february, march

well hello. it has been quite a while since i wrote on here. i'm not the most punctual with blogs i've come to realize :-) haha

well, the last blog i wrote was in january, so wow, thats a long time ago. 

well lets see, february was my vacation month. the first week i worked and then that first weekend in february i moved into the MCC compound because my friend, Egon, from paraguay was heading out here to Santa Cruz for a week. On saturday i picked Egon up from the bus terminal and by the time he got moved into the room and cleaned up it was supper time, so we headed out to Capri pizza and had some pizza ;-). The next day (sunday) i showed him around santa cruz a little bit and took him to the artisans market that opens every sunday behind the main catholic church in santa cruz. Monday and tuesday i had to work. Those were my last two days of work before vacation! man did they seem to take long! but tuesday afternoon i took egon to my work and showed him around and he joined us in taking the kids to the park. at the park, right when we arrived, it started raining and the kids a blast getting soaked and playing in the rain :-) and we (the bigger people) enjoyed watching the, :-)

then tuesday night Egon and i had wanted to head out to samaipata (its a small tourist town about three hours away from santa cruz. its in the mountains as well :) ), but the taxi service didn’t want to drive out at night that Tuesday. So after a few other phone calls and a bit of a heated talk with the taxi folks, we had to wait till the morning to head out to samaipata. So, the next morning we finally got a taxi and were on our way to samaipata. We got to samaipata at around lunch time or a bit before that. We settled into our hostel. Oh man, let me tell you about the hostel. It was great! Its owned by this dutch dude and his bolivian wife. The room we got was really small but had a sweet balcony and the breakfast was really good! The day we got in to samaipata, we just walked around the town, checked out the plaza and then for supper went at ate out in one of the many restaurants that samaipata has. The next day, it rained all morning, on until the afternoon. so we walked around the town again. We found an abandoned building, checked that out and then had some amazing coffee (it was kinda cold in samaipata). The restaurant where we had our coffee is owned by a german dude, so we chatted with him and decided to check out his restaurant for supper. It eventually stopped raining and we were able to take a taxi out to the incan ruins that are not too far away from samaipata. We were the only ones doing the hike through the ruins and it was a fun time. There was this one spot that echos quite well, so we stood there for a good fifteen minutes and just yelled J after the ruins, we hung out in the hostel, had some terere and had a nap. A nice long nap. That night for supper we headed to the german restaurant and had some good food and then terere J

the next day we packed up in the morning, had breakfast and then headed to the main plaza got into a taxi and quickly told him to drive off so two other people wouldn’t join us. It was quite exciting J hahahahaha

we got back that afternoon and spent that Friday night at Hans and Elmas, watched a movie with them and slept in their backhouse. Oh and elma gave me a haircut.

The next day (Saturday) egon and i packed up our things and did some last minute buying with egon and then headed out to the bus terminal to head off to Paraguay. I spent two weeks in Paraguay. That first week in Paraguay, i met up with old school mates and friends, went out for supper with them. and got a tour of asuncion. We even drove past my old house in asuncion. Man, everything was still the same, the park, the corner store, the neighbours houses. The only thing that changed a lot was the house itself. The house got redone and it looks really nice now. Not that it wasn’t nice before. It just was improved J

That weekend i headed out to the chaco with a few friends. They dropped me off in loma plata (thats where my relatives  and grandmas live). I spent the entire day in Loma Plata visiting the grandmas, aunts and uncles and i also started getting sick that day. It was really neat to see the two omas again and chat with them. that evening i went out for supper with one of aunts and uncles in filadelfia. It was good food there. After supper i met up with my friends again and i joined them for the night. That next day after lunch we headed back to asuncion. Man that was a hot ride back. We stopped a few times on the highway to take ‘highway’ pictures and the second time we did that, the airconditioner wouldn’t turn on for about fifteen minutes! With a fever that was not too enjoyable but it was bearable. We got back and i was feeling quite under the weather. I had had a high fever for two days and my eyes hurt and were bloodshot and i had not eaten much for the last two days. The next day, the symptoms were still the same, and i was really weak. So ....... i had dengue. Great, for the last week of my vacation it has to come. But at least i can say i have had a tropical disease. At first people might freak out! But its a good conversation started J hahah

But yeah, i survived it. The Friday before i had to head back to santa cruz, some of my friends and planned a class reunion and i was feeling a little bit better so i went. It was so great to see everyone again! It had been ages and classmates that had left the school early as showed up and it was sweet. The food we made for that night was way too much so some of us decided to drive around the next morning and hand out the hotdogs to the homeless. It was a great experience and a lot of fun!

And then it was time to header back to santa cruz. The bus ride wasn’t bad going back. It was only 19 hours compared to the 22 hours so that was a nice three hour cut off the normal run.  

So that was February. And on to march

March had a tough first week. I was just back from vacation and it was tough adjusting back to santa cruz and to work again. But things have improved most definitely since then. In the middle of march the SALT group headed out to Cochabamba for four days. We took an over night bus. Ok, well the bus it was a double decker one and the seats were like first class plane seats! It was amazing! J hahahha

At Cochabamba we had full days. We got there in the morning and went straight to a meetings, went to a market and bought some artisan things and then in the afternoon had another meeting and then had the evening off. We all had the chance to check out different restaurants and see Cochabamba at night. It was great! The next day we had meetings all day and as well one with dinner. But these meetings were not ones that put you to sleep. They were quite interesting. The best meeting we had was at the Andean Information Network. At least i think that is what its called. A lady there talked about Bolivia and drugs and the new constitution. It was really interesting.

Now its the end of march, my moms birthday and we’ve got three months left. Time is flying! Though it is tough at times, i’m really enjoying this experience.

