Mom Mamma Mama'

Last night as I listened to the fireworks being set off in protest of a dictatorship here in Bolivia I never dreamed that tonight's fireworks would be going off in celebration of that fallen dictator! I laid in bed for way too many hours last night unable to stop scrolling through post after post of terrible tragic news taking place throughout Bolivia. Buses full of students who were going to La Paz to protest peacefully were ambushed in route and the things they endured are too horrible to recount. People were building and setting off molotov cocktails, lighting cars, buses and buildings on fire. This morning as the rain poured down in Santa Cruz the gloomy weather added to the feel of sadness that hung in the air. Even the news that the OAS had finally ruled that there had been without a doubt fraudulent behavior in the handling of the General Election on Oct. 20th was not good enough news to brighten the day. We traveled slowly around road blocks through abandoned streets, a...

It is a funny thing, time. How it can seem so slow and so fast all in the same moment. As I sit here right now I can hardly comprehend that we have been in Bolivia since June (four months having passed), it seems like we have lived here for years and for days. I cannot seem to wrap my mind around the fact that in 48hrs my husband whom I have not seen in 4 months will be arriving and we will be a family reunited. So much has taken place since we were together and the idea of being together again the 3 of us while exciting and happy is also overwhelming. Sure it will be fantastic to have our family back together, no one would deny that, but these four months apart have been packed full of change, adjustment, growth and transitions and so adding yet another big change is, well, challenging. I say all this because I myself am still processing, and I process best when I write. I am also trying to help Miss. K prepare for yet another big change, and so I feel as though I have been slowly wo...

It is funny the things you miss and the things you forget when living abroad. Just like it is funny how we take some things for granted and make assumptions about necessities. I have been in Bolivia for just  over 2 months and I have not received one piece of mail. No letters from home, no junk mail, no bills, it is not because my family and friends don't love me it is because the postal service in Bolivia shut down. There are rumors of it being open again, and when you look at their website it looks like it is all well and good, but here's the thing...no one cares. I asked my sister in law if she knew if the post office was up and running and she had no idea if it was nor that it had not been. I have seen expats ask online, but Bolivians don't seem to know or care because it seems no one really depends upon the postal service. If  you need to pay your bills then you need to go to the pharmacy, or the bank or the office and pay your bill, if you don't pay then you bes...

Today did not go as planned. All I wanted to do was find a storage bin for Miss K's toys and get some groceries. I had thought we would walk to a nearby outdoor market called The Ramada, but Miss. K was not in the mood for a 20min walk so I decided to take a Micro (aka bus) seeing as none of the ones who were passing were overly full I decided today would be a good day to brave them alone. I asked a lady which one went to a different market that my brother in law always takes us. She said #4 so we waited where she suggested and took #4 along the way I realized we were on a street where we had been a few times that specialized in plastic stuff. So we got off # 4 and shopped for the bin. Turned out they were a lot more expensive than I expected so we caught another Micro that said the name of the market on the window. Unbeknownst to me the bus was going in the other direction which I figured out pretty quickly, but wrongly assumed that it would just make a circle and get their e...

I have had many jobs, and I have worked at home, in the office, at schools, in stores, coffee shops and more. I have recently jumped into a new role as an English as a Second Language Teacher with VIP Kids. I have taught English and I have taught kids before, but teaching with VIP Kids is a whole new ballgame. I will be the first to admit that being an American living in Bolivia and teaching in kids in China to speak English while I am attempting to learn Spanish is humorous.  It is not a life I ever imagined, but I thrive when I am challenged and when I get to try new things. VIP Kid gives me the opportunity to use my new TESOL certificate while transitioning to our new life here in Bolivia. It gives me the freedom to work when I am able, and still be a full time stay at home mom. In case you are interested in VIP Kid here is how it works. Once you are hired (which is a rather long and convoluted process) things are fairly simple.  You open up the half hour time slots yo...

Honestly I had pretty low expectations for a great birthday this year, seeing as we just arrived a week ago and don't really know anyone but family. However my Bolivian family threw a great celebration for me, San Juan and other family members who are back in town. We had great food and drink and everyone had a fabulous time. That was the night before my birthday. My actual birthday was literally crappy. I woke up to the urge to go to the bathroom and while I made it to the bathroom I sneezed before making it to the pot, and left some evidence of what was to follow in my PJ's. Not fun. As the day went on the shit continued to flow. And while I made it to the toilet most of the time I definitely ruined another pair of PJ's before my mother in law was able to buy me some antidiahrial meds. But the whole day was not a total shit show, between trips to the bathroom my kitchen cart and my couch were moved into our apartment, which was a fantastic birthday gift. The thing is i...

In America we take shopping for granted. I don't know if I've ever given it much thought. If I want something I can head head to one of my 3 favorite stores plop Miss. K in a cart or simply order it on Amazon and wait a day for it to arrive. This is not the case in Bolivia. In Bolivia if I say I would like a television stand for example, I will be carted to an entire street full of furniture vendors. This at first seems like a great place to shop, that is until you realize that every single shop on the street carries the exact same products, just with slightly different prices. So after you've been in the 3rd store you know number 4-7 are not going to have what you're looking for. And so does your kid who is over walking and looking at the same piece of furniture again and again. When you have searched all seven stores to no avail but happen upon the exact piece of furniture you were envisioning on day 2 of the hunt it's like finding gold! Which makes it hard to ...

We have been here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia for just 2 days and though not everything is how I expected our transition from one home to the next has been smoother than one would have imagined. I have gone many places and have even lived abroad before, but never have I introduced my child to a new home, let alone life in a country not her own.   I have to say I am very proud of our little family and our ability to go with the flow. The past few months have been all about downsizing and saying goodbyes to everyone and almost everything she has ever known.   Now that I have the time to reflect I can say my kid has handled all of this with more grace and calmness than most adults I know.   Nothing against us adults but we tend to get attached to our things and our way of doing life, where as my kiddo has been able to hold on to her sense of excitement and adventure through it all. I was fearful at times of starting fresh in a new country with a 3-year-old, especially wit...