Our First Week in Bolivia

We had an eventful week in Cochabamba that ended with our newest granddaughter coming home from the hospital.

We arrived in Cochabamba on January 30th about 2 PM, right on time. On our trip last year both Diane and I experienced altitude sickness in La Paz which is over 13,000 ft elevation just sitting on the plane. This time we didn't get sick so that was a plus. Last year they were also having riots in Cochabamba and three people were killed the day before we arrived. This time everything was peaceful. So a good start to our trip.

Diane and I were tired after traveling for about 24 hours but we unpacked all the gifts and goodies that we had brought. We loved being with Michaela and Eliana and seeing how they have grown and changed over the past year. Of course we were all anticipating the birth of Jana and we thought she would already be here before we arrived but we had a week to wait.

The next day we went out to lunch at very nice restaurant. However, I ate some local salsa and that night was sick and laid up the next day, Thursday. On Friday we went to town to buy some postcards and stamps and Diane had her wallet stolen out of her purse. She didn't have a lot of money in it, just her debit card and drivers license. Her biggest regret was losing the pictures she carries. Because she lost her money I got to go to the post office and buy stamps. For those of you who gripe about our postal system in the US, get over it! We have the best, most efficient postal system in the world and if you think otherwise come to Cochabamba and buy stamps. There is a certain entertainment value in the experience if you have the time and the patience. The next day Diane accidentally plugged her curling iron into a 220v outlet and melted the curling iron. Oh, well.

This is also the season of Carnival, the celebration coming up to Lent, and so there is a lot of activity including lots of firecrackers and the like. The custom here is to soak each other with water balloons or buckets of water. People stand on the side of the road with water balloons, buckets, and super soaker water guns. The favorite places to wait are the speed bumps, of which there are many in Cochabamba, and toss water balloons into the car. Women are especially targets of choice for some reason but no one is safe from getting wet. Monday, on the way to the hospital to visit Julie and Jana, our car was hit several times with water balloons and one bucket of water. Josh drives with the windows up and the AC on so we didn't get wet. This is not just kids who do this either. I saw mature women and men down to little children all getting in on the fun.

Sunday I preached and that was enjoyable. It was great to see how the church had grown and matured in the last year. Sunday night we watched the Super Bowl. The commentary was in Spanish but the game was the same one you saw. We had to get on-line to see the commercials but that was okay. We have even been following the election coverage since the US election has grabbed the attention of the world. And I thought we were going to escape that for a while.

You might think that after these minor disasters we are not enjoying our trip and that would be wrong. We love being with our children and grandchildren. They are gracious hosts and we feel very much at home. It is also beautiful here. This is the rainy season so things are very green. It has been cooler than normal. The temperature on Sunday only got to 59f. Both Diane and I wish we had brought warmer clothes. The last couple of days the weather has been perfect so things even out. We are having a great trip. The little disasters just make it interesting.