Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

Some company has just left the house, and now I'm here on a Friday night, listening to Christmas music and looking through old facebook pictures... if anything makes me miss "the comforts" of home, this would be it! But really, I just want to dance next to a lit Christmas tree to Nat King Cole. Anyone with me?

Well, so much has happened in the last few weeks. First off, the TIPNIS marchers (2,000 indigenous Bolivians from the Yungas) arrived in La Paz last week after marching for about two months. These incredibly brave and passionate souls marched from the jungle area of Bolivia to the mountains of La Paz, as a form of protest against the president's plan to cut a road through the jungle straight to Brazil (for "economic purposes", aka coca). When the TIPNIS people arrived in La Paz, they were joined by about one million Paceño supporters in the last bit of their march through the city. Basically the majority of the Bolivian people, Paceños and TIPNIS alike, don't hold Evo (the pres) in very high regards, to say the least. Dad, Lin and Gwen were able to join the march right outside their workplace and experience the historic moment hands-on, while the rest of us were just incredibly inspired by everything going on. I tell you, I've never felt so politically opinionated about anything before, and I only officially became a Bolivian resident a few weeks ago! I got to have my share of political activity, but I won't explain too much else about all this stuff, except that it was a really beautiful moment in Bolivian history of the people uniting and fighting for their rights. Evo, after the TIPNIS spent several days of waiting for an answer--mind you, in a city completely foreign to them, with elderly and children and pregnant women seated in protest in the frost overnight--ultimately decided to still build the road, but use a different route than originally planned. Needless to say, it all was an unbelievable experience, and I'm so grateful to be truly living through Bolivian history (despite the fact that most of it is witnessing heartbreaking corruption).

The social projects have been going marvelous. There are no words in existence that describe my ecstasy in working in the guarderías (daycares)... I LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! The kids in both guarderías stole my heart from the get go, but now that I've spent enough time with them each day to get to know the individual children... I am in love, to say the least. I wish I could write a long blog post about each kid, each being so unique, charming, opinionated and enchanting... but seeing that I work with about 85 children total, that's not gonna happen.

These are a few pictures from Casa de Refugio (the young mothers' home). These aren't the kids I work with daily (my mom's with them three days a week), but these photos do show just how darn cute Bolivian children are:

The other day I was sitting against the gimnasio wall with about six kids vying for a spot on my lap, and through the process of replacing Fabricio with Rodrigo on my lap, then Emilio with Heidy, etc., I couldn't help but think how blessed to have this as my daily work! Sure, it's definitely not always pleasant and easy; what with desperately trying to get restless children to nap, or finding my finger suddenly soaked in boogers, or especially when the baby I'm feeding decides to barf my hard work back up on me. There are times in the guardería that are just downright gross, but never would I replace a vomit moment or even the frantic shushing of a relentlessly screaming child. Sometimes I'm just speechless as I experience day in and day out that God-given joy that comes with kids. I love the hyper little "peanut-heads", as my mom likes to call all children.

MeryLaura and I on the bus.

Last week when I hung out with MeryLaura, an AWESOME sister from the singles ministry here, she took me to one of La Paz' most famous museums and historic streets. It was amazing to learn the history of the very ground I was walking on, to see Incan gold and precious jewels that've been preserved for centuries, to tour the house of Pedro Murillo--one of Bolivia's greatest revolutionary leaders and martyrs--and to read through an exhibit of inspirational women throughout Bolivian history. I had so much fun with MeryLaura, who is a native Paceña and also a tourism major (put those two together and you get one passionate and proud Bolivian!), and I was all the more proud to be here surrounded by such rich and beautiful culture.

This week, my dad is in Cambodia, Lin is in Haiti, Gwen is about to leave for the States and Ive is getting ready to leave for the Pampas. Basically, everyone's going in and out and we've realized it's never going to be any other way, especially with this group of travel junkies! There are ideas and plans and wishful thoughts flying around left and right concerning family and close friends visiting during Thanksgiving and Christmas. One thing I know: I can not wait to see my sister in December! Regardless of what happens concerning everything else, I know that as I sit here with my Christmas music playing, all I can think about is that magical season spent with CANDICE in BOLIVIA!

But first things first, Halloween. The actual holiday as we know it in America--with trick-or-treating and costumes and what not--is celebrated by some here, but the big deal in Bolivia (and almost all of Latin America) is Día de los Muertos, or Todos Santos. "Day of the Dead" or "All Saints' Day" is a day when, as it's believed, the souls of passed loved ones come back to visit earth for the night. Families gather around their deceased's burial site, set up a table full of the loved one's favorite food and drink and objects, play their favorite tunes, and welcome their spirit as it returns with walking sticks provided (since it's supposedly exhausted after the voyage to earth). It's a very unique and fascinating holiday. Today, we joined the FAI volunteers in a day of learning about Bolivian culture, and included in the day was a trip to the city's main cemetery to get an idea of what the celebration means, and to see where it takes place among the tight-knit graves stacked together on walls. Todos Santos is November 2 (no work or school!), widely celebrated throughout the country and a very meaningful time for those who participate. As for the HOPE team, we're hosting a Halloween party this weekend, and as long as my Saved by the Bell costume follows through, I'm a happy camper.

So, this post has been sufficiently random and not significantly noteworthy. There are tons of things I could rant on about, but I'll leave it at this, as usual: Please keep the HOPE team, the La Paz church, and the children of Bolivia in your prayers! We love you!

Aha, two photos I stole from my fellow volunteer in the Casa de Paso guardería:

Toño

Franco              

P.S. Sorry for any confusing language or errors in the post, it's almost 2AM now. I'm not going to edit this. :)