Feliz Dia del Estudiante - September 21, 2013

I've already described what happened here in my October blog post "Happy Birthday from Bolivia!"  Here are some more photos of the goings-on of that day.  :)  The kids are so super cute.  I wish I could give you names of the littler ones, especially my babies, but for their protection I can't.  Our kids arrive at the Hogar for so many different reasons (abuse - both physical and sexual, neglect, death of one or both parents, etc.)  so for their protection it's better not to identify who they are.  I wanted to share pictures of them though so that you get a little better picture of who they are and what life at the Hogar is like!  Love you all and miss you. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The First Four Months

I'd give them the moon if I could. 

It's been almost four months to the day since I first arrived here in Bolivia... 120 days, and along with that, 120 reasons why my life has been changed forever.  They're on my mind constantly, from when I get up in the morning to when I go to bed at night... and even then, I dream of them, I am listening to Teresa's nonsensical babbling or trying to prevent Luchi from jumping in a giant mud puddle. 

They've stolen my heart... really, that's all I can say. 

I want so much for them.  I want parents for them, parents who love them.  I want them to know they are loved.  I want them to heal.  I want a long and happy life for each of them, for their little worlds to open up and expand.  I want a future for them.  I want them to have enough to eat, good healthy food.  I want them to become all that they can be, to develop more into the wonderful little people that they are, to become more of who God made them to be. 

If I could take them all in and be their mommy for always, I would.

I know it's been a while since I've written anything.  My days are so full!  I was waiting to write until I had pictures to accompany my writing... obviously that never happened.  So I thought I would just write something instead.

It's summer here in Bolivia.  Christmas has come and gone, much to the relief of Natalie and I, who can finally go back to sleeping.  Lots of people have come to bring a little bit of joy into our kids' lives, making breakfast for them, bringing them treats and gifts, throwing them parties.  Our choir had the opportunity to sing on Christmas Day at Our Lady of Mercy church across from the Plaza Principal, and last weekend they also went to Madre Rosario's hometown of Concepcion for another singing engagement.  A local, family-owned circus provided us all with the opportunity to visit the circus at the beginning of the summer; it was my first time at the circus, I think I enjoyed it as much as they did!

Last week Madre Rosario, Angelica, Avigail and I took the babies to the Rio Pitay and spent a good chunk of time squishing our toes in the river sand, wading in puddles (maybe that's where my dream came from!) and in the shallows by the river banks.  They were so cute!  Some of them even fell in!  Afterwards we all rode home in the back of the truck and they sang in their little high-pitched voices about the butterfly in the kitchen bringing chocolate for her mama, about the "finger family" and the sleeping bell ringer.  It was amazing.  I love rivers anyway, and rivers complete with 14 little ones makes it even more amazing. :)

Here are some of my favorite memories of the past four months, they make me smile and I thought maybe they might make you smile too:

• Luciana walking around with her little "gatito bonito" wrapped in a little red sweater, explaining that the cat was cold
• Holding Franz, who had just soiled his baptismal garments by dropping chocolate cake all over them
• Yoeli and Company dropping a dead bird down Natalie's back (yes, this really did happen!)
• Yorya helping me pass out spoons at lunchtime
• Helping Yudid name her teddy bear
• Ofelia's hugs
• Trying to snag a trufi ride home with Miriam and Yolanda right after spending a crazy day Christmas shopping at the Feria
• Having to help Sandra Mariana and Natalie out of the tree they got stuck in
• Tatiana's shoes left empty at the dining room door, to ensure she got the first place in the dinner line
• Watching Silvana transform from a sad, withdrawn, sick little girl into a very happy, joyful, playful little girl
• Lariza climbing on my back while I'm changing a diaper
• Francesca climbing like a little monkey and hanging upside down by her knees, all by herself
• Talking with Miriam
• Andrea giving me a friendship bracelet
• Yusel doing my hair for church
• Watching the girls completely passed out in the pews during the All Soul's Day Mass, when I'm pretty sure the name of every parishioner who'd ever died was read during the prayers of the faithful
• Leidy telling me "Good night," "Good morning," and "Good afternoon" in English
• Trying to find a way back into the Hogar at 3 am so we could put stockings on everyone's bed
• Feeling like I had a minor disciplinary breakthrough and emotional connection with Shirley
• Messi hugging me and hanging on my ankles so that it was hard to walk
• Helping Emilce hold Melani
• The way Adriana's hair stood straight up, and her little button nose
• Playing hide and seek with Alejandra while I did laundry; she would hide and I would try to catch her in the act of creeping from sink to sink
• Aiding and abetting Yudid in keeping a fugitive kitten
• The way Silvana hopped all the way home from mass
• Walking with Melani; holding her hands and letting her pull me around as she goes in quest of the ball.
• The way Teresa calls me "Mama" and sings with me
• How excited Anamaria was to make a Christmas card for her madrina
• The way Esperanza pulled her new mommy's pant leg and mine together to make us hug.
• The "sign of the cross" war I have with Nayeli
• How big Mercedes' eyes get when she's watching a princess movie
• Leidy showing me the black duck that lives on the roof of her school
• Watching thumb wars between Natalie and Mayra
• Being Yajaira's madrina for First Communion
• Deimar's cute little hugs around my legs, the way he leans his little head into them
• Holding Mariana as we went up the escalator at the airport for her first time
• Going with Mariela and Natalie to the waterfalls at Cuevas (where the fairies live!) and to the village of Samaipata
• being one of Santa's little elves on Christmas
• the night Joe and I figured out how to pray a decade of the rosary over Facebook Chat
• bringing Deimar's 102-degree fever down by telling him he was swimming in the rain, while he swam like a little fish in the shower
• the way Melani opens and closes her hand and scrunches up her face into a little smile when she's happy
• cuddling with Nayeli and Anyelina during the rosary
• the time Marisol candidly informed me that Snow White died when she ate the apple because she didn't wash it first.
• the time Brandy and the middle school girls at my table were throwing pieces of chicken on my plate
• reading fairy tales with the little girls
• playing bingo with them stretched out on the library floor
• spending the passing of the year talking outside with Madre Rosario and Natalie while the fireworks went off all around us
• singing "What Does the Fox Say?" with Franz
• kissing my babies goodnight, and them insisting on kissing me back

