First Day at Talita Cumi

This morning, we started our projects for the week.  While here, we will be painting the girls' dorms and creating space for swings.  While the girls worked inside scraping and priming the walls, the boys took turns swinging at the brick wall, which needs to be removed for the new swings. Everyone took on their duty and worked hard, resulting in a lot of progress already on day one.

Once the kids returned home from school, we joined them for a delicious lunch prepared by the tias (aunts) at the orphanage.

To get to know each others' names better, we brought along the Blanket Game.  In this game, you have to yell the person's name across from you when the blanket is dropped before they say yours.  The kids absolutely loved this! 

To finish out the day, we took the kids to the Cancha.  There we played basketball, football, and soccer while some just relaxed on the playground.  Once it started sprinkling, the kids went back to Talita Cumi while we returned to The Gather for dinner and rest, so another great day can take place tomorrow!

Alyssa Ediger

Learning About Bolivianos!

Before embarking on our first adventure to the market and HiperMaxi, Heidi gave us a quick lesson and challenge about the Bolivianos (Bolivian Currency).  One U.S. dollar is equal to about 7 Bolivianos, so things within the market seem very cheap. Heidi challenged each team to purchase 12 mandarinas and 12 bananas.

Dozen Eggs = 8 Bolivianos ($1.15)

25 Mandarinas = 8 Bolivianos ($1.15)

Pineapple = 5 Bolivianos (less than $1)

12 Bananas = 5 Bolivianos (less than $1)

Buying fruit at the stands located in the market

Our form of transportation is a Land Rover with a back sitting area. We fit 16 people in one vehicle to get back from the market!

Tara Ediger

We made it!

After an almost hour delay on the runway due to a maintenance issue in La Paz, we made it safely to Santa Cruz. We are now at the Gather Mission House where we will be staying for the entire trip. Waiting for us was some delicious Bolivia cuisine including fresh bananas, mandarins, papayas, and a crowd favorite, Saltainas! Everyone is settling in, unpacking, and getting a little bit of rest before we start our first day in Bolivia. Looking forward to share more of our adventure with everyone!

Aaron

WERE on our WAY

                              TEAM BOLIVIA 2013 //We are all checked in waiting to fly out!