Lorenzo, el loro - One of the parrots that live outside my bedroom
La camioneta blanca llena de galletas caseras - A truck full of home-made biscuits to be sold in Santa Cruz citySaturday, 29 September 2007
Photos
Lorenzo, el loro - One of the parrots that live outside my bedroom La camioneta blanca llena de galletas caseras - A truck full of home-made biscuits to be sold in Santa Cruz city
What's in a name
The name 'Simon', although I like it and I've become quite attached to it over the years, is, let's face it, not the most exciting name out there. Back home it's common and not all that memorable.
In Bolivia, however, it couldn't be more different. The national hero of the country is one Simón Bolívar – he lead the fight for Independence for South America from Spain in the early 1800s. The main football competition, the currency, even the country itself is named after him. I can't move in the Hogar without the kids shouting '¡Simón! ¡Simón Bolívar!' (the accent makes all the difference...).
In contrast to all the girls who learnt my name instantly, I'm still trying to work out who everyone is, put names to faces, etc. There is only one of me, whereas I have 100 names to learn –and half of the orphanage seem to be called María! I'm starting to recognise more and more names now and I'm asking '¿Y cómo te llamas?' less and less...
Interestingly, I've only been here 3 weeks and I've already been given plenty of nicknames. I have been called variously Simón, Simón Bolívar, Harry Potter, Frodo, Simun (dodgy attempt to pronounce my name in English), Simón el limón and, more recently, Timón (as in Timon and Pumba from the Lion King). Oh, and last night I was called Jesús by everyone (although that's a story for another time...).
'Simón el Dragón' never really caught on I'm afraid.
In Bolivia, however, it couldn't be more different. The national hero of the country is one Simón Bolívar – he lead the fight for Independence for South America from Spain in the early 1800s. The main football competition, the currency, even the country itself is named after him. I can't move in the Hogar without the kids shouting '¡Simón! ¡Simón Bolívar!' (the accent makes all the difference...).
In contrast to all the girls who learnt my name instantly, I'm still trying to work out who everyone is, put names to faces, etc. There is only one of me, whereas I have 100 names to learn –and half of the orphanage seem to be called María! I'm starting to recognise more and more names now and I'm asking '¿Y cómo te llamas?' less and less...
Interestingly, I've only been here 3 weeks and I've already been given plenty of nicknames. I have been called variously Simón, Simón Bolívar, Harry Potter, Frodo, Simun (dodgy attempt to pronounce my name in English), Simón el limón and, more recently, Timón (as in Timon and Pumba from the Lion King). Oh, and last night I was called Jesús by everyone (although that's a story for another time...).
'Simón el Dragón' never really caught on I'm afraid.
Food
The volunteers eat with the girls in the 'comedor'. This is the daily menu à la Hogar Sagrado Corazón...
Breakfast: a piece of bread (which isn't always stale) and a hot drink (usually one of tea, coffee or hot chocolate).
Lunch: The main meal of the day. Typically a chicken and rice dish, sometimes with cabbage. One glass of 'refresco' (which, because it's mixed with water, I have to decline).
Dinner: Another piece of bread. Or a bag of crisps. Or some biscuits.
Varieties on the above include having pasta instead of rice for lunch, and some days having a sweet jam or butter to have with your bread. I've heard that from now on the kids should be having a piece of fruit at least once a day, either with breakfast or lunch. Okay, so they're not quite getting their '5 fruit and veg a day', but it's a step in the right direction...
(Incidentally, although it sounds poor when it's written down like that, the food here is okay and, on the whole, edible. Plus we volunteers have the advantage of having our own 'cocina personal' – personal kitchen – where we can eat our own food: bread, biscuits/cookies, fruits, coffee, tea, etc. so I'm never hungry. In fact, I reckon I'll be putting a bit of weight on while I'm out here - the Madres are especially keen that I 'engordarme' or fatten up!)
Breakfast: a piece of bread (which isn't always stale) and a hot drink (usually one of tea, coffee or hot chocolate).
