Thanksgiving

Saturday Nov. 10, 2012

                Ok guys, I have a confession, I have gotten behind on some of my blogging. I have wanted to write a couple of things down for you but I have been busy and have procrastinated. So, for the past few days I have been traveling all over Bolivia working on getting everything cleared for me to surprise my mom. My dad and I have been scheming for several weeks now trying to work everything out for me to be with them for thanksgiving. One of the big reasons we wanted to make this happen was because both my brothers and their wives were able to clear their schedules for Thanksgiving. So as far as my mom knows, everyone will be together except for me. Little does she know.

                Anyway, working all this out has been very confusing and challenging. For one, my passport is in Santa Cruz because they are working on my year long visa, and second, the "most reliable airline" in Bolivia is Amaszonas, however, they have been cancleing all kinds of flights because all but 1 of their planes are out of commission. They are having to rent planes from another airline. However, the other airline is not happy with the arrangment and is talking about boycotting the agreement. It is a completely messy and scary situation. So I have had to reschedule flights like crazy and get in touch with people I have never met in Santa Cruz to pick up my passport.

                Fortunately, our flight from Rurre to La Paz flew out that day (although delayed by 4 hours). This was a hard time for Erin because she is leaving Bolivia for good. We were able to work it out so we could fly out together. Once we landed in La Paz, Erin caught a taxi to a guy's house named Dr. Willy Patty (again, a man we have never met). While she did that, I got onto another flight 2 hours later to Santa Cruz. During that 2 hour wait, I looked up online "the cheapest hostel in Santa Cruz" so I could make a reservation.  On the flight, I met this man who spoke 8 different languages. He was from a country near Germany I believe, but has lived in Santa Cruz working for his government giving aid to the Bolivians. We talked about a lot of different things including the unfortunate outcome of the recent elections, and religion. He is not a religious man and does not believe in God, but I was able to talk to Him about how I was a missionary, so that was nice. On the plane, something really weird happened. It almost felt like a vein in my forehead just suddenly popped! It hurt so bad and I had to tell him to stop talking because I was in so much pain. It was kinda funny though to hear his reaction. He was extremely worried and sort of panicked for me. But the pain subsided and I was fine.

                Once I landed in Santa Cruz, I caught a taxi to my cheap hostel. The room actually wasn't too bad. It had a fan and wifi internet. Pillows were like sleeping with a slab of asphault, but it was a bed. That evening before I went to bed, Victor (the man with my passport) called me and wanted to drop it off to me that night which was perfect with me because this whole trip revolves around me getting my passport. My flight the next day back to La Paz was not until 2:20, so I woke up at 8 and was going to try and find a market to buy some gifts and other things. The market I found put all others to shame. It was massive! It was like a whole other city of made of tarps and carts with everything you can imagine on them. It was like a maze walking around. It's a good thing I love exploring because I literally got lost inside this market and was sure how to get out. So I just kept walking and finally found the main street again.

                I then went back to the hostel (which the fact that I could find it again was a miracle) to wait for a taxi. While I was waiting, I got to talking with the guy at the front desk for probably 30 minutes. Turns out he is very familiar with Adventists and all of our beliefs. He is not an Adventist himself, but his sister is. So it was very interesting talking with him.

                Then I went back to the airport to catch another flight back to La Paz. Once I landed in La Paz, I caught a taxi to where Dr. Willy's house was. I started talking to my taxi cab driver and at one point I mentioned that I was a missionary here for 9 months. He then immediately asked, "Oh, are you an Adventist?" So I guess that means Adventists are doing a pretty good job down here in Bolivia. I got to the house were only Erin and the maid were. The parents were still at work. Erin and I were both very hungry for dinner though so I took her to a Thai restaurant that was about a 20 minute walk away (remember, I have become pretty familiar with La Paz and know where a lot of things are because of how much time Eric and I spent here earlier).

