Ola!
Today's break in your regularly scheduled program is brought to you by Katie Horton. Yes, that's right, Matt Shannon and I have arrived and taken over Rachael's life. This includes forcing her to teach us her excellent grasp of the spanish language, consuming her delectable baked goods, and tying her up in a corner so we can take over her blog. Juuuust kidding. She's sitting in her room. Promise.
But yes, we have officially been in La Paz for over 24 hours and Matt and I are pretty much locals already. Yeah, no bigs. Matt seems to have made it his goal to learn as much spanish as he possibly can and I'm assuming by the end of the week will be fluent. Or at least will have his phrase book memorized. The altitude hasn't been affecting us too much...it may or may not have affectd Matt more than me....and I was feeling prideful about this fact until I woke up this morning with a headache and had to suck back some oxygen myself. So far no stomach bugs and hopefully it'll stay that way! The Vargas household has welcomed their 2 newest house guests with open arms and we already feel at home. Since Rachael likes to do lists I figured I would do one too.
Things I Love About Bolivia Already:
1. riding the minibuses in the crazy traffic! reminds me fondly of uzbekistan.
2. the geography of La Paz. its an incredible city to look at and i'm sure i'm going to take WAY too many pictures
3. coca tea! sweet nectar of the foreigner.
4. the little bolivian ladies sitting in their traditional dress at their roadside stands
5. the vargas house. its so cute and comfy and relaxing!
6. Rachael!!!!!!!!
I'm sure this list will get longer. We haven't even been to any markets yet!! But today we are going to venture out to the artisan market. Oh the excitement! Well, I think that's about all I got for now. So far the 3 of us has have probably laughed 3 years off of our lives, and we've only been here a day. If Matt's spanish accent is any indication of the things to come than let me tell you, we are going to be YEARS younger.
Adios!
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Top Ten Reasons Why I Am Filled With Happiness
10. It may seem shallow, but I got to drink rootbeer today! Sometimes one of the local supermarkets brings it in for a limited time, and Carlos bought some, and it was soooooo gooooooood!
9. Three times in the last week, I have been walking along the streets downtown and randomly run into someone I know. What are the chances? I guess I really live here!
8. After much struggle and despair, I am finally getting the hang of F major on the guitar.
7. I get to have a girls' sleepover tomorrow night!
6. My current side project is that I'm re-doing the songbooks for our worship team. They are currently a dilapidated and torn set of sheets that reside in two broken-down, too-small binders...but by Thursday, they are going to be three large,colour-coded, sleek, gleaming, white, pristine, new binders. I LOVE organizing and refurbishing!
5. I was downtown photocopying the songsheets, and I was getting it done at a place I went to once before. The lady remembered me because the last time I was there, the copy job was rather long, so I had taken a seat and chatted with her for a while. She remembered I was from Canada, that I'm a missionary, that I teach an English class...it was so cool to make a connection like that. She introduced me to her husband today, and they were both asking me about what I like about Bolivia, and they said to come back and say goodbye to them before I leave the country. Awwwwwwwww!
4. I am loving worship practices more and more. They are Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and so much fun!
3. I was introduced to two new girls today, friends of a friend, and we chatted for a few minutes, and then one of them remarked (with great sincerity) that she was very impressed with my Spanish, especially my ACCENT! She went on and on about how good it was! Take that, Alex and Nathan!
2. Katie and Matt arrive in two days.
1. Shirley is home.
Love to all,
Rachael
9. Three times in the last week, I have been walking along the streets downtown and randomly run into someone I know. What are the chances? I guess I really live here!
8. After much struggle and despair, I am finally getting the hang of F major on the guitar.
7. I get to have a girls' sleepover tomorrow night!
6. My current side project is that I'm re-doing the songbooks for our worship team. They are currently a dilapidated and torn set of sheets that reside in two broken-down, too-small binders...but by Thursday, they are going to be three large,colour-coded, sleek, gleaming, white, pristine, new binders. I LOVE organizing and refurbishing!
5. I was downtown photocopying the songsheets, and I was getting it done at a place I went to once before. The lady remembered me because the last time I was there, the copy job was rather long, so I had taken a seat and chatted with her for a while. She remembered I was from Canada, that I'm a missionary, that I teach an English class...it was so cool to make a connection like that. She introduced me to her husband today, and they were both asking me about what I like about Bolivia, and they said to come back and say goodbye to them before I leave the country. Awwwwwwwww!
4. I am loving worship practices more and more. They are Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and so much fun!
3. I was introduced to two new girls today, friends of a friend, and we chatted for a few minutes, and then one of them remarked (with great sincerity) that she was very impressed with my Spanish, especially my ACCENT! She went on and on about how good it was! Take that, Alex and Nathan!
