think he was right. i know i can be kind of hard on bolivia sometimes...

that is why i want you to know some of the absolute best things about where i live, and why i know i am blessed beyond measure. i want to give you good news, and not complain. i want you to know that I LOVE BOLIVIA. even on the days when i feel like i hate bolivia, i love bolivia.
so here are some of my favorite things.

* santa rita trees. they grow along the tops of the walls that surround every house and yard in the city. each tree has a different and brilliant color of blossom, and they wind around and grow into and on all the parts of the walls, metal work, you name it. not to mention they have visciously awesome thorns that keep people from climbing the walls. i save a blossom color every time i see a new one. and each time i think, "only god could make a color like that..." beautiful.

* i can suddenly cook. i wouldn't believe it myself if i hadn't heard such amazing praises, watched the boys devour every last bit of their dinner and everyone else's, and eaten it myself. i can make cakes, cookies, banana bread, homemade pizza (dough and all), empanadas, any pasta dish you could imagine, and loads of other things! i guess necessity really is the mother of invention, and of accomplishment in this case :) and i know i must owe some of it to the altitude...

* dogs. i have two wonderful dogs here, and two adopted dogs in the city. sunset lives behind the house as our guard dog. on my worst and most lonely nights, i sit in her pen and she sits on my lap (she's a huge gigantic german shepherd, btw), licking my face and whining when i cry. manchas (spots in spanish) is our other dog. she roams about the grounds, keeping watch. she's also really big, like a big hunting dog, but she thinks she's a baby. she takes her responsibilities very seriously, however, especially where i am concerned. she escorts me to the road to meet the trufis and waits with me, standing guard by (on) my feet. she leads me by the hand and lectures me when i come home late at night, and she always runs circles around me when she sees me, even though she's quite old. lily and woody guthrie are my friend amy's dogs. no one on the planet earth is as excited to see me as they are when i show up at the house. guthro is a sweet little baby, who only wants to cuddle. lily is a pit bull boxer mix who also happens to be my favorite wrestling buddy. we're quite a sight :) she also thinks she's a lap dog, and often tries to climb onto our laps while we're eating breakfast. she gives great hugs, and a heck of a half nelson.

* trufis. yep, i said it. for one thing, it only costs 3 bolivianos to get into the city during the day. that's like....less than 50 cents! a lot less than driving. not to mention, even though it takes anywhere from 50 minutes to an hour and a half to get there, that's prime time for daydreaming and listening to the ipod. some of my favorite moments have been on trufis, riding home at night, listening to feist or radiohead, and seeing the city lights rush by. so much time to figure things out, dream about the future, and lots of time for god to mold me and shape me. in addition to alone time, a great number of my most fantastc human interaction stories have been on trufis. i've met mothers and helped them with their babies, old grandmas and paid for their rides, diagnosed illnesses, prayed for broken hearts, and even defended other women from abusers. some of my greatest ministry so far has been in trufis. go figure :)

* my family here. tomas and iris ortiz are the couple that run our guesthouse. tomas speaks brilliant english, which has been uber helpful when i can't accurately explain myself to iris or tia elsi. he's a bible traslator and also a youth worker at his dad's baptist church. he loves movies. we call him papa oso (papa bear). because, well, he never gets upset or irritated unless someone isn't safe. or maybe if that someone never came home one night and they didn't want to call and wake the house up to say they would stay in the city. ahem. no idea who that would be. *sheepish* iris is our mom. she is the most patient and kind person i have probably ever known. particularly when it comes to gringas butchering the spanish language. she's about my older sister's age so we have a great sister relationship. they have a 5 year old daugther, ester, who is the light of my life. i have just begun teaching her english and she's learning briliantly! tonight at dinner i asked her where her fingers were in english and she wiggled them and giggled like a crazy fiend. we also slay dragons, save baby dinosaurs, capture bad guys, and rescue bugs on a regular basis. we're due to have a new baby sister right before i leave to come home in december. i can't wait to meet her. they are naming her after me. brianna grace. humbling, to be sure. tia (aunt) elsi is here to help clean and cook while iris is pregnant. she is literally one of the best and strongest women on earth. i just wish you could know her...

* casablanca. this is my favorite coffee shop. the service is deplorable, the people that work there are often big pains in the bum (cold war gavin), and the coffee is only passable. the best in the city as far as i'm concerned, but that's not saying much. however. all this taken into account, there's something about that place that makes me settle and melt a little. it's safe to just, be. i can go there alone to write, read, listen to music. i can go there to meet people, and chat and have fun. i can go there with huge groups of friends and eat dinner and play cards. it doesn't matter a bit. and if i could transport a piece of the feeling i get at home when i am at mead's or the perk, i'd be able to find it there. that's it. it's a familiarity i couldn't have hoped for so far from home, until i can make my own :)

* colors. everything here is bright. when there are parades (and when aren't there, really :P) the costumes put everything i've ever seen or made to shame. huge twirling skirts of silk and damask and shining glittery sequins. bright furry heads and towering platform shoes. unbelievable. bright patterns hang from every window. each rug an intricate masterpiece. even the food is more colorful. it's easy to forget sometimes when you are used to seeing it after a while. but the colors and the passion are everywhere. these are a people who have chosen to really live. even when they seem to be in the most dire of circumstances. and when they smile, it lights up all of the surroundings. so beautiful.

* friends. i have the most amazing friends! first and foremost, ruth. i live with ruth. and almost daily we say to one another, "you know, if god hadn't put us both here together, i never would have made it." honestly, no one on earth knows my heart the way that ruth does. there's just something about going through something with someone. when this time has passed, i know there will be a sisterhood here that will last our whole lives. amy is the kindred other part of me. a sister i am so blessed beyond measure to spend some great times with. we watch serial killer shows, play with street kids, and eat vegetarian food, among various other things. and kimber and barb are constant sources of everything from love to knowledge, and from sympathy to shenanigans. we have some times. that's for sure :) kelly, jeanette, emma, fiona, and marisol make up the rest of that clan. of course, how could i forget alejandro. because of him, i have truly lived iin my time here so far. i would be hard pressed to find someone more generous and kind than he is. he gives me all these opportunities to be myself, and loves me in spite of and because of them. it doesn't matter if we're watching movies, waiting on a football game that's never broadcast, taking volunteers to the airport and making them late, or driving off to mysterious high places to see the city lights. i never want to be anywhere else but with him when i'm with him. because of ale, i get to have his best friend ivan as well. he very well might be one of the sweetest guys i've ever known. and funny too. great to practice spanish with since he speaks no english at all. except for one line, "are you talking to me??" lol. ale and i are planning ways to teach him english quickly :) believe me, i could go on....andrea, marcelo, ale vedia, patricia, savannah. so many blessings.

okay. that concludes this session of I LOVE MY BOLIVIA.

thank you so much for sending me here, praying for me, being here when i need you, and just generallyl being awesome. i hope you've gotten a little glimpse of my life from what i've written here.

goodnight :)