Holidays

Happy Valentine's Day to all. I got a special valentine from my friend, Sarah. I put it in my back pocket and walked home, had lunch and took a little power nap. On the way back to school I noticed a little pink piece of paper in the street. My valentine had tried to liberate itself. It'll have to try harder next time.

Valentine's day is not a big holiday in Bolivia. Their "Dia de Amor" is September 21st, the first day of spring. It is celebrated in much the same way as Valentine's day with chocolates and presents. We are also right in the middle of another series of very important holiday's in Bolivia. Last Thursday was "Dia de Compadres" and tomorrow is "Dia de Comadres" These two holiday's celebrate fathers and mothers, but in a special way. Godparents are extremely important in Bolivia and act as "co-parents" If a family is not religious then close family friends are considered the compadres. The two Thursday's leading up to Carnaval are full of celebration. Here at the institute all men were honored at a fiesta, because they will at some point be parents or godparents. We anticipate the same thing for the women tomorrow. I mentioned Carnaval. This weekend is Carnaval in Oruro, a neighboring city and the weekend after it is held here in Cochabamba. I can only compare it to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. There are all weekend parades of dancers. Each dance full of symbolism and everyone dressed in their finest costumes. We have seen practicing in the streets for weeks leading up to this event. Here in Cochabamba it is much smaller and benign. In Santa Cruz, it is full of drunken debauchery like that in New Orleans. Especially the scantily clad women aspect. I will be taking a trip with the language school to Oruro to experience Carnaval at it's finest. I look forward to giving a full report.

I'm happy to say that I packed my first set of pickles on Sunday and by the time I get back from Carnaval, I should have a delicious treat waiting for me. The Ward (Peters?) pickle recipe lives on internationally!! Here's hoping they turn out.