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.