The Little Things

So about a month and a half ago, I found that that my time here in Bolivia could very well be cut short. As some of you know my VISA process is a living nightmare, while at the same time being quite costly. Who would have thought that living in a foreign country for a year without a steady income would cause problems to arise? Obviously, not me. I was so focused on getting here to Bolivia and making sure I just had enough money just for a plane ticket, that I didn't exactly think about the long term a whole lot, and I couldn't have anticipated the hoops that i'm having to jump through for my VISA. Anyways, after finding out that there IS NOT an easy, less expensive way around this whole VISA thing, I have had to accept the fact that my time here in Bolivia could very well be cut short. This has been a great test of strength and willpower for me, and has actually been a blessing in disguise (to some extent).


I have had to remind myself that everyday is such a blessing just to be here, and I can't forget that. I am here, now, and that's what counts. It took me sooooooo long to get here (even though I always knew I would make it somehow) that now I need to appreciate and embrace every...single...moment. Even when i 'm at my wits end with the girls, ready to break down, I have learned to just take a second to myself, say a prayer and then let it go cause I don't have time to feel sorry for myself, there are 120 girls that need way more love and care than I do. So as a wise Sister Gloria told me, "Just think that if you might not be able to be there as long as you desired, do now with greater love, so that what you could have accomplished in duration you do it now in concentration." This has kind of summed up my new mentality which is to LOVE LOTS!!!! and embrace what makes this time all worthwhile, the small things. 




My Little Ones
It's official, i'm in love. My little ones are the best gift that I could have been given coming here. Two months in i'm discovering all of their idiosyncrasies and habits and being able to embrace them and inspire confidence. I now know can recognize the times that I need to stop and give them a hug, when they need to take a nap, and when I really just need to take a moment to play with them. I love them so much.

Sor Marinita
Sor Marina, (add the -ita since she's the cutest thing ever) she's gotta be one of the most adorable little old ladies/nuns in Bolivia. (VIDES Volunteers-she's the equivalent of Sister Mary in Austin). She's an 85 year-old Sister whose work ethic is the perfect example of the Salesian Sisters. She's always on the go, and always working on something that has to do with perfecting something to the minute detail. She arrived here just a few weeks after I got here, and I really enjoy talking to her, although I really can't understand what she is saying most of the time, but it doesn't matter cause we both just smile and laugh. One night, while all the Sisters and Volunteers were having a goodbye dinner and sharing songs for some other volunteers, she asked Thea and I if we knew Edelweiss, and then we were like, "Ya!!!" (Thea's cool like that) and then Sor Marinita joined in and sang it better than the both of us ever could. But then again why wouldn't it make sense for a nun to love The Sound of Music?? So Sor Marina is amazing. And now, because of her Thea and I are singing Sound of Music songs all day, everyday. AND to top it off the Volunteers are going to sing Edelweiss for Mother Superior whose visiting for a few days. So awesome. Praise the Lord for Sor Marina.

My Sleeping Beauties
My little ones are required to take naps in the afternoon (by me of course) and when they have finally given up the fight and passed out, they are the most beautiful sleeping kids ever. I know i'm probably a little biased, because i'm guessing this is very similar to how every mother/motherly figure feels about her little ones, but they really are just amazing.

The Bolivian Countryside
After living in a place like Wenatchee, it's easy to get spoiled with being surrounded by beautiful countryside all the time.  There are many pluses and minuses to living in a big, crazy city of course, but the lack of wildlife is a minus. But, after taking a day trip to a town called Yapacani, about 2 hours outside of Santa Cruz, to meet other American volunteers working with the Salesians in Bolivia, and after getting the see the beautiful Bolivian countryside, and the beautiful mountains, and no big deal, the ANDES Mountains, I feel a little less homesick.


The Micro
Man, talk about mad skills, these guys put the bus drivers in the U.S. to shame. Not only to they pick up or drop off anyone anywhere they want which is stopping and going literally every 15 seconds, they also are taking money (without being able to look behind them), calculate the change, drive a stick shift and on top of all of this, drive in Bolivian traffic...on Bolivian roads. Man, i'm impressed.

More...

1. The stars here are so amazing, I love being able to see them from a completely different point of view. 

2. The little kids at the little one's Kindergarden. Not only are all the kids adorable, they are so hilarious. They play the funniest games and when it comes to curiosity they have no problem coming up to me and staring and asking all sorts of questions, like "Why are you white?"

3. The abbreviation for all things Bolivian, is BS. The currency, Bolivianos,  BS. The bank, BancoSol, BS. My name, Becca Steichen, BS. It's everywhere and I love it. 