Lunch: The main meal of the day. Typically a chicken and rice dish, sometimes with cabbage. One glass of 'refresco' (which, because it's mixed with water, I have to decline).
Dinner: Another piece of bread. Or a bag of crisps. Or some biscuits.
Varieties on the above include having pasta instead of rice for lunch, and some days having a sweet jam or butter to have with your bread. I've heard that from now on the kids should be having a piece of fruit at least once a day, either with breakfast or lunch. Okay, so they're not quite getting their '5 fruit and veg a day', but it's a step in the right direction...
(Incidentally, although it sounds poor when it's written down like that, the food here is okay and, on the whole, edible. Plus we volunteers have the advantage of having our own 'cocina personal' – personal kitchen – where we can eat our own food: bread, biscuits/cookies, fruits, coffee, tea, etc. so I'm never hungry. In fact, I reckon I'll be putting a bit of weight on while I'm out here - the Madres are especially keen that I 'engordarme' or fatten up!)
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Reggaetón and dancing nuns
Rightho, so I've let you know that I've arrived safe and sound (the journey, incidentally, though long was largely uneventful and I slept most of the way) and I've introduced you to some of the people at the Hogar.
Now I can finally start telling you about some of the many things that have been going on these past couple of weeks!
Last night, for instance, we had a fiesta! The 21st September here is el Día de Estudiante (Student's Day), as well as el Día de Amor and also the first day of Spring. So, as you can see, a party was indeed in order.
(By the way, it is weird to be celebrating the start of Spring in September. Plus, it's not comforting to know that Summer is approaching and it's just going to keep getting hotter and hotter and hotter...)
Anyway, despite obviously knowing that the 21st September is a big day, the Madres, volunteers and the Profes (teachers) only got together for the first time to start planning it on Wednesday (two days before). We had to basically plan for a whole evening's entertainment for the girls, inc. games, regional dances, prizes, etc.
Cue desperate last-minute preparations. We spent hours learning the 4 regional 'danzas' – each a different traditional dance of a different part of the Santa Cruz region. Fortunately for me, who is not a natural-born dancer by any means, the dances here mostly involve shuffling around and standing in the same place tapping your foot (due, I guess, to the oppressive heat..!).
Anyway, it all came together on the night. We (the volunteers and Profes) dressed up in traditional costume (we men were dressed as 'campesinos': white shirts, white trousers with the legs rolled up, and a sombrero) and the kids loved it. In between dances, the Madres organised the games for the kids while we got changed for the next dance. We also put on a military exercise march, a mock 'pasarela' (cat-walk) and then us 5 volunteers gave a surprise dance rendition of N*SYNC's 'ByeBye'. Justin Timberlake eat your heart out...
Afterwards, we got the BBQ going, the DJ put on some tunes and the party really kicked off. All the girls were dancing away and having a great time (reggaetón seems to be particularly popular with the teenage girls here – it sounds to me like a strange form of modern R&B and rap...). At one point I stopped, looked around, and realised that I was dancing on a basketball pitch with some fifty Bolivian girls, a couple of 20something Americans, and a few nuns. Very surreal, I can tell you. Credit to the Madres, though, they danced all night long with the girls, habits et al. I think Sarah summed it up nicely: “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one day I would dance reggaetón with a nun!”
Photos to be posted as soon as possible, of course.
I hope all is well in Merry Old England. Plenty more stories still to come. Feel free to email me, or post any comments on this blog!
Now I can finally start telling you about some of the many things that have been going on these past couple of weeks!
Last night, for instance, we had a fiesta! The 21st September here is el Día de Estudiante (Student's Day), as well as el Día de Amor and also the first day of Spring. So, as you can see, a party was indeed in order.
(By the way, it is weird to be celebrating the start of Spring in September. Plus, it's not comforting to know that Summer is approaching and it's just going to keep getting hotter and hotter and hotter...)
