Several different things happened today (May 17). Not exactly huge sensations but here everything that differs from everyday routine seems special. Velta had to go to Puerto Suarez with pastor to take care of some paperwork at the police station. It was so weird that we had to spend this day without Velta's wise supervision and care. But we managed everything. And we expected to see Ondina again who was away for a week to take care of her teeth. Around 5PM I heard the airplane noise in the sky and rushed to the airfield. I had never ran so fast to greet someone. Halfway there Panfila caught me, she was going there by car to load everything pastor had brought. And yes, my friends Velta and Ondina came out of the plane. Even though we were separated for a short time I was so happy to see them again. After hugs and greetings I found out how they had been doing. Turns out pastor didn't get across the border to Corumba because Bolivians had started a strike on the border. Therefore he didn't get to go to the post office... two letters I had carefully written and prepared with love returned to me and will wait for the next Tuesday. And since the border is closed, Ondina had to walk 2km from Brazil with all her bags. The desire to return back home helped her endure all hardships that happened on the road. She couldn't have survived one more week without us :)
Later my friends gave me some city goods. I was so happy! They gave me rare treats - apples and tangerines :) Ondina had saved a small piece of chicken she had in the city. She had carefully wrapped it in a piece of foil and after few minutes in the oven it smelled great and tasted even better... And they replenished my chocolate stock. And Velta had bought a toilet brush for me... I really needed one. I better not tell you how I cleaned my toilet before. I know, I know - did I really have to write it here... but you know - these items mean a lot here! You can't go to a local Rimi, Maxima or Walmart to quickly buy everything... if someone brings it from the city it's a great joy. Now my toilet shines :)
And again God answered our prayers. We prayed for a successful teeth surgery for Ondina. Doctors said that she couldn't feel her mouth for two weeks... BUT... nothing hurts and she can feel everything. She said that she had experienced a wonderful peace of God during the surgery. I also prayed that Velta could quickly do all the paperwork and have some time for rest if she has gotten to see the outer world after all. And God answered this prayer. Velta came back and told that paperwork went really smoothly and she got to walk through Puerto Suarez shops. Shopping is her therapy :) Praise to God for answered prayers!
I love my big Rincon's friends. And I really hope that they will visit their fatherland one day. For the first time in their lifetime! We have some certain hopes regarding this. Let's pray they come true :)
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Greetings from Santa Cruz!
May 30
Hola my dears!!!
I'm at Jansons family home in Santa Cruz. I have spent the last three nights either on train or bus. Finally we will get to sleep in a real bed! Yes! Panfila and I are pretty tired but it was worth it! I have seen some of Bolivia... something more than the jungle and the borderland mess. I love it so much!!! I don't think I could live here but as a tourist you have a lot of things to admire! Colors, sounds, girls that look like they're from Mexican soaps, old ladies who wear 5 skirts at the time, traffic crazier than in Turkey, many big eyes that stared at me, constantly bargaining with someone, shop owner's sweet lies and overstuffed shelves, taxi drivers everwhere, the brightness of Cochabamba, bloody finger, lost photo and video camera, Bolivian uncle's kiss, underaged seller... and so much more.
Thanks to God for this adventure!!!
I will try to write later about this trip. But generally - BIG HAPPINESS!!!
Tomorrow we go back to the jungle... and then back to civilization on June 25th... and this time entirely.
Viva la Bolivia!
Hola my dears!!!
I'm at Jansons family home in Santa Cruz. I have spent the last three nights either on train or bus. Finally we will get to sleep in a real bed! Yes! Panfila and I are pretty tired but it was worth it! I have seen some of Bolivia... something more than the jungle and the borderland mess. I love it so much!!! I don't think I could live here but as a tourist you have a lot of things to admire! Colors, sounds, girls that look like they're from Mexican soaps, old ladies who wear 5 skirts at the time, traffic crazier than in Turkey, many big eyes that stared at me, constantly bargaining with someone, shop owner's sweet lies and overstuffed shelves, taxi drivers everwhere, the brightness of Cochabamba, bloody finger, lost photo and video camera, Bolivian uncle's kiss, underaged seller... and so much more.
Thanks to God for this adventure!!!
I will try to write later about this trip. But generally - BIG HAPPINESS!!!
Tomorrow we go back to the jungle... and then back to civilization on June 25th... and this time entirely.
Viva la Bolivia!
Great joy!
May 26
Tomorrow is Mother's day in Rincon. And it will be a huge thing for me because Panfila and I will go to SANTA CRUZ and Cochabamba!!! We will go by train, by bus and by plane. It will be a rush but I'm sooooooooo happy, joyful, excited from head to toes. I will talk to you later.