4. At anytime during the day, you can hear music, it surrounds me all the day. A positive to living in a city.

5. There is no such thing as road rage here, even in the most absurd traffic imaginable, everyone is soooooo chill. It's like this unspoken Bolivian rule of respect and it's a nice alternative to American traffic. 

6. Finally learning all the words to the Our Father and Hail Mary in Spanish.

7. Sharing the road with cows daily, literally. 

8. My spiritual health is at an all time high.
9. The taxi driver on the way to Yapacani ate his WHOLE sucker without biting it once, even when he got to the gum! Too bad I didn't count how many licks it took!
10. Getting bedtime blessings from the girls every night, especially my little ones.
11. The fact that the girls still get excited to see met, I haven't gotten old yet!
And the list goes on...here are some of my favorite quotes to get me through the tough times.


"Nothing is so strong as gentleness, and nothing is as gentle as true strength." -St. Francis de Sales


"As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do that same."
-Nelson Mandela


"If you have come to help me, you're wasting your time, but if you have come because you realize that your liberation is tied to mine, let us work together."-Lill Watson


"When your heart speaks, take good notes." -Susan Campbell


And my favorite one, that my Nana and Bompa gave to me right before I came down here:


Peace of Soul by St. Francis de Sales
"Do not agitate yourself over anything; do all things with tranquillity and in a spirit of repose. Do not lose the peace of your soul even if everything should be turned upside down; for what are the things of this life compared to interior peace? Our Lord loves you; He would have you all His, that nothing may come between. Forget all the rest, troubling yourself about nothing."




P.S. Happy Belated Birthday to my Uncle John! Although it's taken me about a week to finish this, I started writing this again because you inspired me not to procrastinate anymore. So I hope you were able to get your fence posts up. :)

My Daily Life

First of all, I want to apologize for not updating this thing more often. There is so much going on and I want to share it with all of you but it's harder than I had anticipated to muster up the energy to write. My apologies but I'm going to try harder and that's a promise. 

So my day starts at 6:50 a.m. with supervising the girl's breakfast in the Primera Etapa and there are about 50 girls in this Etapa (phase). They wake up at 5:30 a.m., get ready for school and do their daily oficios (chores), which range from cleaning the bathrooms, to gardening, to preparing breakfast and are quite labor intensive to be doing on an empty stomach, but that's just me. So after their chores they get in their lines and we say their morning blessing, which is quite elaborate. Breakfast is bread (made in the little bakery on site), some sort of drink (tea or milk) and some kind of topping (jam, margarine, dulce de leche, etc.) After breakfast they say another prayer of thanks and then it's off to school. My responsibility after breakfast is with the three little ones, Alejandra, Carlita and Nataly. I make sure they are all ready with their uniforms and whatnot (which they never  completely are) and then we take off for their Kindergarden. It's a nice walk right off of the main road, that is quiet and semi-picturesque, except for when it rains and it's literally like a war zone. There's usually small rivers we have to trudge over and I've had to accept that the girls will never make it to their classroom in the condition they were in when they left the Hogar, clean. Rain boots would do wonders for these girls. 

After I drop them off at school, I get to take a break for a few hours and have my breakfast my favorite meal of the day. It's amazing how much my outlook on the day changes after I get a little food in my stomach (and have a cup of instant coffee). Breakfast is bread and water, and some fruit. Toppings and spices are everything here since we have the same bread everyday and everyone enjoys something different, and i've found mine at the local supermarket, peanut butter!

During my break, I usually try to wash my clothes, by hand, which takes me about an hour (i'm hoping with more practice I can get the art down), take a shower, use the internet, or nap and sometimes all of the above. 

Around 11:30, I pick up the girls from Kindergarden and we head home. They get changed into their play clothes and shoes, go to the bathroom and gather up their dirty clothes to wash. Keep in mind that these are three, five year-olds so these simple tasks easily take up to an hour. The older girls come back from school and then there's the task of getting them to do these same things; change their clothes, change their shoes, and wash their clothes, etc.

And after that, it's lunch time and I get another break to eat. This is everyone's big meal of the day and we usually have some combination of rice/pasta, beans/lentils/stew and lots of vegetables, if we're lucky we get the dessert and lately it's been watermelon. :)

After lunch, there are estudios, which is homework/study time. The girls are separated into their different classes. Since at the moment we have profesoras for each estudio, and my profe is the most strict and in need of the least amount of help, i've been helping Daniella in the Library. The three little ones get to read their little hearts out and get the chance be in a quiet place to take a nap. The girls read and sleep and Daniella and I chat a lot and work a little. It's a nice mental break.