                The next morning was Sabbath. I was excited because I was going to see a friend that I had made here earlier in La Paz, Alfonzo.  This morning was the first time I got to actually meet the Patty's. They are extremely nice and generous people. They had a wonderful breakfast made for us and even when I was full, Dr. Willy asked if I wanted more, then when i told him that I was full, he just shook his head and said "No, you need more". Once we were ready to leave for church, Erin, who was wearing a nice skirt, a nice North Face jacket, and sandals was stopped my Lidia (Mrs. Patty). She asked Erin if she had shoes for church, and when Erin said she didn't, Lidia proceeded to get Erin some heels and a new top of some sort. We then were off to church in the family car. One thing I like so much better about Bolivia is that at church, it actually looks like they are at church. Almost every man is dressed in a suit and tie, and every woman is in a dress or something else that is appropriate for church. The other thing that I like better, is that every is so nice and welcomes you. Young, Old, and all in between, want to welcome you and know about you and generally care what you have to say.

                After church we headed back to the house where I had my first test of willingness at their house. For lunch, they cooked some rice, mashed potatoes, and a bunch of meat. Shortly before we were about to eat, Lidia asked if I ate meat and I said meekly that I didn't. Then she went into a little bit of a panic because she wanted to make sure I had good food to eat. So she made me 3 fried eggs, and a fresh salad which was mostly carrots with a big slab of cheese on it, and I could also eat the rice and potatoes. This wouldn't sound to bad, but here in Bolivia I have tried to cut out cheese and Eggs because of the high risk of Salmonella. We are pretty sure that is how Eric got Salmonella from eating eggs. However, I really like eggs, so that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was the BIG salad she made me which was loaded up with carrots (which my mouth thinks is poison), a massive chunk of cheese, and no dressing because Bolivians do not use dressing. But I was able to mix the carrots into my potatoes and eat most of the salad dry. They did offer me however some olive oil which I knew was a sacrifice. Olive oil in Bolivia is a very expensive thing because all of it has to be imported. I used a little but didn't want to be a typical American fatty and load it up.

                After lunch, we took some pictures and then took a glorious nap. Oh, and by the way, ever since I got to La Paz, my thighs and hamstrings have been so achy. They have been hurting all day long. It's not just when I stand, but when I sit too. It's completely weird. But anyway, Erin woke me up around 6:30 and said that we were going to an afternoon church service. So I quickly got dressed and we headed out. The 3 girls, Lidia, Erin, and Ebony (another young missionary staying here for a few days) went to another church while Dr. Patty, me, and his 2 sons John and Sergio, went to another church. Once we got to our church, Dr. Patty had to leave to a meeting, so I wasn't exactly sure what to do. But one man in the church saw me and asked if I would talk with his daughter. I wasn't exactly sure why he was wanting me to talk to her but sure, why not. So turns out his daughter was like 15 and he wanted her to practice English with me. So I talked to her in Spanish while she talked to me in English. So that was good practice for both of us. We talked for about an hour until she had to leave and then I just sat out on the porch of the church for about an hour and a half waiting for Dr. P to be done.
                Afterwards it was about 9:30 and I figured that we would just go back to the house. But nope, we went off to the mall and met the girls at an arcade. Then we ate and had some ice cream before we left around 11:30.

                Sunday was sort of a dead day. We literally just laid around the house not doing a single thing. It was quite the wonderful experience to do nothing and relax! But later that afternoon we tried to go to the market and find some gifts for friends and family. But unfortunately everything was closed because of the Strong catholic presence here and it being Sunday.

                Monday, we woke up super early and tried to hit the market. We have heard that that is the best time to go. So we left the house around 7:30 and went to the market, but it actually wasn't as good as we were hoping. But we were able to walk around long enough and find what we needed to before we left.

                Again, I'm sorry I don't have more details, I keep procrastinating on my blog and by the time I start blogging, I have forgotten all the funny and interesting stuff that has happened.