P.S. I received a HUGE parcel from Mary full of Latvian goodies... oh my... I need more time to say how VEEEERY happy and surprised I was. But I just quickly wanted to say it here so that you know that the parcel has arrived. And my mom's cards have reached Ondina and Velta. They were so surprised! For the first time in their life they received something from Latvia that had their name on it! Thank you!
This was a very unexpected and quick internet time. I will write more later...
Tomorrow is Mother's day in Rincon. And it will be a huge thing for me because Panfila and I will go to SANTA CRUZ and Cochabamba!!! We will go by train, by bus and by plane. It will be a rush but I'm sooooooooo happy, joyful, excited from head to toes. I will talk to you later.
P.S. I received a HUGE parcel from Mary full of Latvian goodies... oh my... I need more time to say how VEEEERY happy and surprised I was. But I just quickly wanted to say it here so that you know that the parcel has arrived. And my mom's cards have reached Ondina and Velta. They were so surprised! For the first time in their life they received something from Latvia that had their name on it! Thank you!
This was a very unexpected and quick internet time. I will write more later...
Near future
May 17
The great departure is being mentioned more and more frequently. School break is coming closer when Rincon's court will become much more emptier and quieter for 2 weeks. All students, teachers and most of the missionaries will go away. I talked with a girl named Carol how she will go home. Her uncle will ride here on a horse and then they will ride back home for 10 hours! She says that the road is very nice. Many will go home in horses and donkeys, some will get a 'taxi' at the city, the rich will go by their own cars. They all will go home on June 18th.
Until then we have to celebrate some days, students are preparing songs, poems and dramas. May 27th is Mother's day, June 1 is principal Panfila's birthday that is a major event. Everyone is dreaming how they could pour water on our big leader. I secretly anticipate this honor too. They say she's very sharp-eyed and notices is a water cup is approaching. So you have to be very lucky and crafty to water Panfila. Moreover - she never stays indebt... usually the pourer also gets some water :D Then June 6th is Teacher's day and students are looking forward to this day with great anticipation because they get to parody the teachers. The children manage to find teacher's clothes and then they perform in front of the whole school. Yesterday I hang my t-shirts outside on a rope after washing them. It was a big mistake because my shirts are no longer there. I guess girls made sure they have my clothes for parodying me on June 6th :D
Ondina and I had planned to go to Nova Odessa on June 17th or 18th. But I had a good conversation with Panfila and my plans changed. I agreed to stay in Rincon for one more week until June 25th so Velta can rest from her many duties and go to Corumba, Brazil! There are still some people and dogs that need to be fed so she would not get any rest if she stayed here. So she will go away for a week. Ondina and I will stay here. I will be Velta for a week :) WOW! Huge responsibility and huge honor and happiness at the same time to give Velta some rest! There will be some American youth here at the time who come here to help with practical things during the summer. I'll have to feed them. Two girls will sleep in my room so I will have an English speaking company! Probably some Brazilian helpers will also come and I will have to feed them... So I'll have to do an important job during my last week here! Two local Ayoreo girls will come to help me. Pray that this last week goes smoothly! That the food is tasty, enough and that Velta gets an excellent rest and gains a lot of strength for the next semester! Velta will come back on June 25th and Ondina and I will go away by the same transport (on ground or in the air)... to Corumba, Nova Odessa.... Sao Paolo... Houston... LATVIA!!!
P.S. Big, smiling thank you to Rasa Shtern for the special, Latvian parcel for Ondina, Velta and I! All of us were VERY surprised and happy! Also a big thank you to my big brother who must have read my thoughts in Belgium... I recently thought but never mentioned to him that I wish I would have one more memory card for my video camera so I can film more... WOW! And my brother sent me one! I was so happy! And thank you for exhaustive letter and pictures!!!
The great departure is being mentioned more and more frequently. School break is coming closer when Rincon's court will become much more emptier and quieter for 2 weeks. All students, teachers and most of the missionaries will go away. I talked with a girl named Carol how she will go home. Her uncle will ride here on a horse and then they will ride back home for 10 hours! She says that the road is very nice. Many will go home in horses and donkeys, some will get a 'taxi' at the city, the rich will go by their own cars. They all will go home on June 18th.