After estudios, it's merienda (snack) time, and the girls have to get all their dry, clean clothes and put them away, I'm in charge of making sure they do this. And then they get their snack and have more free time to play. The girls have the most interesting games here, and I love to watch them play and enjoy their time being kids. And by this time it's around 6:00 p.m and I have time to use the internet and hopefully Skype one of my family members, since it's finally a decent time for people in Washington, around 2:00 p.m. And if it's been a tough day, it isn't uncommon to find Thea and I down the street eating ice cream!

After this short break, it's time for the nightly rosary. It's another chore to get all the girls into the chapel, but once we do, it's a nice time for prayer and I enjoy this half hour to silence my overloaded mind and leave all my troubles and frustrations of the day behind. And on Wednesday nights, a local priest comes to perform mass. After rosario, it's dinner time. Dinner is soup and MORE bread (so much for loosing weight on mission). Although, Thea and I found are very happy because we just recently found some oil and vinegar at the very americanized supermarket, not too far away from the Hogar, and it's such a treat! After dinner, the girls have some more time to play and then it's time to get ready for bed around 8:30. I'm in charge of getting the 3 little ones ready first since they take a bit longer to do everything. The girls are finally done loly-gagging around 9:30 (hopefully) and then I get to go to bed. By 10:00 p.m., I'm exhausted and ready to pass out. Never in my life have I gone to bed so early, but then again never in my life have I been in Bolivia working in an all girls Hogar. :) Wake up and do it all over again. I’m in love with my life...can I say that?


Here are some pictures I was able to post...

Can you spot our pig? Chancho just chillin' in his domain.

Can you spot our pig? Chancho just chillin' in his domain.

Our first night out together: Gina, Kevin, Thea and I. We felt like such rebels being out after 9:00 p.m. Cheap beer (a coke for me of course) cheap food and loud music, it was grand.

One of the games the girls play, I still need to learn what the rules are, but I do know it involves a lot of jumping up and down. They love it.

One of the games the girls play, I still need to learn what the rules are, but I do know it involves a lot of jumping up and down. They love it. 

The First of March-Carlita's 6th Birthday and my one month anniversary-we went out for a special treat. :)


For more pictures check out my facebook album at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=553384119&aid=330973

One week in...!

It's been exactly one week since I arrived in Bolivia (and a few more since i´ve been able to finally post this) and…my thoughts are pretty much all over the place. I don't really have a lot of time to be alone with my thoughts, but when I do, there are a few things that seem like they are consistently on my mind. 

I keep going back and forth about the one year thing it seems like, it's been on my mind the past few days, weighing the good and the bad. I think, how can I possibly do this for a year? I already miss eating the food that I want, being in control of my own schedule, leaving whenever I want; pretty much the amenities and luxuries of my daily life that I took for granted. But on the other hand, I think I CANNOT believe i'm here, after all this time working towards this goal, I finally have my reward (the actual physically being here part). I am literally living my dream, and how many people get to say that? I'm trying to live in the moment and not future trip, but i'm not doing too well at the moment. I do know however, and have to remind myself everyday that I have someone much bigger and powerful than myself guiding my path, who gives me strength and serenity in my many times of weakness, and this is what gets me through the rough patches that are sure to come.

Also, I think about, how difficult it is to explain everything that is going on and everything that I'm  experiencing. All the little things that make it all worth while are so important, and it's going to be a little difficult to relay the significance of this information, but I want to try because I want to share my entire experience with you guys, not just the things that are easy to talk about. 

So i'll tell you all about my daily routine another day but I think that I said before how i'm partially in charge of the three littlest girls in the Hogar. Their names are Nataly, Carlita and Alejandra. These girls can be very difficult and trying to work with sometimes, well most, of the time but I live for the little moments when they let their guard down and forget they are supposed to have this rough and tough exterior. Their only 5 years old but they have already been conditioned by the other 123 girls in the Hogar. For instance, they have learned that when someone hits you, you hit them back 2X harder, which every minute it seems like. Things like this are hard to get used to, but I try to remember that i´m the  foreigner here and this place has been here long before I arrived and it will be here long after I leave, so I don't expect to change the whole place while i´m here or even one girl but I do know I am here to show an example of something different.

