Our First Week in Bolivia

From: Meagan Jasitt <[email protected]>

Date: July 15, 2014 at 5:46:58 PM EDT

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
JA
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

***This blog was written Saturday, July 12th! Sorry for the delay.***

I feel like I’ve been gone a month (It hasn’t even been a
week). I would love to tell you all in depth what all happen, but it would be a
novel and let’s be honest, you wouldn’t read it. So let me hit some of the highlights:

Thursday:

–      
We left Atlanta in route for a layover in Miami
at 5

–      
I realized how much I’m going to miss Starbucks

–      
Had my last (American) supper (Ruby Tuesdays
veggie burgers … mmmm!!!)

–      
Boarded a plane for Bolivia at 10 pm

–      
Flew under some of the most gorgeous stars and
saw half a dozen shooting stars (my fav!!!)

(Me all packed up and ready to leave for the ATL airport!)

Friday:

–      
Landed in El Alto at 5 am

–      
Was hit by the below freezing weather (July is
winter here…brrrr!!!!)

–      
Stood in line for an hour to get a visa

–      
Said goodbye to some of the squadmates and was
shuffled off by a taxi driver 20 minutes down the road to a hostel in La Paz

–      
Got winded walking up the stairs to the hostel
(at an altitude of 14,000 ft. it’s a little harder to breath)

–      
Rested up, then hit the streets to find food. It
was hard!!! Mostly fried chicken and french fry vendors. I think I settled for
some fruit and agua.

–      
Did some LIGHT afternoon yoga (again, really
hard to breath)

–      
Opted for a power bar for dinner (still trying
to figure out this whole food situation here)

–      
Played games with my team for the month
(Fearless Laughter and Rok Chazak) and then turned in at like 9 pm

(The view from our hostel in La Paz!)

(Our hostel bedroom…13 people in one room!)

Saturday:

–      
Was woken up from my “U” shaped hostel bed by an
abundance of honking and dogs barking (this seems to be the anthem music of the
city)

–      
Went to get smoothies and WiFi with a few of the
girls (Savor your free WiFi in the US…It’s non-existent here)

–      
Took a SkyLift to the top of El Alto for 6
Bolivianos (a little less than $1)

–      
Saw some baby llamas and a beautiful view of the
city!

–      
Came back down and took a nap on the steps of
the hostel while some of my teammates serenaded us with guitar

–      
Went inside to have some cocoa tea and watch the
Big Bang Theory (in English surprisingly)

–      
Packed up and headed to the bus station to catch
a 7 pm bus to Uyuni (our ministry site)

–      
Had the bumpiest 11 hour bus ride of my life…
but surprisingly I slept wonderfully! (I think I was the only one)

(Skylift up the mountain!)

(View from the top!)

Sunday:

–      
Arrived to the 12 degree Uyuni bus stop (street)
at 6 am

–      
We were picked up in the back of a truck and
taken to our host family home, where we slept for a few brief, cold hours
before heading to church with our ministry contact

–      
Practiced some yoga

–      
Played Ultimate Frisbee in the streets

–      
Went with 2 of my teammates to take our first
real shower since leaving the states (if you want a warm one here, you have to pay for it)

–      
Wandered across an AMAZING pizza joint

(We made it!!!)

Monday:

– Rest day … most of the afternoon
was just spent exploring the city!

(Cool Graffiti!!!)

Tuesday:

–      
Woke up bright and early and headed to the church
to do some manual labor in their side yard

–      
Walked all the way to the public showers, only
to find out that they were closed.

–      
Went back to the casa to have some lunch, and
then back to the church to start English lessons with some of the kiddos

(Casey leveling the side yard at the church)

Wednesday:

– Went to the hospital around 12 to
visit and pray over some of the patients. We even got to sing to two women!

– English
lessons from 3-430

– I preached to a congregation of 2
+ my team over Daniel 3 (Believing in God’s goodness through the good and bad)

Thursday:

–      
Woke up all warm and toasty…I’m getting used to
this cold weather stuff

–      
Hung out with the chickens (Arleen and Hank)
while we ate breakfast and had tea

–      
Went to the market to get some groceries…It’s
crazy on Thursdays!!! 

– Cooked lunch with the girls 

– Had English lessons in the afternoon 

– Went out into the main square of Uyuni to invite kids to a Children’s ministry on Saturday 

(Making lunch!!!)

Friday:

Went to the Salt Flats…Pictures to
come!!!