Until then we have to celebrate some days, students are preparing songs, poems and dramas. May 27th is Mother's day, June 1 is principal Panfila's birthday that is a major event. Everyone is dreaming how they could pour water on our big leader. I secretly anticipate this honor too. They say she's very sharp-eyed and notices is a water cup is approaching. So you have to be very lucky and crafty to water Panfila. Moreover - she never stays indebt... usually the pourer also gets some water :D Then June 6th is Teacher's day and students are looking forward to this day with great anticipation because they get to parody the teachers. The children manage to find teacher's clothes and then they perform in front of the whole school. Yesterday I hang my t-shirts outside on a rope after washing them. It was a big mistake because my shirts are no longer there. I guess girls made sure they have my clothes for parodying me on June 6th :D
Ondina and I had planned to go to Nova Odessa on June 17th or 18th. But I had a good conversation with Panfila and my plans changed. I agreed to stay in Rincon for one more week until June 25th so Velta can rest from her many duties and go to Corumba, Brazil! There are still some people and dogs that need to be fed so she would not get any rest if she stayed here. So she will go away for a week. Ondina and I will stay here. I will be Velta for a week :) WOW! Huge responsibility and huge honor and happiness at the same time to give Velta some rest! There will be some American youth here at the time who come here to help with practical things during the summer. I'll have to feed them. Two girls will sleep in my room so I will have an English speaking company! Probably some Brazilian helpers will also come and I will have to feed them... So I'll have to do an important job during my last week here! Two local Ayoreo girls will come to help me. Pray that this last week goes smoothly! That the food is tasty, enough and that Velta gets an excellent rest and gains a lot of strength for the next semester! Velta will come back on June 25th and Ondina and I will go away by the same transport (on ground or in the air)... to Corumba, Nova Odessa.... Sao Paolo... Houston... LATVIA!!!
P.S. Big, smiling thank you to Rasa Shtern for the special, Latvian parcel for Ondina, Velta and I! All of us were VERY surprised and happy! Also a big thank you to my big brother who must have read my thoughts in Belgium... I recently thought but never mentioned to him that I wish I would have one more memory card for my video camera so I can film more... WOW! And my brother sent me one! I was so happy! And thank you for exhaustive letter and pictures!!!
Courage
May 17
The longer a person drives a car the more courageous maneuvers he can make. The longer a cook works in a kitchen the more courageous experiments with ingredients he can make. The longer a hairdresser works the more courageously he cuts any hair.
The longer I am in Rincon the more courageous I become in local life.
I have observed my courage for example in the fact that I was quite scared from the pitch black darkness that was here after the generators were turned off. Because all the noises became scarier then. But now I am able to go out of the building to sit on a bench. I sit by myself in complete darkness and it's so good. There is some magic about nighttime. Sometimes the sky is full of bigger and smaller stars. Fire fly cousins fly around and they shine all the time. A toad or a frog jumps past me, the whole grasshopper dynasty play their violins in the same tune... one of the Rincon's dogs finds out that you're sitting there and they come to ask for some love. In the beginning they gently poke your leg. Then they want to crawl in your lap and get more love... then his brothers and sisters smell that someone has been loved on and they all run to you. And then you just hush them and run inside before it's too late.
Then I have become more courageous in spending the siesta hour. I go to explore some new jungle paths on my own - sometimes the jungle is thinner, sometimes it's so thick you can't see through. The further I go the more interesting it is... and then I again believe in the fact that I'm really in the middle of Bolivian jungle again. The strong Rincon's sun and different bigger and smaller insects accompany me during these walks. Little creatures shake the bushes. Some weird birds jump on the tree branches, they have navy blue backs and yellow bellies and they have a mohawk on their heads. They're famous for their theft. They fly or jump from tree to tree. Then sit down and whistle their loud song. And each time they make a sound they lift up their tail. It looks pretty funny! I walked along a little pathway to a meadow. There were bones of a big animal. Ribs were in a nice row but the other bones were scattered around. I guess one of the Rincon's tigers had eaten it. I thought that they are no longer here but Harry told me that they have recently found tiger's paw prints few kilometers away from our village. They don't attack people but they love cattle... I haven't met a tiger here and I think I won't meet him because I don't walk through the very thick jungle! I only take the safe roads and sometimes a local Ayoreo passes me by on his bike. They always wonder how a white person can walk through the jungle when all the normal people are asleep :) But these walks are so important both for exercise and unwinding emotionally. Then my thoughts fly a little higher and further...
I have become more courageous in discovering the girl's lies. Yes... almost all of them can't live without lying. Maybe that's inherited from previous generations. You need a lot of courage and stringency to make them confess their lie and tell the truth. I'm getting better at this. At the beginning I believed in everything. Now I see things more clearly.
