We are working on Miguel(left), he doesn't like to smile much

 October 3, 2011

Another rough day.  I guess a normal day is a rough day here.  Each day seems more exhausting than the day before.  This morning after the kids went to school Erin and I got ready to begin building the brick covering for the generator, but on our way over there Melissa stopped me and asked if I could finish her batch of bread for her because she had to take an unplanned trip to town.  I’ve made bread at home but this was the first time to make it here.  I’m really beginning to realize that absolutely everything you do here is harder and more complicated than what I’m used to at home.  Instead of the bread machine I’m used to at home to mix up the bread, it is all by hand here.  After adding flour and kneading it for what felt like ages, I rolled it into little balls and put it on pans to bake.  Baking here is a whole new adventure: they use a huge igloo shaped dirt and brick oven out behind the kitchen.  Attached to the “igloo” oven is a fire that must be kept at a certain temperature in order to be hot enough to bake the bread.  It has to be extremely hot, but no flames or else the bread turns black.  It is quite a process to break a batch of bread, I didn’t realize how simple making bread at home is until coming here.  Another obstacle I’m trying to get used to is the whole no water on campus ordeal.  Right about the time I was getting used to showers, washing clothes, doing dishes and everything that requires water with the little spigot out behind our house… and now the water doesn’t work.  At first I thought it was just temporary, but I asked around and found out that this is what happens during the dry season (which last several months!)  Clean water is like gold now.  When the spigot isn’t working, which is almost all the time, we have to pump water from the one pump on campus.  Long lines form at the pump because it’s the only place for the over 100 people on campus to get any water.  As of now I still have some water saved from when the spigot was working, but when it runs out the only option is the pump – which often is pretty dirty water.  Another thing I’ve always taken for granted at home: water. 

           

This afternoon alone felt like a whole week.  Our kids were having major problems cooperating today.  Guerrmo causes the most problems.  He pees his bed every night so we require him to wash his blanket every day.  Today he refused to do any of his chores.  His chores have been piling up: 3 days behind in homework, wipe and sweep under the table after the meals today, clean his blanket, clean under his bed, wash all of his clothes.  When he wouldn’t obey we took him outside in the hot sun, gave him a machete and told him to cut the grass.  After a long while of watching him, and chasing after him when he tried running away he finally slowly started cutting the grass.  With no water working, washing clothes and dishes is a whole new story.  It takes the boys ages to pump all the water.  Edwin, the work director at Familia Feliz, told Erin and I this afternoon that we are assigned to help the man who is working on our new bathrooms from 1:30 to 5:30 every afternoon from now on.  The kids are back from school at that time so I think we will be trading off, one watching the kids, one laying bricks for the bathrooms.  It’s going to be a lot of work, but it will be a huge blessing to finally have our own bathroom when it is finished.

Yesterday I had a really good conversation with Missy (Melissa Harding, founded Familia Feliz 6 years ago) she is 29 and has been in Bolivia since she started the orphanage.  She is in the process of adopting her 9^th and 10^th child here in Bolivia.  Her house is at the center of campus, she is one of the directors of the orphanage while mothering and home schooling her children.  Being here for only 2 weeks now, I am in awe of what Missy has done.  It’s been such a huge culture shock for me, never in my life have I lived even close to how people live here.  It was really good for me to talk with Missy, she explained to me that coming here and living in a place like this you have to accept that it is new and different and not compare it to life at home.  It’s a new place, a new experience and it will never be like what I’m used to at home.  She is right, I can’t think of any similarities between this place and home!  She says a lot of it has to do with mindset.  I am doing my best to not have the mindset of what I’m missing here, but accept and appreciate it for what it is… it can be really difficult.  It is definitely hard to get used to EVERYTHING making you sick.  All it takes is an unwashed piece of lettuce (or even washed under the pump) and before you know it you have Salmonella.  I’m hoping I’m still in the adjustment phase and my body will become accustomed, but so far there has been very few days when my stomach hasn’t felt queasy. I am trying to get used to a whole different standard of cleanliness as well.  It is still the beginning of the journey, I continue to tell myself “one day at a time.”  I miss and love you all.