November Update - Life lessons

sorry this took so long to get sent out!


Dear family y amigos,

Well, hello everyone! I hope that all is well and that you are all enjoying good health and tons of happiness. I apologize that it has been awhile since I last wrote a group update. I have been out at my site for about a month straight now. (Seriously I have not been more than 7 kilometers from my house). The internet in my site has been kind of unpredictable, which is understandable seeing as how I am in the middle of the jungle!

First, some sad news…my host family’s pet parrot was stolen. That’s right, stolen right out of the tree in our yard. We have no idea who took it, but we assume they have already sold it. Apparently little green parrot is work about 50 bolivianos, which is quite a bit of money for the people out here. But, who knows…she could have magically re-grown her clipped wings overnight and decided to migrate. So if you see a little green parrot that answers to the name Señorita Maria Lorita, let me know.

So now I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few little anecdotes and life lessons that I have acquired and learned since the last group update.


Life lesson number 2: ALWAYS LOOK AT YOUR TOWEL BEFORE YOU DRY YOU FACE
This lesson may not apply to your life right now. But it is a very important thing for me to remember. A few days ago I was taking my bucket bath out back behind my house. I was going about my business and failed to foresee the impending danger. When I bathe I throw my towel over a huge rock. When I am done bathing the first thing I do is dry my face. So I reached over, with my eyes still shut, to grab my towel and dry off my face. At the last second I decided to open my eyes, and it was a good thing I did….Because there, crawling around on my towel, was a HUGE MILLIPEDE! I mean HUGE! It was about 7 inches long and FAT! I had nearly wiped my face with that big old bug! It was alarming. Needless to say, I let out a bit of a scream and threw my towel. Which was a bad idea because it landed in the dirt and got all full of mud…but at least the millipede fell off and I was able to finally dry off. So, if you are ever camping or something like that, make sure you look at your towel before you start to dry off.

Life lesson number 2: ALWAYS CARRY A BIG STICK AND A FLASHLIGHT
Last week I was visiting some friends who live on the opposite side of the community. It was getting late, and starting to get dark out. There was going to be no electricity that night, so I figured I should probably head back home. My friend, a teenage girl named Maria, offered to walk with me to the plaza, so that she could help me safely pass the house where the crazy dog lives. I of course accepted her offer and we began our journey. It was a really good thing that I had my flashlight with me. It was already quite dark and there were a ton of strange animals out. The grass was wet from the rain we had had earlier in the day, so all of the creepy crawling things were out to play. On the way we saw 2 huge TARANTULAS, 3 HUGE TOADS, 6 HUGE MILLIPEDES and 1 BIG SNAKE! If we had not had my flashlight we would have surely stepped on some of them. Finally we were getting close to the house were the crazy dog lives, and sure enough…he leapt off the porch and came charging at us barking like crazy. Maria and I stopped in our tracks and yelled at him in Spanish. That didn’t seem to work, so I yelled in English and he stopped barking. Maria decided that it was no safe for me to go on alone. So I continued to walk until I crossed the plaza. But then all of the sudden, the village’s other crazy dog, a big white dog named “loco” (which actually means crazy), came charging at me barking his brains out. I got scared, so I decided to turn around and try to call Maria to come help me again. But she was long gone into the darkness. Then because the big white dog was making so much noise, the other crazy dog came running at barking from the other side of the plaza. So there I was, stuck in the middle of the plaza, with 2 crazy dogs running around me in circles barking and charging me every so often. I did not know what to do. As most of you probably already know, I am scared of dogs to begin with. But I managed to calmly walk to the nearest house and knock on the door. I did not even know who lived there, but luckily it was the home of one of the teacher’s brothers and he recognized me in the dark. He immediately saw my problem and said that he would walk me home, but first he had to get something. I figured he come back from inside his room with a flashlight. But instead he walked out back and got a HUGE STICK. Then he said, “let’s go” and we headed off the porch into the midst of a pack of dogs, because at this point every dog in the village seemed to have come to join in the fun of scaring the pants off the poor gringa girl. So my friend, Nicolas, raises the stick above his head and makes like he is going to swing down and hit one of the dogs. All of the dogs started to back off. So we continued like that the whole way back to my house. Me holding the flashlight and Don Nicolas swinging a huge stick at all the dogs. Eventually I made it home safely and was very grateful to Don Nicolas, he probably saved me from being mauled by dogs. But now I know, if you are going to go out at night…always take your flashlight and a huge stick, just in case you encounter a pack of wild dogs.

Life lesson number 3: DO NOT COOK PANCAKES IN YOUR UNDERWEAR
Cooking pancakes in your underwear is a bad idea, no matter how hot it happens to be in your house. A few weeks ago I was sweating to death in my room and I was for some reason overcome with the desire to eat pancakes. Pancakes are delicious and easy to make, so I thought I would give it a whirl. As usual, I had been sitting in my room stripped down to my underwear in an effort to keep from sweating to death. I did not even consider getting dressed before I started to make pancakes, as cooking in my underwear has become a daily activity. So I started to mix up my batter, heat up the stove, and put a bit of oil in the pan. You must remember that my stove is a tiny little thing, less than 2 feet tall, so I have to squat in front of it in order to cook. So I started cooking my pancakes, squatting in front of the stove. Then, as I was flipping a pancake a HUGE DROP OF SUPER HOT COOKING OIL splattered out of my pan and landed directly on my inner thigh. It was HOT. I SCREAMED a bit and ran across the room to get some water to put on my leg, because it hurt badly. My pancake that I left on the stove proceeded to burn…so I did not even get to eat the pancake. And to make matters worse, a huge quarter sized blister instantly formed on my leg….which my medical handbook classifies as a 2nd degree burn…not good. So lesson learned, do not attempt to cook pancakes in your panties. Always wear pants when cooking with oil haha.


Well friends, I am sad to say that I do not have time for more stories right now. I am in the middle of working on a project that I have to present next week in Cochabamba. But, that means that I will be in the city for about 2 weeks straight, leaving me plenty of opportunities to write another update for all of you to read.

Take care and know that I love and miss you all.

Happy Birthday to Cody, Suzie, and Grandma Meray! And any one else I might be forgetting…Katie Fox too!


Hugs y paz, beth in bolivia