Volunteers would agree that it seems as if there is never a continuous month of normal life without some kind of interruption, which makes planning (and sticking to that plan) even that much harder. Most of the time it is a holiday, anniversary, or other Bolivian festival that interrupts usual plans, but on top of that there are Peace Corps required events, or training sessions, or people coming to my site, etc. To this end I am becoming much more Bolivian in that I say that I will show up to something (and really think I will) but then am unable to communicate that I can’t actually come. Or, I’ll be late because someone invited me to eat at the last minute and you can’t say no to that, or I know that it’s not a big deal to cancel things because it happens all the time. But así es.
My municipality had its anniversary on March 16th and guess who decided to show up? None other than Mr. President Evo Morales himself. Some other volunteers were around because I had invited them to enjoy the party and hinted that we might get a special visit, and we did! It was pretty neat. I think it’s the first President I’ve ever seen in person, and like any other sighting, it was a lot more exciting before than after, kind of just a reminder that he is a real person and that’s about it. He flew into town on his helicopter, arrived with his entourage through the flower-decorated arches, and was welcomed by the National Band who had also arrived that morning. We had project inaugurations, speeches, parading, and then he even played soccer in the afternoon (although I admit we didn’t know about it and missed out). All in all, it was a fun day and we got some good pictures to prove it. (OK, well I did not take this picture, but my friend DID...its a good one)
The new trainees came through my site for a day and a half. Another volunteer and I prepared a GPS scavenger hunt that ended with them hiking up my mountain a bit to see the view, and then in the afternoon we took a look at apple trees and talked about agroforestry and organic pesticides and stuff. I think it went well, but I’m also looking forward to getting back on track with my own work and trying to move forward on the initial stages (still) of new projects I’d like to be successful this year...keeping me focused and persistant...to a certain extent at least.
It is sometimes difficult to teach about environmental themes being me, considering my heart is rooted in the ideas of sustainability and re-use, etc, but then my culture and country has one of the biggest environmental footprints in the world. Who am I to teach about environmental respect when people have successfully lived within and among this land self-sustainably for 1000s of years? Who am I to tell them how to take care of an environment I am a visitor to? Yesterday I was looking at some resources on a CD, but they were suggestions meant for a ‘developed’ country, on how to reduce water flow in faucets and showers, which become irrelevant when running water is a scarce notion.
I went to a teachers meeting in the campo, where they were expecting my arrival and so were attentive and interested. I presented myself, didn’t stumble over my spanish and felt fairly good about my fluency in what I was saying. They took a look at some books I brought and started asking good questions. Up until this point, I’ve only worked with 8th grade and under, however, I was also talking to high school teachers at this meeting. High school? Oh gosh, I thought, this a whole new can of worms, and I was stuck pulling things out of the top of my head to not implement the Bolivian faux pau of never saying no or I can’t do that. So, I might have my work cut out for me trying to implement environmental themes transversally (as their new education reform calls for) into more advanced classrooms. The teachers were motivated at least it seemed and I’m excited about working with them more this year.
In the meeting, a teacher complimented the ‘environmentally conscience culture’ that exists in the U.S. and how it is necessary to cultivate such a culture here, even if it is a long process that takes time. And then immediately another teacher commented on how much the U.S. is a culprit of global contamination. How can I argue to that? I can’t, when I think about the abundance of water used washing cars, and watering lawns, or flushing toilets for that matter, not to mention the natural resources used and contamination caused by the millions of cars, industries, and production/consumption cycle occurring 24-7-365, but I responded cooly that the point is we all, no matter what race we are or where we live, have to take care of our environment. And then I think of the ease that all those little things make of life in the states. ‘The more developed method of doing life.’ But then again, there is something to say for the tranquility of where I live here. Where I can spend an entire week and never enter a moving vehicle, or never sit on the internet using electricity to check email, or for that matter take one shower a week. And all of this only because I choose to, and where I choose to live these things are not available in quantity. And yet a lot of people in the world want to live in the U.S. for its prosperity and apparent ‘happiness’ that it brings. Happiness? Hum, that’s a difficult one. Yes, sometimes my happiness is a consequence of meeting my basic needs, and meeting those needs in a specific fashion is a product of what my culture says is good and better and right. And so therefore I crave those specific ways in which to meet my basic needs: specific foods, a washing machine, a shower, a refrigerator, potable tap water. But, I guess learning to fulfill these needs in a different way, I am finding it almost simpler, even if not necessarily easier. My ease of life just comes in a different form: being able to go to bed early and not have to rush off to work in the morning on a busy highway. But anyways, these are my random thoughts for this week...or two since I last wrote.
