joycemajor

HI there, Well, yesterday was one of those screeching halt kind of days. Jorge the man of the house came up to my room the night before to tell me that someone new was coming to the house. I figured that he wanted me to stop having the queens room to myself and said, no problem, just move a new bed in no problem. Figured that unless she was really difficult it would be great to have a roommate...it´s always good to get flexibility tests. So, that was fine but when I got home for lunch I walked into my room and the smell was horrible....terrible. Now in the downstairs room, we had figured out that he had rubbed a nightstand with kerosene and the poor couple next to it was getting headaches . After they ... read more

Como estas? It´s my lovely break getting to write in English and I told my teacher it´s like ice cream when I get to speak in English after all day of Spanish. So, I was thinking that coming here like this and getting to know people means that Bolivia doesn´t have to be this country that is associated with fear. I don´t have to spend time thinking about the drug stuff here, any civil unrest, that it might not be safe. I can be here and see that no matter how people live they strive to live good lives with their families and all of the emotions that we experience at home are here as well. Not sure if I´m explaining this correctly but from there, maybe Bolivia seems a bit wild or unsafe but from ... read more

I can´t believe that it has been a week here. I´m so sorry that I didn´t bring my camera hookup so that you could see what I am seeing. Well, when i get home, I´ll download the photos. The sky is crystal clear blue even though the cars and buses are puffing out the worst gunk into the air and the big white fluffy clouds are the biggest bunch of billowing fluff that I´ve ever seen. As I walk along streets, the colonial architecture painted in a pristine white makes a beautiful contrast to the blue sky. This week I´ve got to ask my teacher who was in charge of making these gorgeous buildings...Spain, Spain I suppose. With 2 universities and museums, churches, a large park and the wonderful town square at the center, this ... read more

Yesterday was slow and quiet on my wander through town. Sunday is down day and wow, i wish we had that back home. Nothing goes on in the morning but church, and doing the wash and then abig lunch with family. Even a sit in the park was quiet. We had a big lunch with visiting relatives and my head was bursting with spanish. It´s like doing aerobics after no exercise. I could see housecleaning in my brain dusting off words, tenses, verbs. At times I think if they look at my eyes they´ll see that they are crossing. I open my eyes really wide as if that will help me understand. But its good. My Dutch friend speaks 3 other languages and the girl from Israel speaks 3 as well so goign for 2 should ... read more

Sucre Bolivia was a great choice at first impressions. I´ve been here 24 hours and it feels good anyway. The sky is blue with white fluffy clouds, the breeze is fresh and it´s warm but not hot. The architecture here is quaint with a beautiful church on the main square and lovely details on the buildings. I think there are a million walks to take to discover the city. There is something to be said for painting everything white....grill work, geraniums, stand out. I was walking through the big market yesterday and kept having flashbacks to the big market in Cherkassy, Ukraine. No fish but everything else looked so much the same. The people here are quite beautiful...and very friendly. There is NO choice but to use my Spanish and no one is laughing as I ... read more

Well, I've noticed a HUGE interest in voluntourism in the media but I keep seeing the same projects mentioned and most of them are expensive. I have decided to edit and organize the list of global volunteer websites that I give to students in my Inexpensive Voluntourism class here in Seattle and offer it in a CD format. My thought is that it would be easier to research the sites with 'hot' websites rather than a book format that requires so much copying. My hope is that more people can find inexpensive projects that interest them and in turn those projects get needed help. This list is 80+ pages long and I cover many countries, many different types of projects as well as highlight the places I've gone. I'll have it for sale on my website ... read more