My Newest Neighbor

When I moved to Tiqti Sud in June, I joined a family that lives at the Center as caretakers and gate keepers. I can't imagine living here without the family. Doña Severina and Don Marcial have two boys; Mario, who is in kindergarten and Ariel who will be in kidergarten next year. (pictured above)

They of course get free rent, electric and water for their work at the center. In addition Doña Severina is in charge of the "comedor" which translates to dining room or soup kitchen, though a better translation in this case is lunch program. She recieves no pay for this M-F morning work of overseeing the moms who prepare lunch. The only pay is lunch for the family, and if there are leftovers dinner. Severina and moms get this same pay.

Severina was pregnant when I moved into the Center, and someone told me she would give birth anyday. She didn't look very big and when I asked her, she told me the end of June beginning of July. Being blocks from our nearest neighbors, I let her know she could count on me to call a cab to go to the hospital when her time came. I could also accompany her if her husband was working, or take care of the boys if her husband was at home. She seemed relieved to know I was just a knock on the door away. I figured the plan was set.

The Feast of San Juan Baptista arrived June 24. People were lighting fireworks all over the countryside and city. I joined Doña Severina's family outside to watch, hang out by the fire and watch her boys enjoy their family's supply of small fireworks. Severina asked me what the traditional food is for this feast in the US. I had no idea, anyone have ideas? Bolivia's tradition is hot dogs, spelled just like that!! No perros calientes! You could see fires burning in the hills in the distances, sometimes in huge circles maybe 100-300 yards in diameter.

This was the night Doña Severina let me know that she really didn't want to go to the hospital for the birth of her lastest child. She wanted to have the baby here at home! Well that would make my offer of help play out a little differently! I wanted to be totally clear that I had never had a child, nor had I been at the birth of a child. I even missed the births of Chester, Otis, and Elsie (Rhoda the cow's offspring at Jubilee). I was willing to help, key word help in whatever way, maybe hang out with the boys!

Her reasons to have the child at home were that she had had both experiences in the past, and the hospital experience had many problems. I will leaves the details out. No US birth plan here, no clean towels and sheets wrapped in plastic waiting for their time, no midwife, no prenatal check ups, no prenatal vitamins.. okay you get the picture. I must admit I was worried if something went wrong.

They must have thought I wouldn't be much help because within the week, while I was preparing supper, I heard the cry of a tiny baby. Without fanfare Fabiola was born into this world. Her father and her mother's friend Betty attending.

A few short days later I would head back to the US for the death of my father and his funeral. The circle of life revolving around and around. I was glad to get to greet Fabiola, but sad to miss her first month.

As I was headed to the airport, I remembered last minute that I needed someone to take care of my plants. Severina was logical in her nearness, though not because she had so much free time of her hands. As I passed off the plants, she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said that she was going to miss me. She is a quiet soft spoken person but when she said that I became all choked up. I would miss her too!.

Faviola is pictured below with me in my apartment. Current update is that she is chubby looking but is actually very light to carry around. She is a happy baby and I rarely hear her cry!

Catching Up

Well it's been a long time since I posted anything on my blog. I am considering doing "Flashback" posts to catch everyone up with what has been happening. Some would say "keep it current", but everything is in the past and sometimes with reflection and hindsight, an event takes on a different meaning, a deeper meaning.

I am in my third home since arriving in Bolivia. The first was with my host family while in language school the first six weeks. The next three months I was at the Franciscan Social Center in downtown Cochabamba. (I wrote an entry on the Center but I have yet to post it. Ah yes flashback posts!!)

My current location is another Franciscan Center. It is part of the San Carlos parish, which is located in the poorer southern zone of Cochabamba. The main parish is "smack dab" in the middle of the cancha, or market place. We are not talking a few blocks here, but what seems to be a never ending vendors delight, dare I say 30-40 sprawling city blocks. Just when you think you've seen it all, you come upon another nook or crany. And yes you can buy just about anything there cheaper then the stores downtown!

My center is one of the 5 centers, that are part of the Franciscan parish of San Carlos, that are located in the hills surrounding the eastern side of the parish. Though the poorest sections of the city, they command a great view of the city, far better than the middle class neighborhood I lived in for language school.

My location is Tiqti Sud (Quechua spelling), or Ticti Sud or Tijti Sud. This not to be mixed up with Ticti Norte, which is as you guessed it on the north (read wealthier) side of town. Though as Ticti Norte is up the mountain, it is not really wealthy.

My neighborhood has electricity but not running water (through pipes, nor wells) nor gas lines. Thus we get a truck of water to fill a huge tank every few weeks, and I buy a tank of gas for cooking. There is no central heat (and of course no A/C) just passive solar and residual heat from cooking, and blankets for the night! This leads to wanting to bathe in the middle of the day during the colder months.

The Center has a chapel where we have liturgy of the word Sundays. We have a before and after school program, lunch program (there is no lunch at the schools), sliding scale dentist and doctor in the mornings, CCD on Saturdays, and space for day retreats. There is a caretaker family in residence and I live alone in the sister's apartment, waiting for new missioners to come! The other Centers have similar programs, there are some additional programs like a day care center at one, and vocational classes at another. At Tiqti we are hoping to begin a garden to help provide some of the produce for the lunch programs. It is the only place that has space for a garden as it is outside the city.

Though I am just outside the city, less then 5 miles from downtown, it can take up to an hour to get there. First I must walk about 1/2 mile down hill (that means I have to walk up to get home, and sometimes with groceries). I then wait for the appropriate transportation. This depends upon which part of the city I want to go to, or which part I want to avoid (or which traffic jam). This waiting can take anywhere from 1 minute to 1/2 hour +, depending on day of week and time of day. Sometimes the desired tansport passes by full every 5 minutes, and then I might alter my plan!

With everything close one might ask, why don't I walk or take a bike. There is only highway without side walks from my bus stop to anywhere I might want to go. Once in the city it is easier to walk around. The steep hills (think San Francisco, with an altitude of 8,500 feet) prevent me from thinking about a bike.

There are buses called Micros, vans called Trufis, and something called a Taxi Trufi, which can be anything from a Toyota Corolla to a 15 passenger van. I can take any of these and pay about 22 cents. A taxi would cost between $2-4.00 depending on how far you want to go. Sometimes I need to transfer from micro to trufi, to get where I want to go, usually one of the other Franciscan Centers. Nothing will take me directly to any of the Centers from my home bus stop. I can get to the Parish of San Carlos directly as it is centrally located.

Well there is a start in catching up with my information. I am going to try to post a couple of pictures of Tiqti Sud. If it doesn't work I'll try again next time.