I’m sorry about the delay in posting these pictures – they were taken during the August 6th celebration of Bolivian Independence day!
Hi there, I am Chris, the blogger administrator, and I just want to apologize for “breaking” the blog. I fixed it now, so it should be all good. If this ever happens again, feel free to contact me.
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.
We Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) might like to think we’re all qualified to do whatever it is our communities ask of us– but it won’t come as a surprise to most of you that underwater basket weaving and plenty of games of Beirut or *Beer Pong* during college did not exactly prepare us for every rigorous eventuality in the developing world !!
Every day is a great day for a celebration – and what more worthy cause to celebrate than the dedication of teachers? Read the rest of this entry »
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. Read the rest of this entry »
A long long way from Canada . . .
Someone had enough of a sense of humor to bring me to my first rodeo !! There’s a saying down here that all true ‘gauchos’ are born on horseback . . . once you get a chance to see these Argentines riding you might just start to believe it !! 
The riders range in age from six years old (on shetland ponies) to late fifties – and this is definitely not the easiest pass time you’ve ever witnessed.
I dunno that I had the courage to do this when I was six . . .and if I could show videos on here you’d really be blown away – those are tough ‘lil kids !!But there is a master of ceremonies
– and he tends to keep things more or less in control . . . most of the time. About 2 minutes after I took this picture: 
that fence she’s sucking on got destroyed by one of the bronking horses (don’t worry, she wasn’t hurt – but I have it on video – AWESOME !!)
Bio-diesel is as cool as his hair !!
Hola todos !!,
I know how you´ve all been pining away wishing you could send a few text messages down south - below please find the directions !! Read the rest of this entry »
FYI . . . I´m now addicted to CNN international . . . and this is the comment I just sent in to them . . .they recently put up a comment from a PCV in Peru. The internet is certainly providing all sorts of new and powerful outlets !! Read the rest of this entry »
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
Read the rest of this entry »
Lately, I’ve been receiving a few emails about how many different ‘types’ of volunteers there are in the Peace Corps. Fortunately, the Peace Corps web site has plenty of information – this is just a short ‘cheat sheet’ on PC in Bolivia. 
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.
Now I know you’ve all been dying to learn how to make adobe bricks and then construct (hopefully) permanent structures out of them – yes ?
As long as politics has been alive, arguably since humans developed the ability to communicate, humans have competed for greater spheres of influence.
“Since Mr. Morales became president little more than a year ago, Venezuela has quickly come to rival the United States as Bolivia’s main patron. It has provided assistance for the army, cattle ranches, soybean cultivation, microfinance projects, urban sanitation companies and the oil industry.” Via the NYTimes, Venezuela Rivals U.S. in Aid to Bolivia.
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) Read the rest of this entry »
Now that Chris Abraham has taught me how to post pictures in my blog (clearly my new favorite tool if you saw my “Welcome†post) I’d like to invite you on a quick photographic tour of Tarija city. Read the rest of this entry »
Many thanks to the most amazing Blog guru I have ever heard of – Chris Abraham. Thanks to Chris’ creative efforts I am now ‘blogging’ from my very own web page – Welcome !! Read the rest of this entry »
