So, instead of flooding people's inboxes with information about how things are going for me in Bolivia, I figured I'd follow the lead of a number of friends of mine who went outside the country in the past year and start a weblog.  So, here it is...

I've been in Bolivia for less than three weeks, and it's been a well, packed block of time.  So, this will come first in a couple installments.  I arrived in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, which is in the eastern part of the country, late the night of July 30.  Since we have a Capuchin friary just outside of Santa Cruz, the brothers there picked me up and put me up for the night.  Then they gave me a mini-tour of the city the next day, and sent me on my way the evening of the 31st on a "bus cama."

Since the ride on a bus from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba (where I am now) is about nine hours, several bus lines here run a "bus cama" service each night.  Literally, "bus cama" means "bed bus."  It's not quite exactly a bed, but the seat reclines back almost completely, and then there's a little footrest that folds out to form what kind of feels like one of those adjustable beds, only there aren't as many adjustments.  It's a ton more room than I've ever had on any other form of public transportation, so it was pretty cool.  And at $10US as compared to $65US to fly from Santa Cruz to Cochabamba, it was well worth the adventure...  :-)

After arriving in Cochabamba the morning of August 1, I got settled in with the family with which I am staying right now.  So far, things have gone well in living with them.  Living in the house are the mother, two of her sons who are both grown, and a woman from England who is working for a company here in Cochabamba.  Then on Sundays, the rest of the family often comes over, meaning her other two sons with their respective families, which gives me some good additional practice with speaking and hearing Spanish in a more cocophanous scenario.  :-)

Classes have gone well so far.  Every two weeks, each student has four instructors, fourty-five minutes with each one each day.  Then at the end of each two week cycle, we change instructors.  So, I'm now on my second cycle, whic is good, since tha tmeans that I am getting some good practice with a number of different teachers and a number of different perspectives and styles.  The student community here has been very good as well, and we quickly form a sort of community amongst ourselves, which is very helpful in being in a different cultural setting.

August is really an exciting time to be here in Bolivia.  There's  a lot going on.  For us Franciscans, there's the feasts of the Portiuncula and of St. Care (8/2 and 8/11).  Then August 6 is Bolivia's Independence Day.  Actually, it's kind of celebrated in three days, with parades the night before, the day of, and the day after.  Then on the 10th there was a major recall vote for the president and all the prefects (sort of like governors) in the country.  Voting days are quite the trip here, because the entire world shuts down except for the elections...no stores are allowed to be open, no cars or buses are allowed to be on the roads except for those with a special permit from the electoral court.  It's a rather tranquil day.  The kids here really liked it, since it meant that they could ride their bikes anywhere they wanted.  :-)  Unfortunately, I haven't yet gotten myself a two-wheeler...

Then on the 15th, there's the Feast of the Virgin of Urkupiña, a big patronal feast here in Bolivia.  That is a story in and of itself, so I'll put that one in my next post.

I hope everyone is doing well, and please E-mail me if you like (jimdon77@gmail.com)...I don't get to check my E-mail every day, but close to it, so I should be able to respond reasonably well.

Hasta luego...