Third Time's a Charm

And, I’m back! Back to the blog and back in Cocha!

I’ve officially been here a week and easily found my way back into the Cocha groove. Although, to be fair, I have been doing an extraordinary amount of sleeping due to a nasty cold and congestion that I’ll chalk up to the change in weather (at least that’s the Bolivian excuse).  It’s officially winter here in Cocha, which has me a bit confused because its 35 degrees out when I wake up but 82 my 1pm – and no indoor heating!! But that’s what the two weeks of adjustment time were planned for – being sick, moving in the apartment, starting my visa process, and, of course, visiting my babies.

For those of you who do not know, this time around I am working at the American International School of Bolivia (AISB) as a sixth grade teacher. You may be thinking, what credentials do you have to teach?! And the answer is….none…other than being a well educated, English speaking, creative thinking foreigner – which, apparently for them, is enough.

I’m renting a small 2-bedroom apartment that sits behind the house of another teacher from AISB. It’s centrally located, which is really convenient considering last time I was here I lived waaaaay down south and it was a pain to get anywhere. This location definitely adds to my ability to walk everywhere (except to work, which is about 20mins away on the north-west side of town).  It’s mostly furnished and I’ve been working on adding some personal touches – a painting, pictures, flowers, etc – and slowly but surely it’s starting to feel like a home. Diego has been a great help in accompanying me on my shopping trips, helping to move furniture around, and acting as my negotiator when the Bolivians want to try to hike up their prices for the gringa.

I’ve also been able to take some time and visit the babies at Solomon (who are no longer babies and talking, running, and growing more every day!), the boys at Nazareth, and the main office of Amanecer. I find that I’ve come at quite a crucial turning point for Amanecer as they struggle against the economic hardships and the change in labor laws (that have increased salaries by 30% since 2010). I’ll be sure to comment more on their situation in another blog, for the sake of keeping this one short, but I’m excited about using whatever downtime I have to help them brainstorm how to increase outreach and communication to former volunteers and involve them in helping to save the cause that is so close to all of our hearts.

I have no doubt that this year will bring it’s own challenges, adventures, and frustrations – as any first year of teaching will, but with a special Bolivian flare. And it will be interesting, seeing Cochabamba from the upper echelon’s perspective…I’m secretly hoping to win them over and convince them to give their money to Amanecer….but maybe I shouldn’t be admitting that quite yet.