                Wednesday morning, Erin headed out. So I woke up at 6:30 to say by to her. Afterwards, I walked to Dr. Patty's office to shadow him for awhile. I thought he was just a general dentist so I figured that I would not need to stay long. But he is actually an oral surgeon and does all sorts of implants and extractions. It was very interesting to watch. But I have to say, Bolivians are kind of gross, at least by American standards. For example, dentists do not wear gloves. They just work in someones mouth unprotected, which is gross in itself, but then they work on the next patient without washing their hands. They also use the same tools without cleaning them (unless blood gets on them) they just don't care and it doesn't bother them. The patients also all share the same rinsing cup without it being changed or cleaned. So that was quite interesting to watch. I almost wanted to say something, but thats just me being a gringo and not being used to this culture.

                Later that evening, Dr. P asked me to go to his sons' concert and video tape the whole thing. I gladly said yes, especially because I thought that the program was only going to be an hour or so. Turns out, we had to be there at 5, when the program started at 7:30 to help set up. So that was a little bit of a bummer but no big deal. But then I found out that his kids arn't even in the program, they are just stagehands. Good news is, the first half of the program was very interesting. It was a bunch of cultural dances and costumes and fun stuff like that. But the second half was nearly unbearable. It was little kids singing.......nope, nope, can't say singing, so I shall say shouting bloody murder. It was cute, but I felt like my ears were bleeding. Then, finally, 3 hours later, the program was over. So I had sat in that auditorium seat for 5 and a half hours and it was now 11:15 on a school night! But oh well, you only live once right?
                Thursday, my big travel day. I was up at 5:15 so I could pack my bags and get ready to leave by 6:30. My flight leaves La Paz at 10, and the airport is only 30 minutes away, but I did not want to take any chances. Especially with Bolivian travel, where nothing is reliable. Fortunately, Dr. P told me that I could catch a bus for 3.5 B's instead of a taxi for 60 B's. Thats a big difference. And it's a very good thing I did too because once I got to the airport, they had 3 taxes that they imposed on me which ended up being over 500 B's. I BARELY had enoug money to cover it. So now I currently have $15 to my name and nothing more. I now sit here in Lima Peru waiting for my final flight to Miami. So excited!

                After landing in Miami Fl, I stayed in a hotel, then woke up the next day to catch a shuttle to West Palm Beach airport where I waited for my dad for a couple hours for his flight to arrive. Once he got there, we said our hello’s and then came the fun part. My mom was to come to the airport planning only to pick my dad up. However she has no idea that I will be there too. So my dad and I went outside but I waited a little farther up the road and pretended to be a hitchhiker. So I was obviously looking a little sketchy with a beard, and some pretty raggy clothes and a hoody. So my mom showed up and picked up my dad, my dad then got into the drivers seat and started to drive away. But then he saw this “hitchhiker” and told my mom that he had met me on the plane and that I was a nice guy. So he started to pull over to ask where I was going. This was obviously a little nerve racking to my mom but she decided to trust my dad in picking up this homeless looking man. When the car pulled up, I turned around and my mom looked directly at me and was completely blown away! She had no clue that I was going to be there. She could not stop touching her face and saying “Oh my goodness!” It could not have worked out more perfectly!

 

                From there, we went back to the condo, and vacation began. I have taken a complete break from blogging this week but I will give you the highlights of what happened.

-          Friday: my dad and I arrived

-          Saturday: Robert and Shellie arrived

-          Sunday: Ryan and Liz arrived

-          Monday: Kristen Long (my girlfriend) arrived and my brothers, my dad, and I played 18 holes.

-          Tuesday: All 8 of us went to a par 3 course and had 2 foursomes.

-          Wednesday: shopped for a few things for Bolivia, beach day

-          Thursday: Thanksgiving!! Had AMAZING food! And baked bread for everyone.

-          Friday: relaxed by the pool and began to pack up

-          Saturday: left back for Bolivia

This vacation has been absolutely amazing! I love being with my family and girlfriend. I have been able to rest, catch up, and most importantly, eat amazing food! Drinks with ice, air conditioning, showers…..wowie! It has been absolutely wonderful! It will definitely be hard to go back, but where the Lord leads, I go. Sometimes hard, sometimes easy. Unfortunately, this is one of those times where it is hard. I will hopefully be back to my normal day of posting blogs (Mondays). Sorry for the lapse in updates.

You Stay Civilized…….Planet Earth!