Anyway, despite obviously knowing that the 21st September is a big day, the Madres, volunteers and the Profes (teachers) only got together for the first time to start planning it on Wednesday (two days before). We had to basically plan for a whole evening's entertainment for the girls, inc. games, regional dances, prizes, etc.
Cue desperate last-minute preparations. We spent hours learning the 4 regional 'danzas' – each a different traditional dance of a different part of the Santa Cruz region. Fortunately for me, who is not a natural-born dancer by any means, the dances here mostly involve shuffling around and standing in the same place tapping your foot (due, I guess, to the oppressive heat..!).
Anyway, it all came together on the night. We (the volunteers and Profes) dressed up in traditional costume (we men were dressed as 'campesinos': white shirts, white trousers with the legs rolled up, and a sombrero) and the kids loved it. In between dances, the Madres organised the games for the kids while we got changed for the next dance. We also put on a military exercise march, a mock 'pasarela' (cat-walk) and then us 5 volunteers gave a surprise dance rendition of N*SYNC's 'ByeBye'. Justin Timberlake eat your heart out...
Afterwards, we got the BBQ going, the DJ put on some tunes and the party really kicked off. All the girls were dancing away and having a great time (reggaetón seems to be particularly popular with the teenage girls here – it sounds to me like a strange form of modern R&B and rap...). At one point I stopped, looked around, and realised that I was dancing on a basketball pitch with some fifty Bolivian girls, a couple of 20something Americans, and a few nuns. Very surreal, I can tell you. Credit to the Madres, though, they danced all night long with the girls, habits et al. I think Sarah summed it up nicely: “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that one day I would dance reggaetón with a nun!”
Photos to be posted as soon as possible, of course.
I hope all is well in Merry Old England. Plenty more stories still to come. Feel free to email me, or post any comments on this blog!
An Introduction to the Hogar
Okay, first thing's first, I have to say a big big Thank You to everyone who sent me good luck messages before I left the UK. They were very much appreciated.
Secondly, I have to apologise for the messed up chronology of this blog. Although there are plenty of places to access the Internet in Montero, and the Hogar itself does have Internet in the Madres' office, I've just been far too busy to sit down and update my blog! Don't worry though, I have been keeping a written journal so that I can remember all my first impressions of the Hogar and all the many characters and stories here...
Thirdly, because this is a foreign keyboard, I apologise in advance for any typos, etc. Eg., for some reason the computer managed to change 'sunny' to 'zuñí' in the previous post, but I'm sure you got the idea...
Okay, so life is still going well at the Hogar. There are over 100 girls at the orphanage, the youngest being only a few months old. Normally the girls would stay at the Hogar till around 16-17, then move to Santa Clara, a house which is also in Montero for older kids where they can continue their studies, even go to University etc.
The kids are great, but rather mischievious. We were warned that they will know that you're a new volunteer, that you don't know the rules and that they will try to take advantage of you. Still, they've been fantastically welcoming to me, and despite a general tendency to lie, they are on the whole good eggs.
Three Madres (Mothers; nuns) run the Hogar and they really are brilliant – working tirelessly for the girls and up for a laugh with the volunteers. I'm sure I'll talk more about them in future posts.
There are other volunteers here too. Every year the US Salesians send a few out on year-long contracts to work at the Hogar. Sarah and Genesse are two girls from Texas who only started a few days before I arrived myself. Not only is it great not to be the only new kid in town, but they're both good fun and we seem to be getting along well.
Sarah and Genesse are replacing Sandra and Olivia at the Hogar who are coming to the end of their year here. They've been so useful – thelling us what to do, where to be, who to watch out for! – and we would have been lost without them (especially since the Madres do just let the volunteers get on with their work and don't get too involved if possible).
A third volunteer from the US will start here in a couple of weeks. She will be working in the 'juguetería' (the toy room where the youngest kids live from the babies up to and inc. kinder age), Genesse will be taking Olivia's hob and running the 'biblioteca' (library) while Sarah is taking over from Sandra and looking after the kids' medical needs, mostly at the 'posta' (clinic).
