Today I participated in the festival "52 años Tiquipaya" with INFANTE and about a hundred other grassroot organizations. I have to say, it is true what I heard: If we had not shown up for the "desfile" to walk in line with all the others, everyone would have had to pay a fine of 25$. Of course, I didnt bring anything for official occasions to Bolivia- I didnt think I'd ever need a suit over here. So I had to build something from scratch after yesterday's workday, and boy did I get lucky- the only store that was still open at that hour still had ONE pair of black pants in my size!!
Here are a couple pictures of the desfile.
Me before the desfile. Needless to say, my feet were killing me afterwards!!
This is our group from INFANTE. The lady with the red umbrella is the center coordinator and my supervisor, Maria del Carmen. The lady to the left of the kid is my best friend in the center, Soledad. Sadly I cant remember all the other names :(
Here I am standing in line, right before we entered the main plaza. The sun was burning hot, and I look like a fried baby right now. (Someone will probably smile right here.. yes, you know who you are ;) ) Oh, and today I learned that it is very normal for Bolivian people to sit in the trunk of taxis if there is no more space on the back or front seats. Every day something new..
Sunday we're gonna do a workshop and an outdoor activity for the families coming to our center. We're gonna go to a public bath, do some therapeutical games, play with the kids, fun stuffz. I will be going as well, and I am quite looking forward to it. On another note, there is a kid from the center, who is really giving me headaches.. little Mateo, who is one of the most difficult kids in the center. Yesterday all the kids went to their schools and got candies from their teachers, because it was Student's day, but Mateo couldnt go because his family wouldnt give him anything to bring and share, and the teacher wouldnt give him any candy if he didnt have anything to share with the other kids. All the other kids in the center are pretty ugly to him, and he is always the first one to be blamed for everything that goes wrong- sadly, mostly with reason. He also told me today that his teacher in school is beating him, something that is still very normal in Bolivia. It literally kills me inside, because he is only 6 years old. I hope I can contribute to making him a happier and healthier kid while I am here, and to help make the teachers rethink their pedagogy.
Ohjee, das liest sich aber sehr traurig und wenn man überlegt, dass es zigtausender solcher Schicksale gibt, da möchte man ja schier verzweifeln..... Ich bin sicher, Du versuchst so gut es geht zu helfen. In dem Umzug machst Du übrigens eine gute Figur, aber du bist sooo dünn?? Isst Du nix? Ein wunder, dass die wirklich ne Hose für Dich hatten :-)
ReplyDeleteBussiii Maam