There are days that I wonder why I'm here.  There are days when one day blurs into the next, when everything seems to be going wrong, when I am frustrated out of my mind, when nothing makes any sense, when I am incredibly homesick.

But in the end, it's all been worth it.  I've made it a third of the way through.  My kids continue to embed themselves further into my heart, my mind, my soul.  My love for them grows daily.  And when I see their faces, when I look back on all the special, special memories I've made with them over the past 3 months, I remember why I'm here.

I'm here for them.

• 

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• 

The Adventures of Little Chrissy: A Feline Photojournalist's Perspective on World Travel

Just in case you have been wondering what our little furry friend has been up to, my certain eight-year old, here she is in her own words. :)  Love you little guy.

 

My journey began one fine September day in the primary guest bedroom of Buckingham Palace.  My human was about to travel to Bolivia for a year's duration, and being of a stereotypical feline nature naturally I was inclined to go with her.

 

 

 

 

I decided to help her pack, since I had nothing to bring but my fur and my camera.  That's the beauty of being a feline... you can travel light and get away with it.

 

 

Here I am, playing hide-and-seek in my human's backpack. 

 

 

My human is going to Bolivia!  I decided to pose for the occasion with a miniature Bolivian flag, just my size!  (Special thanks to Kolbe Czupinski for providing me with the material for this shot.)

 

 

 

My human decided to visit her brother at school before we set off on our arduous journey together.  After much coaxing and prodding, I finally gave in to having a picture taken with Joe and Chandler.

 

 

 

My human's brother did not wish me to be deprived of furry companionship during my year abroad.  He discussed it with my friend Monkey and together they elected to send Monkey with me.  A few canine friends also had a paw in the decision-making process.

 

 

 

 

Monkey and I are now safely in Bolivia.  We have made friends with the local ant population... they have been constantly congregating in lines up and down the walls to bid us welcome.  Monkey thought he would send you a kiss, appropriate to his affectionate nature.

 

Abrazos y besitos from Bolivia!  I hope to expand my budding photojournalist career during the next eleven months and publish more tokens of my work for your benefit.

 

- Little Chrissy, Freelance Photojournalist

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Birthday from Bolivia!

So.... I know that I've literally been gone 4 weeks now and I haven't posted anything... sorry about that!  Life is so, so busy!! We're at Day 28 now and Natalie (my site partner) and I can hardly believe that the time has managed to fly this fast!

First off, let me begin by saying... life with 100 kids definitely has its challenges (try waking up to music blaring at 5:00 in the morning!) but it is AWESOME and I really could not picture myself doing anything else right now.  I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.  4 weeks in, Natalie and I have definitely settled in and are growing more and more accustomed to the rhythyms of daily life here at the Hogar (as much as we can... the thing about living in a foreign country and being immersed in a foreign tongue is that about 90 percent of the time, you don't really know anything that's going on.) :)  Natalie has started running the library and is doing the bulk of the child sponsorship program that we are responsible for.  I, on the other hand, have started working in Santa Maria, which is the name of the building housing our 20 little ones ranging in age from 5 months to about 6 years of age/kindergarten.

Santa Maria definitely has its challenges... today, for example, I had the "privilege" of changing an exceptionally dirty diaper, which resulted in their being poop all over my fingers, on my leg, and on my foot.  I know... T.M.I. :)  Or "reading a book" really means that I attempt to read while one little girl is shoving another book in my face and telling me "Look, look" every 5 seconds and two others are fighting/trying to tell me about the books they are "reading" while another kid is calling for "Toilet paper, please!" from the bathroom at the other end of the room.  I also spend a lot of time in the Infirmary with the ailments of assorted small children.