As for me, I'll be available to help all three whenever they need it, plus help the Madres in the admistration of the Hogar, and even, I am told, I might be trained to help Pancho (the caretaker and general factotum) with driving the girls to and from their schools in town!
It's brilliant to have the other volunteers around, a. to have someone to share the experience with and b. to be able to chat in English. Well, I say English. My (proper) English has not always coordinated with their (American) English, which has kept us entertained no end... Sometimes, Sarah told me, I say things that sound just like it came out of a film. Well living with you guys, I replied, is like living in an extended episode of 'Friends'..!
Secondly, I have to apologise for the messed up chronology of this blog. Although there are plenty of places to access the Internet in Montero, and the Hogar itself does have Internet in the Madres' office, I've just been far too busy to sit down and update my blog! Don't worry though, I have been keeping a written journal so that I can remember all my first impressions of the Hogar and all the many characters and stories here...
Thirdly, because this is a foreign keyboard, I apologise in advance for any typos, etc. Eg., for some reason the computer managed to change 'sunny' to 'zuñí' in the previous post, but I'm sure you got the idea...
Okay, so life is still going well at the Hogar. There are over 100 girls at the orphanage, the youngest being only a few months old. Normally the girls would stay at the Hogar till around 16-17, then move to Santa Clara, a house which is also in Montero for older kids where they can continue their studies, even go to University etc.
The kids are great, but rather mischievious. We were warned that they will know that you're a new volunteer, that you don't know the rules and that they will try to take advantage of you. Still, they've been fantastically welcoming to me, and despite a general tendency to lie, they are on the whole good eggs.
Three Madres (Mothers; nuns) run the Hogar and they really are brilliant – working tirelessly for the girls and up for a laugh with the volunteers. I'm sure I'll talk more about them in future posts.
There are other volunteers here too. Every year the US Salesians send a few out on year-long contracts to work at the Hogar. Sarah and Genesse are two girls from Texas who only started a few days before I arrived myself. Not only is it great not to be the only new kid in town, but they're both good fun and we seem to be getting along well.
Sarah and Genesse are replacing Sandra and Olivia at the Hogar who are coming to the end of their year here. They've been so useful – thelling us what to do, where to be, who to watch out for! – and we would have been lost without them (especially since the Madres do just let the volunteers get on with their work and don't get too involved if possible).
A third volunteer from the US will start here in a couple of weeks. She will be working in the 'juguetería' (the toy room where the youngest kids live from the babies up to and inc. kinder age), Genesse will be taking Olivia's hob and running the 'biblioteca' (library) while Sarah is taking over from Sandra and looking after the kids' medical needs, mostly at the 'posta' (clinic).
As for me, I'll be available to help all three whenever they need it, plus help the Madres in the admistration of the Hogar, and even, I am told, I might be trained to help Pancho (the caretaker and general factotum) with driving the girls to and from their schools in town!
It's brilliant to have the other volunteers around, a. to have someone to share the experience with and b. to be able to chat in English. Well, I say English. My (proper) English has not always coordinated with their (American) English, which has kept us entertained no end... Sometimes, Sarah told me, I say things that sound just like it came out of a film. Well living with you guys, I replied, is like living in an extended episode of 'Friends'..!
Arriving in Bolivia
I'm in Bolivia!
Can you believe it? I'm still struggling to get my head round it to be honest. Still, it's been a really great experience so far. I've no idea where to begin to start explaining it all, so I think I'll start with what I'm doing out here in the first place...
At the moment I'm sitting in an Internet café in Montero, Bolivia. It's a very zuñí day (not a cloud in the sky) although there is a gentle breeze (though actually that's just the air conditioning..!) What am I doing here? Well, I'm here largely because it's my day off. In the grander scheme of things, I'm here as part of my year abroad from Uni. I've been sent to Bolivia by the Salesian Volunteer group BOVA. To cut a long story short, instead of going to a Salesian school, the Salesians suggested that I go to Hogar Sagrado Corazón, an all-girls' orphanage here in Bolivia. I was told that they had plenty of experience with volunteers, that it was a reliable connection and, most importantly, that I had no better offers...