2. Katie and Matt arrive in two days.
1. Shirley is home.
Love to all,
Rachael
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Update
Hey Everyone!
So, the transit strike is over, thank goodness, although not before it prevented Carlos' mom from coming to La Paz to welcome Shirley home. So inconvenient. Apparently, the government won, they are not going to change the law.
Yes, yes, yes, Shirley is home again!! A delegation of us went up to the airport at 6:30 am to get her, complete with flowers and a reception of music (our good friend Mario serenaded as Shirley walked out of the gate).
As for my police check to verify where I live: well, therein lies the tale! I had to report to the police officer's office at noon on Friday. Being a good Canadian, I was there 15 minutes early, and stood waiting patiently as he finished up some things. I was dressed to impress, wearing my good black fancy shoes that I hate, and some rather dressier clothing than usual. Carlos says it sometimes helps the process along if you dress professionally. If you can believe it, I even wore mascara! So anyways, I stood there waiting, with my patient smile, reading a book (Little Lord Fauntleroy - if you haven't read it, DO SO!!). Eventually my officer seemed ready to go - we were going to head out to the street and get a taxi to take us up here to Llojeta, where my witnesses were assembled.
And then, just as everything was going well, another fellow showed up for HIS house check! Apparently, the officer had been double booked. It seems that every lunch hour, he has to go do these domiciliario checks, and sometimes he forgets that he has already booked one, and books another. I could tell he was wanting to get mine done, seeing as I've been a model of patience through this whole process. But the other fellow was very, very insistent. Finally, the officer proposed a plan: all three of us get in a taxi, go check this man's house, and then the officer and I would make our way up to Llojeta afterwards. Creative, yes. It would throw my time schedule off, but I figured it would still work, so I sweetly acquiesced and we headed out to the street.
On the way to finding a taxi, the second fellow seemed a bit unsure whether his witnesses would be present on time or not. The police officer appeared annoyed. The second fellow ducked into a call center to call his witnesses to make sure that they'd be there, sensing correctly that the police officer was inches away from telling him, "you know what, how about we do yours another day?" While he was calling, the officer started chatting to me about how long I'd been in Bolivia, if I liked it, what I was doing here. You could see the wheels starting to go around in his head when I told him I was a missionary. He looked at me speculatively, and after a pause he said, "you know what? I trust you. How about you just go get your witnesses to sign these papers, and bring them back this afternoon?" I was more than happy to oblige. He hadn't even asked for a bribe! So he showed me where to get the papers signed, and he and the other fellow climbed into a taxi and drove off into the afternoon.
I went home, got the papers signed, went back downtown, found the officer again, handed over the papers, and it's all done! I just need to go back on Wednesday to pick it up. Praise the Lord!
Sorry for the overly long story, but I just thought it was hysterical! And I hope to bake the good man some cookies and take them back next Wednesday.
Love to all,
Rachael
So, the transit strike is over, thank goodness, although not before it prevented Carlos' mom from coming to La Paz to welcome Shirley home. So inconvenient. Apparently, the government won, they are not going to change the law.
Yes, yes, yes, Shirley is home again!! A delegation of us went up to the airport at 6:30 am to get her, complete with flowers and a reception of music (our good friend Mario serenaded as Shirley walked out of the gate).
As for my police check to verify where I live: well, therein lies the tale! I had to report to the police officer's office at noon on Friday. Being a good Canadian, I was there 15 minutes early, and stood waiting patiently as he finished up some things. I was dressed to impress, wearing my good black fancy shoes that I hate, and some rather dressier clothing than usual. Carlos says it sometimes helps the process along if you dress professionally. If you can believe it, I even wore mascara! So anyways, I stood there waiting, with my patient smile, reading a book (Little Lord Fauntleroy - if you haven't read it, DO SO!!). Eventually my officer seemed ready to go - we were going to head out to the street and get a taxi to take us up here to Llojeta, where my witnesses were assembled.
And then, just as everything was going well, another fellow showed up for HIS house check! Apparently, the officer had been double booked. It seems that every lunch hour, he has to go do these domiciliario checks, and sometimes he forgets that he has already booked one, and books another. I could tell he was wanting to get mine done, seeing as I've been a model of patience through this whole process. But the other fellow was very, very insistent. Finally, the officer proposed a plan: all three of us get in a taxi, go check this man's house, and then the officer and I would make our way up to Llojeta afterwards. Creative, yes. It would throw my time schedule off, but I figured it would still work, so I sweetly acquiesced and we headed out to the street.
