Crisis averted

You might remember the name Rudy from a blog post awhile back--there is a picture of us sharing a moment. It was lucky that I was not privy to this particular near crisis until after it was resolved because I don’t think I could have handled it. Rosmery, Rudy’s mom, is the head baker in the bakery and they have to start work early. She usually brings Rudy with her and then sends him down to the daycare when it opens. Today was no different except when Mabel, the director of the daycare, came up the bakery asking where Rudy was. In Rosmery’s own words, the question “chilled my heart.” The last she had seen Rudy he was headed to the daycare but apparently never arrived. Everyone broke into a frenzy shouting his name in all directions. Rosmery finally decided to check her home. In her own words again, “there he was sitting happily on the bed watching tv.” When she asked him why he was home he replied, “because my stomach hurt and there is no bathroom in the bakery and lots of people were outside; how could I go out there?” His brother, Brandon, goes to school in the afternoon and told Rudy that it was after 8am and therefore too late to go to the daycare so he just decided to stay home.

Last month one of my 9th graders went missing. She, however, wasn’t found within the hour at home with an upset stomach. Her disappearance really shook me because I was naïve enough to believe that my students were somehow protected and sheltered from the temptations and dangers of street life. I fell apart somewhat when she went missing--a downward spiral of worry, regret, self-doubt, and disillusionment. The threat of child disappearance is real and I don’t know how to prevent it. I can teach them computer literacy though. I know it is not enough but I hope that it helps.

The Brothers Escoja

With first through ninth grades coming into my computer lab on a weekly basis in a barrio where the average number of kids per house is about five it makes sense that I have many sets of siblings. In fact, it is the exception, not the rule, when I have a student and none of his/her siblings. That being said there is a particular set of brothers that brighten my life. After over one year of computer classes I have only four students, out of literally hundreds, with perfect attendance and two of them are Sergio in seventh grade and Humberto in eighth. They are both very shy and quiet so I hadn’t really noticed their consistency until a few months ago.
Sergio really came out of his shell when he joined the blog group. He does a great job and has a lot more confidence. He is leading the blog group with entries written and has even taken charge of the seventh grade computer class. He is leading the class in stickers whereas last semester, even though he knew the material, he was too shy to volunteer and answer questions.
Recently his brother Humberto also joined the blog group and watching their interaction makes me happy in my heart. Humberto is still very guarded and unsure of himself but I am hopeful that he’ll make the same progress as Sergio. Most recently I was helping Humberto with his entry and Sergio was guffawing from across the room. For example:
Me: Humberto what do you like to eat?
Sergio: EVERYTHING!!
Me: “I do not like to fight” (reading his entry)
Sergio: HA!! Since when?!
Me: Sergio, you better watch it or I’ll read Humberto your entries
Sergio: Oop! I’m shutting up
It is great when I can see kids being kids. They live a very different life from my childhood but they are in some ways exactly the same. Girls skip, boys play marbles, girls hit boys they like on the playground, and boys tease girls they like in front of their friends. It is comforting to know that there is joy in their lives which gives me hope for their futures. However, watching the brothers Escoja, more than anything, makes me miss my own sisters. Katie and Tess - I love you both so much <3 10 weeks

Dios te lo pague

Whoops - I guess I forgot to blog for the whole month of August. It has been a crazy month. The man that will be my replacement as the technology director is coming from Germany in about a week. I REALLY look forward to his arrival. With only three months left in Bolivia I am starting to realize how much work goes in to leaving. I am writing reports, balancing the budget, making lesson plans and teaching classes, organizing the intercultural blog group, maintaining communication with home, revising my resume/job perusing, and everything else that goes into life.

One of the activities that I really enjoy is helping out with “Las Abuelitas” on Saturdays. It is a program that gives food staples like oil, sugar, and rice/pasta to the very elderly women that beg on the streets of Cochabamba. I found out about the program through my roommate, Ginny, who has been with them since language school in 2007. There are about fifty women that come to receive these modest rations and they are incredible. Most of them speak Quechua so I have no idea what they’re saying; one of the only Spanish phrases thrown out is, “dios te lo pague.” Meaning, “May God pay you for this” and it is their way of saying “thank you.”

It is a really refreshing and gratifying service. Foreign aid is so bountiful in Bolivia that help is often expected and taken for granted. Many of us work in thankless positions wondering if we’re making a difference, or if anyone will actually notice when we’re gone. Being with The Grandmothers isn’t like that at all. They are patient and appreciative. Some weeks there isn’t oil or soap but they don’t complain--they say their version of thank you and head back to the streets. They are some of the neediest people I’ve met in Bolivia and they are also some of the least demanding and most grateful. Like with most things here, I lay awake at night wondering if it is enough and wishing I knew how to do more.