Carnaval 2008

We survived Carnaval - just barely! For two weeks prior we had dodged water balloon fights fairly successfully. But from Friday the 1st through Tuesday the 5th, it was all out war. Sucre's Carnaval festivities are rather humble when compared with Oruro, for example. In Sucre they have a couple of parades, but the main activity is the water fighting. Water balloons, bazookas, even buckets and cups (especially from overhead balconies) increase in fierceness as the days progress. And then there's the "spuma," cans of shaving cream type stuff. Lydia was the main target, then Peter, but I was literally drenched by a passing band - cheerfully of course. Ray was usually hit from behind at a distance - the beard we think. Peter and Lydia would join in - ready balloons were sold on every corner - but always got the worst of it. They came back thoroughly drenched several times.



I didn't get many pictures for two reasons: I didn't want to get my camera wet, and I ran out of batteries and couldn't get more until after Carnaval. It was all we could do to get a couple of bags of milk or stealthily make our way to a restaurant. The down side of Carnaval is all the alcohol. Two people died in Sucre from overconsumption.



Here's the link to the photos http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans/Carnaval2008 . But check out YouTube also. I found a video of Carnaval in Sucre With Water Bombs. You may also want to visit the Beams' site again (see below). He has new photos of their recent trip to Sucre. Beautiful!

Equal Time: the rest of the family

Nathan, Jessica and Cadence Rose

Our oldest son Jordan is living in South Korea

teaching English and playing music

Claire Olivia Emmans

Our fifth grandchild, Claire was born on January 23rd to our son Andrew and his wife Jamiey. Tristan, Ethan and Isaiah are the happy brothers.

See what we have to look forward to when we get home?

Visit to Santa Cruz

Lydia and I made it to Santa Cruz Tuesday to check out Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center and meet the principal, Steve Swope. Unfortunately, we arrived during some of the worst flooding in Bolivia's history. The school was not exempt, and they had to cancel classes for the remainder of the week. The soccer field was a lake and the grounds a potential koi pond. In fact they caught a three-foot eel and two catfish on campus! Lydia did get to meet some students and was able to sit in on Spanish class. We were also able to attend chapel before they sent everyone home early.


We stayed at New Tribes Mission guest house, which was great fun. Wednesday afternoon we visited a couple of "malls" which were more like department stores. Everything is done differently here. To pay for our purchases in the clothing department, I was sent downstairs to the lawnmower department. Never would have guessed.


Thursday showed us Santa Cruz heat. But the clouds would come over, then a breeze or a sprinkle, and we decided we'd be able to handle it. It is mid-summer down here.


We got home Friday at around 4PM even though our flight was for 10AM. The flight is only 30 minutes, but we had to wait for Sucre weather to permit.


I put a few pictures on the web album. The link is http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans . Poor Peter had to do schoolwork while we were gone.

Christmas and New Year's Day

The school was closed for three weeks during Christmas and New Year's, so we decided to do some traveling. We had hoped to fly from Sucre to La Paz, but if the clouds are too low the planes don't go - and they are usually too low. So we took a 12 hour overnight bus. Lydia got sick, and was down for two days in La Paz, so all we were able to do was visit Tiahuanaco. Peter and Ray also went down "the world's most dangerous road" on bicycles.

After another 8 hour bus ride, we stayed in Arica, Chile on the ocean over Christmas. The first beach we visited was absolutely strewn with jellyfish (I tried calling them 'pescados mermalados' but was informed the word is 'medusa' in Spanish). Some of these were huge - 18" in diameter. We were a bit timid about swimming here, though others were in the water, so on Christmas day we went to a different beach - fewer medusas, lovely sand and surf, and I went clamming! Great fun! But we got too much sun - here at the equator - and got a bit burnt.

Another long bus to Arequipa, Peru, where we toured beautiful cathedrals and enjoyed wonderful food - Arequipa claiming to be the 'gastronomic capital' of Peru.

On to Cuzco. (We discovered that a toilet on a bus is not such an advantage - for odoriferous reasons.) Here Lydia and I had great fun doing our "Christmas shopping." Prices are great! Of course we toured Machu Picchu, and on New Year's Eve day Peter, Lydia and I went rafting on the Urubamba river. Yahoo!

From Cuzco to Copacabana back in Bolivia. Lydia was sick again, so she didn't come with us to Isla del Sol on Lago Titicaca. Then she really got sick, from altitude we think, back in La Paz, and had to endure that 12 hour bus again.

When we got out of the taxi in front of our hotel in Sucre (looking a sight!), who should we meet but the Beams! They were vacationing with some friends who happen to work at the school where I am applying to teach next year. We all met for dinner the next evening and had some great fellowship.

Back to business this week - got to study that espanol! Here is the link to the pictures of our trip: http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans

Visit the Beams

We have communicated with some missionaries from the Evangelical Free Church of Canada who are living and working in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. You may want to visit their blog at http://www.beamsclan.blogspot.com/ . Daniel Beams gives more information on the political situation as a whole and problems specific to Santa Cruz. Their children attend the school where Lydia hopes to attend and where I (Angela) hope to teach next year.

Peace after the Storm

We've decided to go ahead and stay in Sucre for now. Things are getting back to normal. Everyone pulled together to clean up the streets. In the interim volunteers took over law enforcement duties. Even most of the released jail inmates returned voluntarily. The banks opened up, and the police returned yesterday, which was our chief concern. And we were all getting sad about leaving. We've come to love it here: our school, our church, the people, our hotel apartment, even the barking basset next door. It's beginning to feel like home.

Photos of Uyuni Trip

Here is the link to our photos of the Uyuni trip. http://picasaweb.google.com/raemmans/StarredPhotosOfUyuni You may also want to check out the web news on Sucre for current events here. We're finding, though, that the press is not quite accurate. From Sucre's point of view, the "new constitution" has been imposed illegally, and they fear a dictatorship. That's what all the fuss is about. The streets are looking better now, nevertheless we are considering relocating until things are more settled.

First Trip

Our plan is to study for two weeks at a time, then take a break to travel. Our first trip was to the Salar de Uyuni. We rode in a rather nice bus to the town of Potosi, only 3 hours from Sucre on a paved highway. This gave us time to see the city. Our hotel room had the most comfortable furniture we've found yet in Bolivia. But since the president was visiting, all night long we had to listen to marching bands going past our window in his honor. Next morning we rode for 7 hours on a dirt road in a rather uncomfortable bus to Uyuni. The bus kept picking up passengers even though it was standing room only. These folks had to stand for hours, though I suppose it was still better than walking. From Uyuni we took a three day 4-wheel drive tour through the Salar de Uyuni and its surrounding wilderness. Quite a wild trip!

After years of dreaming and planning, we retired from our jobs in California, sold our home in the foothills, and moved to Sucre, Bolivia, in October of 2007. Here we plan to stay for seven months, studying Spanish and traveling at intervals throughout the country. After that we plan to return for two months to visit family and friends, then back to Bolivia, and so on, for how long, we don't yet know. "The time had come...we went!"