Today starts out pretty normal. Three of our team are in the mountains
working at a construction site and the other two are at the restaurant.
I´m at home nursing a sinus infection. I spend the morning reading,
doing part five of the Insanity workout video (cardio), and take a nap.
Its around 2:00 and I realize I haven´t eaten, so I head outside and
jump on the bus to go find some food. This is where it gets fun. I have
my stomach set on this gyro joint a few minutes away, but when I get off
the bus I realize its closed. I walk a few more blocks down and stumble
acrross a polleria (chicken restaurant). I 1/4 of a chicken togo for
the equivalent of $2 USD and jump back on the bus to head back to the
house. I get to the gate, reach for my key, and realize, stupidly, that I
had left it in my other pair of pants. I ring the doorbell, no one is
home. Oops.
working at a construction site and the other two are at the restaurant.
I´m at home nursing a sinus infection. I spend the morning reading,
doing part five of the Insanity workout video (cardio), and take a nap.
Its around 2:00 and I realize I haven´t eaten, so I head outside and
jump on the bus to go find some food. This is where it gets fun. I have
my stomach set on this gyro joint a few minutes away, but when I get off
the bus I realize its closed. I walk a few more blocks down and stumble
acrross a polleria (chicken restaurant). I 1/4 of a chicken togo for
the equivalent of $2 USD and jump back on the bus to head back to the
house. I get to the gate, reach for my key, and realize, stupidly, that I
had left it in my other pair of pants. I ring the doorbell, no one is
home. Oops.
No big deal, Ill just call Mike and see if he can let us in (he
lives like three minutes away, after all). No answer. Katherine is at
the restaurant. Steve is in the mountains with part of our group.
lives like three minutes away, after all). No answer. Katherine is at
the restaurant. Steve is in the mountains with part of our group.
I think about climbing the ten foot wall surrounding our house.
Nope,
not gonna happen, especially not with a torn ACL coupled with the
jumping ability of any average white kid. I ditch the idea.
Nope,
not gonna happen, especially not with a torn ACL coupled with the
jumping ability of any average white kid. I ditch the idea.
Im really hungry at this point and I have a plate of chicken staring me
in the face. Im getting impatient. I decide to go next door and see if I can climb thefrom the neighbors yard over his wall and in to our yard. Im not sure why I thought this would work; its the same wall that I couldnt climb over earlier. However, I fail to realize this and go knocking on his gate, hoping with my miniscule Spanish I could convince him to help this poor gringo. The conversation went something like this (remember, I am transtalting this to English from Spanish and honestly I could be way off):
in the face. Im getting impatient. I decide to go next door and see if I can climb thefrom the neighbors yard over his wall and in to our yard. Im not sure why I thought this would work; its the same wall that I couldnt climb over earlier. However, I fail to realize this and go knocking on his gate, hoping with my miniscule Spanish I could convince him to help this poor gringo. The conversation went something like this (remember, I am transtalting this to English from Spanish and honestly I could be way off):
Me: ” Hello good sir. I have locked myself out of the house next door where I live. No one is there. I need help. May I climb over your wall (I wasnt sure what the word for “wall” was, so I just made a climbing motion for him)
Senor Sergio (yes, I got the name): “Im sorry but the fence is too high and difficult to climb… blah blah spanish blah…. you will just have to wait. sorry I cant help you”
Senor Sergio (yes, I got the name): “Im sorry but the fence is too high and difficult to climb… blah blah spanish blah…. you will just have to wait. sorry I cant help you”
Me: “Err. Ok. Gracias”
The chicken is getting colder by the minute. I figure Im stuck so I just sit down and start eating. I dont have an utensils, or napkins, and the chicken would come with rice and pasta, the two hardest things to eat without said fork or spoon. So be it, Im not picky and can deal with a little mess. I start cramming my face with my hands, using the ketchup packet as a spoon. I am currently homeless and sitting on the side of the street in Bolivia. Welcome to the World Race. At this point, the construction workers outside of our gate started staring and laughing. I waved back with a knowing, confident smile. Yeah, I know I look rediculous and have no problem with it, thanks for asking.
Then the rain starts. And it doesnt rain in Cochabamba, ever, during the dry season. Figures.
Its about this time that I start accepting my fate and weighing my options. No one will be home for a few hours, so I can just sit and wait or…. sit and wait. But then I remember the internet cafe accross the street! I decide that my current predicament would make for a good blog and head on over to the cafe, my sticky, chicken covered fingers start going to work on the keyboard. And here I am, still sitting here, rambling on. This isnt going to be a great blog, I dont even have any pictures with me to use.
Its days like this when I realize how little control I have. There is absolutely nothing I can do right now except sit and wait for someone to come home. God brought me on this trip, and I know one of the reasons Im here is so that I can let go of what little control I think I have over my life and give it to Him. My agenda, my need for security, my comforts, my inability to climb a fence and get back in my house, all mean nothing when compared with God´s plan. Its about time we learned this and learned to go with the flow and laugh at ourselves when things dont go as planned. Hopefully someone gets home soon, but if not, hey, so what? Im here in Boivia on the trip of a lifetime, living a dream of a life right now, and I wouldnt have it any other way. And neither would God.
