My first days in Bolivia

I am here! Brad and I arrived yesterday with only a slight problem at the La Paz airport. The difference in altitude is definitely noticable, especially when we were running through the airport and up the stairs to catch the plane.

The drive up to Tiraque from Cochabamba was beautiful. It is wintertime, so the vegetation is very dry and brown, much like Idaho. The mountains are beautiful, but I love all mountains so I am a bit biased. We saw women washing their clothes in the river which was very muddy. Most of the women wear the traditional dress all the time, which is a knee length pleated skirt, hand woven woolen sweater, and carry thrit children or their belongings in a brightly colored sack over their backs. I will post photos as soon as I can.

The skies are clear, the sun is intense, and the stars are brilliant. Last night I spent some time alone in our patio looking at stars I've never seen before. No big dipper. No cassiopeia. I felt a tre sense of the vastness of our world and our universe. The moment ended, however, when Tyler set off some firecrackers! They were huge, the kind that are illegal in the States. Kat and Tyler wanted to properly welcome us to Bolivia.

I have seen the school and boarding house where I will likely work and have met more people than whose names I can remember. My Spanish is proving to be as much of a handicap as I had anticipated, but we are looking into some language training soon.

Our house is right on the plaza, and there is always activity going on there. Right now they are repaving the square, so the streets are full of holes, piles of rock, dump trucks and cement mixers. The sidewalks are full of children, women spinning wool, a shoemaker, and some locals selling produce. I have befriended one young boy Gabriel who wanders the streets. He is a special needs kid, and because there are no special ed classes he doesn't go to school. He loves to smile and hug and his innocence is moving. The humility of this whole place is enough to stir the heart. In the outskirts of town there are fields where the farmers use oxen to pull the plows.

In short, I think I am really going to settle into this place very nicely. I like the pace of life, and the faces of the people are absolutely beautiful. I know that as I get to know Tiraque better I will run into many difficulties that right now I cannot imagine, but I will also find more beauty. God is certainly here with me.