Thanks to my favorite aunt Betty Jo the teachers of my English club, my head nun (Sister Mery), 
and a few Nunnettes learned all about coloring Easter eggs and Easter egg hunts in general.
Once upon a very very sunny day I was headed out to Elke and Arend’s farm when the small bus I was riding on died. Being only 5 miles from the farm I decided to walk, and along the way I happened upon a public works project to build a drainage system along this main road.
There have been a cascade of birthday parties lately, and I’d like you all to be prepared for the next Bolivian social function that you attend!
I’m sorry about the delay in posting these pictures – they were taken during the August 6th celebration of Bolivian Independence day!
The Nuns of Santa Isabella are truly amazing. They run a soup kitchen, a vocational school, an adult school, and a boarding house / orphanage all on the same small plot of land ! One of the most important components of their service is their steadfast commitment to the soup kitchen that feeds young children from the community on a daily basis. This seemingly innocuous soup kitchen proved the catalyst for an emotional revelation for me – I hope you’ll appreciate my experience.
Every day is a great day for a celebration – and what more worthy cause to celebrate than the dedication of teachers? (more…)
Strangely enough, peanuts are abundant here in Tarija, and so I hear, around most of Bolivia. Even the poorest of the poor families who live way out in the ‘campo’ (Spanish for the boonies) either grow peanuts or can easily and cheaply attain them. Unfortunately, most folks are at a loss as to what to do with all their nuts 
. They usually toast them or use them to make a peanut soup that has actually become one of my favorite foods here in Bolivia ! But rarely are they harnessing all the nutritional power of peanuts - and in a country where good nutrition is quite low on the scale of priorities that’s more than unfortunate. (more…)
Think back to the best block party you’ve ever been to – a crazy spring break in Cancun . . .
fete de la musique in Paris . . . Woodstock even . . . and you’re still a couple weeks and the geographical area of multiple States short of imagining Carnaval in Bolivia ! ! !
Yes yes, it’s really THAT awesome !! They sell
cans of foam-soap for about $1 a piece 
– that have great range !!! And in some parts of the country you can buy already filled water balloons !! 
There are
parades and floats 
and folks dressed up wandering all over the country – more or less for the month of February. 
(Yes these are grown men, and yes they are dressed as babies). There are also ‘Campo’ or ‘country’
parties all over the
place – but be careful – it’s traditional for men to gallop through the parties 
singing when 
they would have a hard time walking – yours truly even got knocked down at one point
(more…)
Many factors have contributed to the explosive spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa; sadly some of these Bolivia shares. The macho/patriarchal and heavily religious elements which enjoy such power in Bolivian society contribute heavily to the lack of sexual education. Moreover, goods are transported throughout the country by land – creating a large cadre of (overwhelmingly male) workers who work far from home. Sex and sexual education are still taboo topics here, which unfortunately escalates the danger of Bolivia having a more serious problem with the virus.
Bolivia, officially the Republic of Bolivia (Spanish: República de Bolivia), named after Simón BolÃÂvar, is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil on the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina on the south, and Chile and Peru on the west. (Via Wikipedia) (more…)
