Hi there! I´ve arrived after much traveling; another one of those 36-hour trips, not including the five-hour road trip to our first site once we got off the plane.
Regardless — Bolivia is as fabulous as I remember. She is refreshingly cold, full of warm, sweet people, and welcoming to foreigners like no other country on earth. I truly love it here.
We are working the far eastern portion of the country these first few days, observing a housing project we are helping construct within indigenous communities. We are 50 miles from Paraguay and 50 miles from Argentina, which I am pretty sure means we are smack dab in the middle of nowhere.
Today the surgical team arrives and I´ll once again be putting on scrubs and serving as a medical gopher in the operating room. I love my job.
I hope to post photos and more details when we get to a larger city. This is the first computer I¬¥ve seen in three days. The little news I¬¥ve seen hasnt¬¥been good. If you are the praying sort, lease keep Peruvians in your thoughts. I can¬¥t imagine how they are dealing with this earthquake. It is freakishly close to where we are working, and yet far enough away that it doesn¬¥t influence our daily comings and goings. Having just traveled through Peru last year, my heart breaks for their country — one of complete beauty and grace. Thankfully, Peruvians (and Bolivians) continue to amaze me with their sheer perseverance and strength. Let¬¥s hope these shine through now more than ever.
Off to find some coffee, a bench in the park across the street and a few minutes to read before my driver comes back to swoop me up!
-kelli