Four months after the word Bolivia first came into my consciousness at a training weekend in Macclesfield, I stepped out of a truck at the Hogar in Montero to be greeted by a small group of girls who (encouraged by the Madres) broke into a welcoming song.
Here I was, whether I believed it or not. One of the American volunteers was talking to me last night about how she couldn't get her head round that fact that this was to be her home for a whole year. In comparison, three months is nothing..!
Can you believe it? I'm still struggling to get my head round it to be honest. Still, it's been a really great experience so far. I've no idea where to begin to start explaining it all, so I think I'll start with what I'm doing out here in the first place...
At the moment I'm sitting in an Internet café in Montero, Bolivia. It's a very zuñí day (not a cloud in the sky) although there is a gentle breeze (though actually that's just the air conditioning..!) What am I doing here? Well, I'm here largely because it's my day off. In the grander scheme of things, I'm here as part of my year abroad from Uni. I've been sent to Bolivia by the Salesian Volunteer group BOVA. To cut a long story short, instead of going to a Salesian school, the Salesians suggested that I go to Hogar Sagrado Corazón, an all-girls' orphanage here in Bolivia. I was told that they had plenty of experience with volunteers, that it was a reliable connection and, most importantly, that I had no better offers...
Four months after the word Bolivia first came into my consciousness at a training weekend in Macclesfield, I stepped out of a truck at the Hogar in Montero to be greeted by a small group of girls who (encouraged by the Madres) broke into a welcoming song.
Here I was, whether I believed it or not. One of the American volunteers was talking to me last night about how she couldn't get her head round that fact that this was to be her home for a whole year. In comparison, three months is nothing..!
Sunday, 9 September 2007
I hereby declare this blog... Open.
To everyone out there in blogosphere and the real world,
Welcome to my first ever blog! I know very little about how these things work... From what I’ve gathered, these online diaries are used to document the mundane minutiae of people across the planet who unite under the principle that if someone has written something then it must be worth reading. Still, there well may be more to blogging than this and that may be just one of the discoveries I make along my journey…
More specifically, I have been encouraged to start this travel blog because I’m travelling to Bolivia from the sunny UK this autumn and it may well prove to be a useful method of keeping in contact with people and posting some photos. And if not, then there’s always facebook.
I’m not sure how this blog will work out. Perhaps I’ll manage to update it regularly, or perhaps this is already the last post. We will just have to wait and see how things pan out… Any comments received along the way will be greatly appreciated, and will no doubt motivate me to keep blogging!
Anyhow, it’s the day before I leave. My bags are packed and I’m now all set to go! I’m not going alone, of course: I have a small, but highly trained, assembly of travel companions [see previous post]...
ttfn,
Simon
Welcome to my first ever blog! I know very little about how these things work... From what I’ve gathered, these online diaries are used to document the mundane minutiae of people across the planet who unite under the principle that if someone has written something then it must be worth reading. Still, there well may be more to blogging than this and that may be just one of the discoveries I make along my journey…
More specifically, I have been encouraged to start this travel blog because I’m travelling to Bolivia from the sunny UK this autumn and it may well prove to be a useful method of keeping in contact with people and posting some photos. And if not, then there’s always facebook.
I’m not sure how this blog will work out. Perhaps I’ll manage to update it regularly, or perhaps this is already the last post. We will just have to wait and see how things pan out… Any comments received along the way will be greatly appreciated, and will no doubt motivate me to keep blogging!
Anyhow, it’s the day before I leave. My bags are packed and I’m now all set to go! I’m not going alone, of course: I have a small, but highly trained, assembly of travel companions [see previous post]...
ttfn,
Simon
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