On the way to finding a taxi, the second fellow seemed a bit unsure whether his witnesses would be present on time or not. The police officer appeared annoyed. The second fellow ducked into a call center to call his witnesses to make sure that they'd be there, sensing correctly that the police officer was inches away from telling him, "you know what, how about we do yours another day?" While he was calling, the officer started chatting to me about how long I'd been in Bolivia, if I liked it, what I was doing here. You could see the wheels starting to go around in his head when I told him I was a missionary. He looked at me speculatively, and after a pause he said, "you know what? I trust you. How about you just go get your witnesses to sign these papers, and bring them back this afternoon?" I was more than happy to oblige. He hadn't even asked for a bribe! So he showed me where to get the papers signed, and he and the other fellow climbed into a taxi and drove off into the afternoon.
I went home, got the papers signed, went back downtown, found the officer again, handed over the papers, and it's all done! I just need to go back on Wednesday to pick it up. Praise the Lord!
Sorry for the overly long story, but I just thought it was hysterical! And I hope to bake the good man some cookies and take them back next Wednesday.
Love to all,
Rachael
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Bus Strike
Dear Friends and Family,
So, happy March to all of you! I usually have a dim view of the month of March, but this year it is my favourite! Shirley comes home in TWO DAYS, praise the Lord, and Matt and Katie arrive a week later. It's going to be a humdinger of a month!
Today, in the whole country of Bolivia, there is a transit strike. No public buses in cities, or between cities. Things are at a standstill. No school for Jeremy. No tutoring for me. No traveling. The reason: the bus driver unions are upset. There is a new law that was just put into effect, stating that if a driver has any level of alcohol in their blood, there are much more severe consequences than there used to be. Also, the unions are made more responsible for such behavior, and everyone in the union is punished as well. (Or something like that. The finer details sort of escape me).
So, there were rumours of a strike going around last night, and Jeremy was elated because it meant a temporary reprieve from his homework. We got the call from the school around 10:00 pm, so in consequence we all went to bed rather late and got up late, too.
It was supposed to be just a 2-day strike, but after listening to the news, it sounds like it might be indefinite until the striker's issues are dealt with. This is very unfortunate. Prayer would be appreciated.
In other news, I was at the Police station for hours yesterday, waiting in line and getting gratuitously inked for fingerprinting and talking to various people in various capacities. Long, long, long story short: on Friday a policeman will come to our home to make sure I really live here. And then, finally, I can go to Immigration and get my carnet renewed, and all this bureaucratic nightmare will be a thing of the past.
Love to everyone,
Rachael
So, happy March to all of you! I usually have a dim view of the month of March, but this year it is my favourite! Shirley comes home in TWO DAYS, praise the Lord, and Matt and Katie arrive a week later. It's going to be a humdinger of a month!
Today, in the whole country of Bolivia, there is a transit strike. No public buses in cities, or between cities. Things are at a standstill. No school for Jeremy. No tutoring for me. No traveling. The reason: the bus driver unions are upset. There is a new law that was just put into effect, stating that if a driver has any level of alcohol in their blood, there are much more severe consequences than there used to be. Also, the unions are made more responsible for such behavior, and everyone in the union is punished as well. (Or something like that. The finer details sort of escape me).
So, there were rumours of a strike going around last night, and Jeremy was elated because it meant a temporary reprieve from his homework. We got the call from the school around 10:00 pm, so in consequence we all went to bed rather late and got up late, too.
It was supposed to be just a 2-day strike, but after listening to the news, it sounds like it might be indefinite until the striker's issues are dealt with. This is very unfortunate. Prayer would be appreciated.
In other news, I was at the Police station for hours yesterday, waiting in line and getting gratuitously inked for fingerprinting and talking to various people in various capacities. Long, long, long story short: on Friday a policeman will come to our home to make sure I really live here. And then, finally, I can go to Immigration and get my carnet renewed, and all this bureaucratic nightmare will be a thing of the past.
Love to everyone,
Rachael
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The Prayers of the Saints
Dear Friends and Family,
I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for my health these last few days, I really appreciate it so much! The latest in my series of medical misadventures is that I have apparently picked up quite a nasty stomach infection. Coming as it did on top of a bad cold, infected tonsils, and a bout of altitude sickness, it really did seem like the final straw, and much of Friday was spent in wishing that someone would just put me out of my misery. However, late Friday night Carlos took me to the doctors, who got me on some different antibiotics and whatnot, and sooner than was probable, things started to turn around. I really attribute this to all the prayers being said for me, so thank you!
In an effort to keep a cheerful outlook, I was meditating on all the things that I can be grateful for about this latest sickness:
-that Carlos has good friends who are doctors
-that the doctors kept their clinic open late to treat me
-that I didn't end up needing an IV, thanks to prompt treatment
-that the worst of my symptoms stopped unexpectedly on Friday night
-that I can afford medical care
-that I live in an age when we have effective medicines, and therefore shall not die from a stomach infection
-that Carlos takes such good care of me
-that nasty medicines now come in fruit flavours, to increase palatability!
