EWBbolivia

Breakfast here starts at 7:30 AM, but because it’s Sunday, breakfast isn’t really served. We did, however, get hot chocolate. Still quite hungry we snacked on almonds from our snack bag and dreamed of food until it was lunch time. Later in the morning, Zolio, one of the professors, gave us a tour of the school with the students. They have three greenhouses, a guinea pig house (without guinea pigs), a small duck pen (without ducks), a chicken coop (without chickens) and ltons of little agricultural pockets of land wedged into the VERY steep slope. After our tour, we had an introduction and Q&A with the students. They seem really energetic and weren’t shy to ask us questions. They wanted to know about our culture, what kind of animals/crops we had, and how to say some English words. So in turn, we asked if they could teach us a few Quechua words (their indigenous language that remains from the Pre-Incan period…very different from Spanish). After the intro/Q&A, we went to work with our project. The students even joined and helped us! We actually got a lot of work done! Lunch starts at 12:15 PM, so we (including the students and professors) went to eat lunch. It’s kind of funny and cute how the students take turns peeking at us while they eat. The meals here are pretty substantial. It’s one of my favorite parts of the day. The students usually leave for the weekend, so they left after lunch. After meals, we have a time called “siesta” where we rest before working again. Second favorite part of the day. After a great nap, we went back to work. Again, we got a lot done! Hurray! We couldn’t really do much without the other group, so we hung around the school for the rest of the day waiting for them. This is when time really slowed down! It literally felt like we’ve been here for a week, but really it’s been less than 24 hours! We played soccer with one of the professors, but we couldn’t really play super competitively because of the altitude. The second group finally arrived at around 9:30 PM! It was a sweet reunion. It seemed like we haven’t seen them in weeks! We all caught up and called it a night. Overall, the project is progressing according to plan and we’re on schedule!

Side note: Wes says hello to his family! Christina says she’s alive! Alec says HI! Paul says “Hi Mom, hi Dad!...and my sisters too.” Laura says Hi to Mom, Dad, Bobbie Ann, and Sergio.