4 weeks in Sucre volunteering

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Gemma:

I can´t believe another week has gone by already, time really flies here!

This week has been a good week for meeting the locals. On Friday we went to my Spanish teacher´s house for a traditional Bolivian meal as it was my last lesson. I say house, but it was 2 rooms in an apartment complex, neither bigger than an average sized bathroom. She lives there with her 3 year old daughter, her husband died last year in tragic circmstances. Anyway, it puts poverty in perspective. She is a teacher, has a university degree and yet she can´t afford to live somewhere with its own bathroom, sink or cooking facilities. She is lucky, in that she has nice neighbours etc but she really has nothing. She gets paid the equivalent of 1 pound an hour for teaching. I was getting little frustrated with the way she conducts her English lessons (where I volunteer) but when you realise how little she gets paid, you can´t really blame her for not putting her heart and soul into it.

Then on Friday evening we went for dinner at the house of óne of Allan´s teachers. That was totally different. He obviously comes from a very well off family. There must be about 10 family members living there (which is normal here) but it is huge - about 4 storeys with a balcony at the top that overlooks the whole city. It was quite a contrast to my teacher´s life.

We have been getting some culture this week too. We are here at a great time because Bolivia is celebrating 200 years in independence this year. On Friday there was a food festival and on Saturday all of the museums and churches were free to the public so we made the most of it!

Last week at the orphanage we arrived to find a party in full swing - it turned out an Italian couple were adopting one of the girls to take back to Italy. It was a bit bizarre but everyone seemed very happy so I think it must be seen as a good thing.

I can´t believe it´s our last week here. We have been quite surprised how easily we have settled in. It will be sad to leave but we are meeting up with our friend Hannah for the last leg of our trip, and then home again, yay!

Also, I have a job to go back to, hurray! I will be doing maternity cover at Allan´s school from a week after we get back until the end of term. He is going back permenantly. So we have gone from working 100 miles apart to in the same building!! It may take some getting used to but it is perfect for us at this point. Wish us luck!

Allan:

So after 8 months travelling together we are now going to be working together when we get back. I am trying very hard not to annoy Gem, but it can be hard!!

It has been brilliant staying in Sucre at Mama Vicky´s house. She has looked after us and we have a lovely room with cable TV. The volunteering has been a great experience; working only with chalk and a backboard is quite a contrast to the computers and interactive whiteboards of English schools. The children are great and full of life; they all want to talk and say hello.

We leave Sucre this week and head to La Paz. I am hoping to do the death road on a mountain bike. After that we head to Lake Titicaca and then into Peru.

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Photos

Sucre
The daughter of Gem's teacher