A penny for two sparrows. : All for Him

“Before reaching the final line, however, he had already understood that he would never leave that room, for it was foreseen that the city of mirrors (or mirages) would be wiped out by the wind and exiled from the memory of men at the precise moment
when Aureliano Babilonia would finish deciphering the parchments, and that everything written on them was unrepeatable since time immemorial and forever more, because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth.”

- Garcia Gabriel Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude

I continually have to remind myself of the reasons why I am living in Bolivia. There are several reason on the surface that I could you share, but the final, internal reason is that I am here because I believe I am answering a call from God. This might seem trivial and literally unbelievable by folks outside of the belief in God, or even outside of rationality. I think even reasoning has its limits. If I reason that I could have finished my degree and be making money to buy a new house, have a family etc. Would these things bring me joy? Anyway, there is not that much to contemplate on the subject because I have already made the decision to spend two years in Bolivia.

I haven’t felt right about writing the last three months, and I apologize to all of you who have followed my petty words. I believe I fell into a low part in my service, a small bout of depression; this was probably self-induced and perpetuated by bad habits. I am writing now because I believe I have passed that part in my term here. After seeing and feeling the consequences of escaping my life; I have made a vuelta back to a truly rewarding and enriching life. I have come to embrace the absurdity of life, which to some makes life worth living.

I am still trying to find the source of my lapse in living a good life; maybe it was due to the lack of philosophizing about how to live a good life—como vivir bien? I also think about the work I am doing here, or maybe the lack of work I am doing here. I have always had a job or a purpose that kept me busy, but currently my work has been a bit boring. I have found that embracing the boringness of my job by finding new things to learn has helped me seek a way out of an impasse.

I recently finished One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; the book is filled with beautiful prose depicting magical moments in the history of a village tucked away in a tropical rainforest that might as well be the history of every Latin American country, as a friend recently described the book. The book continually brings up the cyclical nature of time, that way time repeats itself. I thought about the cyclical nature of time and events in relation to Latin America. Is the colonization of Latin America repeating itself again? I think it is rather a continuation of a problem that has never been completely solved. The exploitive relationships that Latin America has with Western countries continues to affect the daily lives of the people that live here. I can’t point out examples of exploitation that can be felt within an individual, I can only guess. My guesses would be mixed up with the misuse of taxes and corruption of government officials and other issues that don’t have a direct connection with outside exploitation.

The peach season has finally come to end, and the mandarin season is about to begin. I only wish that the peaches were as delicious as the peaches found in the hot summers outside the backdoor of my parent’s house. I am happier for the mandarin season because I believe the mandarins taste better here than in the US. Cochabamba is the perfect place to have fresh fruits and vegetables all year round. The sub-tropical environment of the city of Cochabamba is perfect for growing peaches, strawberries, onions, carrots, limes, lemons, peppers, avocadoes, etc. I don’t know if there is a fruit or vegetable that can’t be grown in the department of Cochabamba. The department of Cochabamba has three main climate zones: Andean region, sub-tropical/valley, and tropical. These three regions make access to a variety of food sources that keep eating a variety of dishes cheap. I will write a more thorough examination of the food/diet of Cochabamba in the future.

The construction of a Maca factory is underway in Totorani, and should be finished by the end of May.

We are in the process of saying goodbye to these chickens, and also the people of Mizque and Aiquile. Our projects in these two regions will come to end, and we will begin the new three project only located in the high mountainous region of Ayopaya.

A field of potatoes along the road leading to Cocapata.

I escaped Cochabamba one weekend to visit the beautiful beaches of Iquique, Chile.

A friend invited me to eat Lambreado de Conejo Cuy. The dish includes a fried rabbit, potatoes, chuno, and vegatables.

A couple of friends and I made a trip to Uyuni to see the famous Salar de Uyuni (Salar de Tunapa).

The salt flat covers and area of 4,086 sq mil of land, making it the biggest salt flat in the world.

There are several small "islands" located within the salar. This island has a lot of big cactuses. This island was named Incahuasi (House of Inca in Quechua).

My sister made me a heart from Perler beads before I left, so I decided to take a picture of it on the Salar. The Salar is a great place to take relative size photos.