First full week at my new home...

Well lets just say this has been quite the week, full of many experiences and emotions. Well I wrote a little in my email about the plane ride here and the conflict with the taxi man. It is actually funny now that I think about it. He almost drove away with all my luggage in his trunk, ha. For those of you who thought I over packed, I did not! The weather here is quite unique, so I’m glad I brought all that I did. The mornings and the night are freezing; I currently have five blankets on my bed, because there is no central heating anywhere in Bolivia. The minute you step into the sun, you start to sweat. So by about 10:00 it starts to warm up. When the sun sets, it’s back to the chilly weather again. So all that to say, I wear layers and take them off as the day goes; good thing I brought lots to wear!

One thing that I must mention is dog situation here in Bolivia. I used to love dogs, but I’m afraid by the time I return to the states I will dislike them. There are dogs EVERYWHERE roaming around and they are NOT nice. The first bit of advice I received was to pick up a stone and pretend to throw it if a dog ever approaches me. It is sad; they are all skinny and ugly and go wherever they want. Yesterday, a dog came into church during the service; no one even flinched. So that is another thing I have had to get used to.

So I got here about a week ago and there was a team of four people here from Colorado. There were ten of us living here at the Hacienda. It was so nice to have them here, but unfortunately they left two days ago. I’m told that teams come through often and it’s always hard to say goodbye. So currently, there are five of us interns living here right now, four girls and one boy. The guy intern is leaving in two weeks, so that will be another hard goodbye. It will also be hard because the children really love having guys to play with. We are praying that the Lord would bring another guy intern to the Hacienda and soon.

On a more positive note, this country is BEAUTIFUL! When I flew from La Paz to Cochabamba, the entire flight was over these huge rock-like mountains, it was breath taking. I took so many pictures of it because it was so spectacular. I have attached a few pics below. Our house is on the mountain and surrounded by mountains on all sides. If you walk down a few roads, you can see the entire city of Cochabamba. The other picture is me eating a Kabob….yes they have very good food here! The last pic is of me and one of the cute little girls from “The Frutillar” Orphanage. Her name is Dalia and I tutored here on Saturday. She is so cute and offers me a lot of grace when I try to speak Spanish. Speaking of my Spanish, it has been difficult, but I am trying. That’s really all I can do at this point. I will start taking lessons this week, so that is an answer to prayer! I will keep you updated on how it’s coming! Well that was the longest blog ever….I look forward to posting many more.

Week number two begins soon, thanks again for all the prayers!! I praise God for giving me strength for every day I’m here. He is all I’m relying on right now for peace and comfort. I miss you all, but am sure this is where God wants me for the time! Til next week….you’re in my prayers! Jen