Maybe it'll sound funny but I've become more courageous in my style :D In Latvia I loved to make matching outfits, match the colors and styles... but now... oh my! I can wear together almost anything. Because I have grown weary of my 10 t-shirts so for the sake of some difference I wear them together with things I would never wear together in Latvia. I guess I'm influenced by the girls - they always wear ANYTHING together and walk around very confident! So do I :)
I have become more courageous in killing different creatures. I kill cockroaches one after another and I I'll use anything that's there. Recently one was crawling on the kitchen wall and I had a little glass jar in my hands. I didn't think long and hit the beast with the jar. His life fell to pieces and so did my jar :) I'm capable to deal with all kinds of spiders. I can't touch tarantulas but I take care of all the smaller ones... I apologise to all nature lovers but you have to agree with me that there are situations when there little creatures are bothering people, aren't there? For example, if a long legged spider crawls on your bed... To avoid a situation when this spider lays next to you during the night you have to take action ahead of time! I'm not surprised by small lizards at the sink, walls, at my shoes anymore. They seem like my usual 'neighbors'.
So my courage is growing. I'm becoming more 'local' every day! Sometimes I even forget that I've had a different life before.
The longer a person drives a car the more courageous maneuvers he can make. The longer a cook works in a kitchen the more courageous experiments with ingredients he can make. The longer a hairdresser works the more courageously he cuts any hair.
The longer I am in Rincon the more courageous I become in local life.
I have observed my courage for example in the fact that I was quite scared from the pitch black darkness that was here after the generators were turned off. Because all the noises became scarier then. But now I am able to go out of the building to sit on a bench. I sit by myself in complete darkness and it's so good. There is some magic about nighttime. Sometimes the sky is full of bigger and smaller stars. Fire fly cousins fly around and they shine all the time. A toad or a frog jumps past me, the whole grasshopper dynasty play their violins in the same tune... one of the Rincon's dogs finds out that you're sitting there and they come to ask for some love. In the beginning they gently poke your leg. Then they want to crawl in your lap and get more love... then his brothers and sisters smell that someone has been loved on and they all run to you. And then you just hush them and run inside before it's too late.
Then I have become more courageous in spending the siesta hour. I go to explore some new jungle paths on my own - sometimes the jungle is thinner, sometimes it's so thick you can't see through. The further I go the more interesting it is... and then I again believe in the fact that I'm really in the middle of Bolivian jungle again. The strong Rincon's sun and different bigger and smaller insects accompany me during these walks. Little creatures shake the bushes. Some weird birds jump on the tree branches, they have navy blue backs and yellow bellies and they have a mohawk on their heads. They're famous for their theft. They fly or jump from tree to tree. Then sit down and whistle their loud song. And each time they make a sound they lift up their tail. It looks pretty funny! I walked along a little pathway to a meadow. There were bones of a big animal. Ribs were in a nice row but the other bones were scattered around. I guess one of the Rincon's tigers had eaten it. I thought that they are no longer here but Harry told me that they have recently found tiger's paw prints few kilometers away from our village. They don't attack people but they love cattle... I haven't met a tiger here and I think I won't meet him because I don't walk through the very thick jungle! I only take the safe roads and sometimes a local Ayoreo passes me by on his bike. They always wonder how a white person can walk through the jungle when all the normal people are asleep :) But these walks are so important both for exercise and unwinding emotionally. Then my thoughts fly a little higher and further...
I have become more courageous in discovering the girl's lies. Yes... almost all of them can't live without lying. Maybe that's inherited from previous generations. You need a lot of courage and stringency to make them confess their lie and tell the truth. I'm getting better at this. At the beginning I believed in everything. Now I see things more clearly.
Maybe it'll sound funny but I've become more courageous in my style :D In Latvia I loved to make matching outfits, match the colors and styles... but now... oh my! I can wear together almost anything. Because I have grown weary of my 10 t-shirts so for the sake of some difference I wear them together with things I would never wear together in Latvia. I guess I'm influenced by the girls - they always wear ANYTHING together and walk around very confident! So do I :)
I have become more courageous in killing different creatures. I kill cockroaches one after another and I I'll use anything that's there. Recently one was crawling on the kitchen wall and I had a little glass jar in my hands. I didn't think long and hit the beast with the jar. His life fell to pieces and so did my jar :) I'm capable to deal with all kinds of spiders. I can't touch tarantulas but I take care of all the smaller ones... I apologise to all nature lovers but you have to agree with me that there are situations when there little creatures are bothering people, aren't there? For example, if a long legged spider crawls on your bed... To avoid a situation when this spider lays next to you during the night you have to take action ahead of time! I'm not surprised by small lizards at the sink, walls, at my shoes anymore. They seem like my usual 'neighbors'.
So my courage is growing. I'm becoming more 'local' every day! Sometimes I even forget that I've had a different life before.
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