So, on the whole, God is so very, very good. It's so funny - when I hear about other missionaries getting sick far away from their homes, I always think to myself, "I could never endure that, I just couldn't!!" But then it happens to me, and somehow God gives me the grace to get through it.
Prayer Request: TOTAL and COMPLETE healing! Once my antibiotics are finished for this stomach thing, I'll still need to get treatment for my tonsils...and I want to be in tip-top shape for when Matt and Katie come down to visit me!!!
Thank you all so much for your support and prayers,
Love,
Rachael
I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for my health these last few days, I really appreciate it so much! The latest in my series of medical misadventures is that I have apparently picked up quite a nasty stomach infection. Coming as it did on top of a bad cold, infected tonsils, and a bout of altitude sickness, it really did seem like the final straw, and much of Friday was spent in wishing that someone would just put me out of my misery. However, late Friday night Carlos took me to the doctors, who got me on some different antibiotics and whatnot, and sooner than was probable, things started to turn around. I really attribute this to all the prayers being said for me, so thank you!
In an effort to keep a cheerful outlook, I was meditating on all the things that I can be grateful for about this latest sickness:
-that Carlos has good friends who are doctors
-that the doctors kept their clinic open late to treat me
-that I didn't end up needing an IV, thanks to prompt treatment
-that the worst of my symptoms stopped unexpectedly on Friday night
-that I can afford medical care
-that I live in an age when we have effective medicines, and therefore shall not die from a stomach infection
-that Carlos takes such good care of me
-that nasty medicines now come in fruit flavours, to increase palatability!
So, on the whole, God is so very, very good. It's so funny - when I hear about other missionaries getting sick far away from their homes, I always think to myself, "I could never endure that, I just couldn't!!" But then it happens to me, and somehow God gives me the grace to get through it.
Prayer Request: TOTAL and COMPLETE healing! Once my antibiotics are finished for this stomach thing, I'll still need to get treatment for my tonsils...and I want to be in tip-top shape for when Matt and Katie come down to visit me!!!
Thank you all so much for your support and prayers,
Love,
Rachael
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Weekend in Chile
Dear Everyone,
So, this Monday and Tuesday were Carnaval down here, and in order to avoid getting a severe wetting from the water-balloon-wielding male population of La Paz, I went to Chile with some friends! We went to the coast town of Arica, and seven of us stayed in a little condo by the beach.
Highlights of the weekend: lying on the beach reading a book; eating gelato under a palm tree on an extremely sunny and hot afternoon; seeing a McDonald's again; and lying under the stars at night, listening to the waves coming crashing into the sand.
On Valentine's Day, which to our surprise they do actually celebrate in Chile, all seven of us got dressed up and went into the town to find someplace festive to eat. We were having no luck, but then a sidewalk recruiter told us to follow him, and we went down a side street and found ourselves in the cutest little restaurant, all decorated up for the holiday! We had such a good time, and took more photos than was strictly necessary.
That's about all for now; more about Chile in my next blog!
Love, Rachael
PS - Prayer Request: Although I felt a lot better, health-wise, in gorgeous sea-level Arica, now that I'm back home I'm suffering from altitude sickness. Plus, my cold still will not go away. If you could pray for my health, that would be so wonderful.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Recently...
Hello friends and family!
Recently, I have been doing more paperwork, trying to get that carnet done. However, hopes were dashed yesterday morning, when we learned that to get two major requirements done, my InterPol police check is needed. Said police check will take longer than two weeks. When it is finally handed over, then I can start my other two requirements. Long story short, I am totally busted and will no doubt be fined, because I´ll be at least two or three weeks late with my carnet. Nothing to be done about it, however, except wait!
Recently, I am in the throes of the Head Cold That Wouldn´t Die. It´s been eight days now, and I´ve just passed into the stage of not being able to breathe and eat at the same time, due to major sinus congestion. It´s a blast - every mealtime becomes a fun-filled game of "do I chew with my mouth open, to keep on breathing, or try to be polite and therefore pass out?" Also, certain friends will be pleased to note that I am forced to drink tea for my poor throat.
Recently, Celina and Janelle and I have booked our hotel at a beachside town in Chile! We are going to spend the weekend of Carnaval (coming up soon) in Chile, on the beach, reading and relaxing. We tried this formula out in Copacabana, and it was wonderful. And it is so cheap to travel down here!!
And, recently, I am becoming so so so SO excited about my friend Matt coming down to visit!!! He's coming in March, to stay for at least a couple weeks, and I have no doubt at all that it will be a wonderful time. I think my two main occupations while he is here will be baking and laughing.
Love to all,
Rachael
PS - these are pictures of the goodbye party for Ed, our one-month missionary, who has now returned to the UK.
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