CULTURE SHOCK!!!

Ok...so things aren't always wonderful and happy go lucky, even if you are EXACTLY where the Lord wants you to be... I know this...and yet I still get into funks.

These last few days have been...frustrating... I was so independent in the states. I would go shopping within the budget, put it all away in the house, fix dinner, and still have time to bake something yummy before Andy got home from work. He would always commend me for my abilities and proceed to shovel the meal down at lightening speed.

In Bolivia, things are a bit different. I can't go shopping by myself. Therefore, Andy and I go shopping in the evenings, after things have slowed down here. He has to read me the names of cans on the shelves so I know what to buy. I can only purchase half of what is on my list because the other half well,... doesn't EXIST in this country...Its always frustrating to spend more at the grocery store than I thought we would...Without knowing exactly where to get things cheaper, its hard to stay in budget right now...After checking out, we pay the little door guy to push our cart to our gate, and hand him five Bolivianos in return. We then unload practically everything in the fridge so it won't spoil. Then I begin the often times TWO hour process of making dinner. This process usually involves me breaking down in hysterical sobs because the macaroni has turned to mush or I CANNOT manage the flour tortillas I am trying to roll out. The meal is, just barely edible and Andy...still shovels it in at lightening speed...but I feel silly when he commends me on a "job well done" because to me, it is a COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER!!!!!! I hate that I can't go shopping by myself, I hate that I can't even READ labels...I hate that none of my meals turn out...and I HATE that I have to rely on Andy for domestic type jobs. He does so much for me. I love the time we have together, but I know that Andy would much rather be doing other things...I am mostly just completely humbled...and realize that I'm going to have to suck in my pride while learning to do things here. I might cling closely to Andy for a little while yet, and I'm going to have to be ok with that. Shopping and cooking are just a FEW examples of things I can't do alone here...don't even get me STARTED on decorating... Exactly WHERE do I get things framed in this country??? And are you serious ALL the walls are CEMENT????!!!

Anyway, this is my culture shock. Bolivia is still where I KNOW we are supposed to be, I'll just have to learn a little better how exactly to...be here in a functional way... The hinge that all this depends on is Spanish. I am learning Spanish and determined to continue to learn. Pray for me as I try to accomplish tasks by myself here in this maze of a city. This next week begins my decorating task...Oh yikes!! :/ Pray for patience for Andy as he deals with his inept wife. =)

Driving...

So, after about three weeks of being here Andy FINALLY let me drive!!! We had to make an airport run at 4 a.m. and so on the way out there, I convinced him to let me be the driver! Now, the ONLY reason he agreed was because it was, like I said, 4 a.m. and there were maybe a total of ten cars out and about that early! =) So...off we went...all the while arguing about what I was doing wrong. (I never have done very well with constructive criticism)... :/ Driving in Bolivia is hard to describe. People basically are always prepared for the unexpected, honk their horn just simply to let their presence be known, make up their own rules as they go... try to avoid pot holes (or craters)...and above all else, try to get to their destination as quickly as humanly possible! So, off we went and as I was going through every intersection that was unmarked with a stop sign or light, I would honk to let people know I was coming...pretty soon we started getting looks from the few people who were already setting up shop downtown...so that was awkward. But, at least we didn't get hit right? A few highlights of the trip were that I remembered my way there!!!! Also, I ran my FIRST RED LIGHT...and then I did it three more times!!! haha Like I said, the rules are kind of optional down here. I thought I did a pretty good job getting all the way to Viru Viru (the ariport)...but Andy hasn't let me drive since then. :/ So...I'm guessing I did worse than I thought. It is quite a difference to be driving for a living as a school bus driver...and then go to being banned to the passenger seat! Oh well...I'm thankful that he is willing to be the designated driver though.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my driving story with you and show you a few pictures that I've captured of the experience so far. Non of these do it justice. You'll have to come visit to see for yourself!

Our one lane suddenly became three...very crooked ones.


He does so well...



This is the point where I laughed and then got REALLY scared! :)

Church!

Ok...so like I promised, I'm going to give ya'll the run down of our church situation...