I keep hearing "horror" stories from Daniella, the Belgium volunteer that I am job shadowing, who as already been here for 8 months and will be leaving the beginning of March. I was warned when I first got here by another volunteer that Daniella has a very realist/pessimistic outlook on things and to take what she says with a grain of salt, more or less, so i'm trying to appreciate the forewarnings she has for me but at the same time realize that my experience doesn't have to be the same as hers, and it's not going to be. My biggest challenge right now is showing the girls that using force isn´t the only way to get things done (although it may be the easiest). I have heard that other volunteers have come here with the same intention, but this idea hasn´t seemed to stick. I can already tell though that the girls appreciate the respect that I show them, and I know i´m going to have to try very hard on the daily to keep up this attitude, as Sister Gloria would say, “Inspire them to do good.”

One thing that I look forward to every day is breakfast. It´s amazing how when I wake up in the morning, I have such a bleak outlook about the day, but after breakfast and a little bread and coffee in my stomach, I have a whole new view of the world. I have also learned that chocolate is the key for energy boosts here (which is now added to my long list of things to get at the supermercado in the city center). I should let everyone know that February is a very rainy month here so it hasn´t been as hot as it was when I first got here (Praise The Lord).

Lastly, I'm realizing now how important the little things are, pictures of family and friends that I took for granted, little reminders, and pictures from home, I brought a few but now I wish I would have brought more of everything. And speaking of bringing things with me, I wouldn´t mind receiving something in the mail, ANYTHING. hint hint.

I love you all! Keep me in your prayers!

Becca

PS For what it´s worth my address is: Rebecca Steichen Casilla 542 Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia J

Bienvenidos a Bolivia!

I am in Bolivia! I made it here in one piece after 20 hours of traveling. My first huge hurdle though was just making it through Seatac, which some of you will know is a miracle in and of itself. My passport arrived to a Tacoma post office at 6 AM in the morning, after not knowing when or where it was going to arrive exactly, and....my flight leaving at 8 45 AM. Could it have been any more last minute? I think not. My Mom and Jenn will vouch for that. It's a long and arduous story of what we had to go through to get my passport back from the Bolivian consulate but for now I'll just say that ultimately, the fact that it came through so miraculously is just another sign that I am truly supposed to be here.


I really can't believe i'm here finally, it's so surreal being in this foreign place, completely the opposite of everything that i'm used to; the climate, the language, the traffic, etc. Speaking of traffic, just like other infamous cities, Santa Cruz is no different, the driving is insane! The kind of driving you have seen portrayed in movies or on TV, but it's completely real. Go as fast as you want, change lanes whenever you want, well actually there aren't really any lanes, just cars weaving in and out of each other. I'm amazed we different see a crash the whole way back to the Hogar from the airport. 


Once I arrived I got shown around a little bit by Thea, a volunteer that I went to formation training with in Austin and then went to my room to rest a little. I thought I was hungry so I ate an orange that I brought with me from the states, but it didn't sit well in my stomach, and I got sick, which scared me a little bit but I think it was because I got too hot unpacking in my room. One of the volunteers Gina gave me some tea and I felt much better. It's so hot and humid here that you I don't think i'll ever be dry again, and i'm slowly forgetting what it feels like to be dry. 


Sor Ines, La Directora de Casa Main, told me to rest up (descansa mucho) on Tuesday and Wednesday because I start work on Thursday (which is today). I was finding it really hard to do considering that it was probably 90 degrees in my room and sunny and beautiful outside and there's construction repairs going on right below me, but I decided to stay inside and try to rest anyways because I know this will be my only chance to do so, before I get thrown into work. 


I am continuing to meet a lot of the girls and trying to remember their names, so far I can probably remember 10 names after being introduced to 100. They get a little frustrated when they quiz me and I say I already forgot but they forgive me, thank goodness. The girls are treating me very kindly, which is nice, and they are so full of love and aren't afraid to show it, it's very refreshing. I love it, and I love them already. 


The grounds here are beautiful but the mosquitos are hell; there's no escaping them. Today, Thursday, I start work officially, and so far so good. I'll write more about my routine later, but throughout the day i'm in charge of three little girls named Nataly, Carlita and Alejandra. I'll tell you all about them later because it would take a whole post to describe them. For now, that's all I can think of but with everyday there is something new to write about, it's just a matter of finding time and energy; considering this post took me 3 days to write. :) I love you all. Pray for me! 


Becca

First post!

This blog is about my trials and tribulations, living and volunteering in Bolivia for one year. I'm volunteering with the Salesian Sisters of St. John Bosco through a group called VIDES+USA (Volunteers International for Development, Education and Solidarity) and during this year, I'll be working in an orphanage and school for girls. It's been many years in the making to find the right group, do all the footwork and turn this dream into reality. The title of this blog is "Be The Change" and it comes from one of my favorite quotes by Ghandi which is, "Be the change you wish to see in the world." This journey, for me, is one small step towards becoming that change.