Send me things! Let me know how life is back in the states...and happy Easter. Love Tiffany
My municipality had its anniversary on March 16th and guess who decided to show up? None other than Mr. President Evo Morales himself. Some other volunteers were around because I had invited them to enjoy the party and hinted that we might get a special visit, and we did! It was pretty neat. I think it’s the first President I’ve ever seen in person, and like any other sighting, it was a lot more exciting before than after, kind of just a reminder that he is a real person and that’s about it. He flew into town on his helicopter, arrived with his entourage through the flower-decorated arches, and was welcomed by the National Band who had also arrived that morning. We had project inaugurations, speeches, parading, and then he even played soccer in the afternoon (although I admit we didn’t know about it and missed out). All in all, it was a fun day and we got some good pictures to prove it. (OK, well I did not take this picture, but my friend DID...its a good one)
The new trainees came through my site for a day and a half. Another volunteer and I prepared a GPS scavenger hunt that ended with them hiking up my mountain a bit to see the view, and then in the afternoon we took a look at apple trees and talked about agroforestry and organic pesticides and stuff. I think it went well, but I’m also looking forward to getting back on track with my own work and trying to move forward on the initial stages (still) of new projects I’d like to be successful this year...keeping me focused and persistant...to a certain extent at least.
It is sometimes difficult to teach about environmental themes being me, considering my heart is rooted in the ideas of sustainability and re-use, etc, but then my culture and country has one of the biggest environmental footprints in the world. Who am I to teach about environmental respect when people have successfully lived within and among this land self-sustainably for 1000s of years? Who am I to tell them how to take care of an environment I am a visitor to? Yesterday I was looking at some resources on a CD, but they were suggestions meant for a ‘developed’ country, on how to reduce water flow in faucets and showers, which become irrelevant when running water is a scarce notion.
I went to a teachers meeting in the campo, where they were expecting my arrival and so were attentive and interested. I presented myself, didn’t stumble over my spanish and felt fairly good about my fluency in what I was saying. They took a look at some books I brought and started asking good questions. Up until this point, I’ve only worked with 8th grade and under, however, I was also talking to high school teachers at this meeting. High school? Oh gosh, I thought, this a whole new can of worms, and I was stuck pulling things out of the top of my head to not implement the Bolivian faux pau of never saying no or I can’t do that. So, I might have my work cut out for me trying to implement environmental themes transversally (as their new education reform calls for) into more advanced classrooms. The teachers were motivated at least it seemed and I’m excited about working with them more this year.
In the meeting, a teacher complimented the ‘environmentally conscience culture’ that exists in the U.S. and how it is necessary to cultivate such a culture here, even if it is a long process that takes time. And then immediately another teacher commented on how much the U.S. is a culprit of global contamination. How can I argue to that? I can’t, when I think about the abundance of water used washing cars, and watering lawns, or flushing toilets for that matter, not to mention the natural resources used and contamination caused by the millions of cars, industries, and production/consumption cycle occurring 24-7-365, but I responded cooly that the point is we all, no matter what race we are or where we live, have to take care of our environment. And then I think of the ease that all those little things make of life in the states. ‘The more developed method of doing life.’ But then again, there is something to say for the tranquility of where I live here. Where I can spend an entire week and never enter a moving vehicle, or never sit on the internet using electricity to check email, or for that matter take one shower a week. And all of this only because I choose to, and where I choose to live these things are not available in quantity. And yet a lot of people in the world want to live in the U.S. for its prosperity and apparent ‘happiness’ that it brings. Happiness? Hum, that’s a difficult one. Yes, sometimes my happiness is a consequence of meeting my basic needs, and meeting those needs in a specific fashion is a product of what my culture says is good and better and right. And so therefore I crave those specific ways in which to meet my basic needs: specific foods, a washing machine, a shower, a refrigerator, potable tap water. But, I guess learning to fulfill these needs in a different way, I am finding it almost simpler, even if not necessarily easier. My ease of life just comes in a different form: being able to go to bed early and not have to rush off to work in the morning on a busy highway. But anyways, these are my random thoughts for this week...or two since I last wrote.
Send me things! Let me know how life is back in the states...and happy Easter. Love Tiffany
2 comments:
that was a beautiful entry. thank you. jess
the president looks like a nice man.
Post a Comment