Basically, New Tribes Mission has asked that all the missionaries down here get involved in a Bolivian Church. I'm very excited about this because I know that will greatly improve my language learning! So, they gave us about three different churches to try and this last week was our first one. It is called Templo Cristiano. Its only a block from our place. The service we were going to was supposed to start at 10:30 a.m. Andy said that we wouldn't leave till 10:45 because churches here never start on time! I was pretty distressed because in my mind...thats 15 minutes that church has been going on...and we've missed it! Might as well not even go right?? WELL...we get to church at like 10:48..and the FIRST service was still going on!!! I laughed out loud. Andy had been right...and we felt so out of place being early...and right in the way. :/ Oh well...I learned my lesson... Our service didn't actually get going till 11:09. Yikes! So latin america...

The service was good. I actually understood many of the songs...because they were american tunes. So that helped me learn the Spanish words for things... It was quite a roudy church...much different from our church at home. But I still really enjoyed it and there were many young people that Andy would LOVE to get involved with! So, we'll see...next week is a church farther away. We still don't know the name of it...we might have to take a taxi...

So, I'll keep you posted on what we decide! It'll be like House Hunters on HGTV...but instead of houses...its churches! Haha... The reason that its so important to find a church where you "fit" is because churches down here are like your family. They have TONS of social events and really reach out to you...So, that is why we're on the hunt...I'll keep you posted. Thats all for now I guess!

Where do I start?

These last few weeks have been a whirlwind...I think we both had a bit of physical and emotional exhaustion at the beginning! We jumped into things so quickly, with moving, saying goodbye and then adjusting to a new life! We have been busy at work for the past I guess three weeks and have LOVED LOVED LOVED every minute of it!!!

The hardest part about being here is that it is SO COLD right now. It was beautiful when we first got here and now it has suddenly (like within the past week) plummeted down to lows of 4 and 5 degrees celsius. (about 40 degrees fahrenheit) It is threatening tonight to break a record for the coldest night Santa Cruz has ever had...making it down to 3 degrees celsius!! The big problem is that the people here and the buildings aren't used to such cold. Our floors are all cement tile and no heaters...and our walls are cement too. All of which are COLD COLD COLD. We went and bought an extra blanket for our bed and even had to let the dog in tonight...poor Dudley! I knew it was a big deal when the little corner store down the street was closed during the day!!! That little old lady is open usually ALL DAY EVERY DAY! There were headlines in the newspaper of homeless people stuffing their clothes with newspaper trying to keep warm! Anyway, what makes that hard on US is the motivation factor. Before the cold we were working in the yard every day and enjoying organizing this place. Now that it is so cold we've found things to do in our house...and tried to go out as little as possible. So I'm READY for warmer weather so I can get to work!


Our jobs have been...alot of different things. =) We are here for the guests that come, so our schedules have to be very flexible. We have had a lot of EARLY mornings taking people to the airports...and many late nights waiting for people to get in. But, the best part is being able to be together! Andy is SUCH A GOOD DRIVER here!!! It is CRAZY driving in the city! I was so impressed by him...he has just adjusted so well. Driving here is not quite as bad as Manilla, Philippines...but CLOSE. Everyone just does what they feel like. Regardless of the rules. Rules are more like suggestions here. haha I love it.



We have like I said, worked in the garden alot. This place has lots of plants...and papaya trees. Andy and I aren't crazy papaya eaters...but they've been a blessing to others as we BEG them to pick them all from the trees... =)

I guess thats all for now. I don't want to write too much...I promise to be more consistent with this...I do have the time for it, just the motivation is the hard part...Tomorrow is our first Sunday at our potential church. I'll let you know what that means and how that goes tomorrow! =)

Our New Home!

Our gate...lovely yellow walls...


The Santa Cruz guest home!! Nine total rooms/apartments plus our house...


The wonderful yard...with TONS of plants and Papaya trees!


The door in the corner is our house...


Here it is! Our first actual house...


living room/dining room- Even after unpacking our four suitcases the place still looks empty. :) Lots of space for us!



Kitchen!!!



Bed room


Other View


Papaya! Yum!


Dudley the dog




So here it is!!! We made it safe and sound...more pictures on my facebook!!! =) I'll post more later. Today our first guests arrived so Andy and I had to figure things out in a jiffy...It was kinda embarrassing how much we questioned ourselves, still figuring things out! We had two days of orientation and a tour of the area! There is so much in walking distance which makes things alot easier. Already I have learned that you have to buy baking soda at a pharmacy...not in grocery stores. Milk and yogurt come in bags...weird. The cheese here is affordable but interesting...I like it though. Its HARD to find seasonings that I like. (Italian mainly) Um, the food here overall is EXCELLENT, especially the breads!...

Thank you for your prayers! =) More to come later!

Mindy