Lainie, our outgoing SLM, is leaving in just a few days... I don't know what we would have done without her!  She has definitely helped us learn the ropes of daily life in the Hogar and assisted us in many adventures to Santa Cruz for our Visa process.  (In Bolivia, you only get a 30 day Visa when you fly in and you have to start this complicated process of applying for a 1 - year Visa right away when you arrive)  Many thanks to you, Lainie... you have been our guardian angel and we are forever indebted to you.  I hope for a very happy homecoming for you and a positive period of readjustment into life back home in the good old U.S. of A. :)

One of the highlights of this first month here happened 9 days in...  There are a LOT of holidays in Bolivia and the one that happened 9 days in was called Dia del Estudiante, or Day of the Student.  Needless to say, this was a major fiesta for the girls here at the Hogar!  We threw them quite a party, on the outdoor basketball court that they call the "Cancha."  I think I've changed my definition of heaven as a result of that party: Heaven is dancing yourself to the point of exhaustion with 120 joyful little girls. :)  SO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!  We put on games for them (like finding bubble gum in a plate of whipped cream and blowing a bubble; whoever blows their bubble first wins) and Natalie, Lainie and I performed the "Cottoneye Joe" especially for their benefit. :)  We also danced in several other dance numbers put on by the staff here at the Hogar (the psychologist, handyman, homework teachers, Santa Maria caregivers, and secretary).

 You're probably wondering why this post is entitled "Happy Birthday from Bolivia."  Well, this particular day, the Fiesta for Dia del Estudiante, happened to be the day before my birthday.  At one point in the course of the evening I observed that one of my little ones from Santa Maria was wandering off by herself in the dark.  I went to retrieve her and tried to understand what she was saying... she was very upset that I dared pick her up and bring her back to the party.  In the midst of our little miscommunication, I heard my name being called over the microphone back at the cancha.  All I could think was, Oh my gosh.  The timing for this is impeccable rather sarcastically in the back of my mind.  Reluctantly, I made my way back to the cancha to see what they wanted.

It was Madre Rosario, our Hogar's director, and she was announcing that my birthday was the next day to everyone at the party!  I was a bit blown away... I really hadn't told anyone and fully expected that my birthday would pass unobserved.  Then they all started singing to me and the two other girls present who had a birthday... first in English and then in Spanish!  And they even brought out a cake and had me blow out the candles (Natalie and I would live on this cake for the next week) :)

So I got to celebrate my birthday with 120 little girls!  And there was a full moon... and one of them asked me to be godmother for her First Communion... and I got to dance a real authentic Latin merengue with a Bolivian guy (one of our handymen... the girls made him ask me and it was rather embarassing and awkward on both accounts but still a ton of fun!)  It was a beautiful night.

I love all of you and I am so grateful for your prayers.  I will try to write again fairly soon... another 4 weeks, at least. :)

Look what I found on my door the very first day in Bolivia!

Me and the other birthday girls, getting ready to blow out our candles! :)



The party's getting started!

Odds and Ends

So.... the countdown is at two days now.  Two more days....

These last couple of days have been a mini emotional rollercoaster; I'm excited to go, I'm sad to leave, etc., etc.  Lately I seem to find myself afflicted with "Swiss cheese brain syndrome"... I feel like my brain is full of holes!  My ability to think, exercise common sense, plan ahead, etc.  has been diminished to a sort of primitive survival-mode brainstem...  Apparently this is what "pregnancy brain" feels like... I will tuck this little bit of knowledge away for the future. :)

It's been a good last three weeks, full of much visiting and meeting up with old friends, vaccines, laughter, baby-sitting, thrift-store shopping, walking, and sundry other things.  During this time I've learned I actually like beer... a LOT :) and how to make a stone skip across the river.  I finished watching the Harry Potter movies and started reading the first Harry Potter book, cleaned out the apartment, flooded my host family's bathroom, learned what "downs" are and how to read the scoreboard on a football game, served mass for the last time, helped save the life of a praying mantis, moved my brother into his new habitat, played several games of Seven Wonders, felt a baby kick inside his mother's tummy, fed a duck while canoeing, engaged in plastic sword duels, read children's books on Bolivia, took two preschoolers to visit the EMU library, and did much dancing with no music to speak of.  :)  I've also learned how much I love Ypsilanti and how much this is home.  There is no place like Ypsilanti/Ann Arbor anywhere else...anywhere else is just not the same. 

I will miss everyone and everything.  I love all of you.  During these last few weeks it has struck me time and again just how much I am loved.  I am going to Bolivia knowing that all of you are thinking of me and praying for me, and I am so, so grateful for that!  I could not do this without each and every one of you.  Even people I've just met have told me that they're excited for me and they'll be praying for me... thank you so much! 

Keep praying for me, I will keep praying for all of you! :)

To a certain eight-year old: Little Chrissy has been very busy helping me pack.  She said to tell you "meow."  Love you buddy :)