Peace out!

toni

January!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOK, so whats up everyone? So it has been a while since I blogged, a little of a month I think. Well, a lot has happened, I don't know exactly how much I can put it down in words but I will try.
Let's see, first there was Christmas. I celebrated Christmas two times, no three times. Two times on Christmas Eve and once on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve I started off working for the day. In the afternoon we started setting up at Talita Cumi, preparing for the evening festivities. Talita Cumi always hosts a party on Christmas Eve. They invite a whole bunch of missionaries and friends of the Home and they eat A LOT and just hang out for the evening. The kids all get some gifts and we as Tio/Tia hand them out, and then on the count of three they rip open their presents :-) That was a sight to see. It was awesome. Then after that, I headed to my house to have another supper and another celebration and some wicked fireworks. Let me tell you about the fireworks here. At midnight on christmas eve they do fireworks here. And man, it sounds like a war. its so loud and the air is smokey wherever you go after the firworks, because sooooo many were being lit and thrown and yeah. and believe it or not, new years eve was louder and more and wow. You can't so much as see the firworks because they don't go too high but you can most definitely hear them :-) For christmas i got a tshirt from my host family. it was sweet, oh and a little drum with drumsticks. Then i went shopping a bit by the market that was open right outside my house. It kinda sucks sometimes to have this HUGE market that is open every thursday right outside my house. Its so tempting to buy something every week then, and why not, its right outside my house and all i see is white smoke hahaha
then on the 26th i moved into talita cumi for the weekend to take care of the boys. the lady that usually takes over on the weekends went to la paz to visit her family for christmas so i pitched in and took care of them for a weekend. it turned into two, almost three weekends, and it was exhausting, but it was fun at the same time. Let me tell you though, i don't think i want 9 children. no sir ee. :-)
I also live there for that whole week, i stayed for new years and that was fun. we all danced, thats right DANCED, until three o'clock in the blessed AM of the morning, and to top it all off, the boys woke me up at 6.30 the next morning. We went to the pool on the first of january. Another orphanage invited us along with them, so we went and hung out and had a grand time!
in the last two weeks of january, i haven't been doing much new. I worked, its been pretty busy, and then just hanging out, enjoying the time here.
I can't believe its january already, time is flying.
well i'll sign off with that.
peace
toni

Update who knows what number.

Hey hey, so its less than two weeks away from Christmas and there is still no snow. just joking. I´m not expecting any snow to fall anytime here. that would be abnormal and just not normal :-) These last few weeks have been ups and downs. The last weekend we SALTers went on our orientation trip to Moro Moro. We were going to go in September but because of all of the blockades and political stuff going on. So we went last weekend. We left on a thursday and got back on a sunday. The drive to Moro Moro is a 10 hour bus ride through the mountains. The scenery was amazing and drive was scary. The lanes are quite small and the drivers manage to get as close as possible to the edge without ever falling off and they drink up some booze as well. It makes it all the more of an adventure :-) We got to Moro Moro at about 1 a.m, then we went straight to bed to be awake for the next day. Man, Moro Moro was cold, the nights were nice and cold, and that was a nice change. The next day, Friday, we went for a long, long walk. We walked to the house of a MCC worker. His house is a 2 hour walk/hike through some hills. Moro Moro is in the foothills of the Andes Mountains. We stayed at his house for an hour or two and had some lunch and then did the 2 hour walk back to our rooms. That evening we spent playing cards, eating supper and sleeping great! :-)
the next day we went to a place called ´the turtle´. its about a one hour or so hike. the view from there was amazing and the turtle was pretty cool as well. we then went back after that pretty sore. and i got the best farmer tan. it was pretty sweet.
all in all, moro moro was a great weekend escape and it was just in time. It was a great time out there and a great escape from the heat.
this weekend I have the annual workeres retreat from Talita Cumi. So that will be a good time to hang out with all the other people that work at Talita Cumi.
Yeah, so today was a good day too. I talked to my mom and dad, and watched a movie and watched some episodes of grey´s anatomy. People here really like the show :-)
i´ll sign off now, and peace love and happiness
Toni

yuppy uppy ppy py y

hey hey, so i think that i have some more stuff that i can write about. at work, its the end of the school year for every one of the kids that are in the public school. The kids that were held back a few weeks are all done and are very happy to be out of the school for the summer!! the older kids who go to night school have a few more weeks left of school and then they head off to the tradesschool, its like a redriver college, that they can attend if they want to. yeah so yeah, with work that has been about the only thing that has been going on. now its just figuring out what i should do with the kids cause they are home all day long :) but it is going good so far.
so last sunday, i went to the center of town to take out some more money and it had all gone great, and i had gotten it ou and then my card got sucked back into the machine :) great! after a little bit of freaking out i just thought ok thats fine, i´ll pick it up during the week, and that is what i did. changing subjects quickly, sunday night, or i guess monday morning at the blessed time of 4 in the A.M, i was woken up by the sound of paws on the ground. then i woke up and it was all dark, BUT there was a shape on the chair by my window. i jump out of my skin almost and i hiss that shape and it turns out to be a street cat that got into my room through my window. the cat freaks out and run across the room and crashes into my dresser and then runs back to the window and tries to jump out, but i have a curtain so the thing couldn´t not get out. then i yell at it this time then it crashes into the other side of the room again, and this time when it lunges at the window it gets between the bars and gets out, sort of. it got tangled into the curtain. so i tried my best to help it get free. it was an interesting night.
then during the week, it was pretty normal, other than the cat incident. oh two the boys in the home were taken home to their biological mom, so that is bittersweet, it is great that they went home to their realy home, which is the hope for all of the kids that they can go home one day.
then the other day, which was friday, i went to a 15th birthday party, these parties are a HUGE deal, and i was invited! it was pretty sweet, and last minute i was asked to join the VIP´ers so to speak. at the beginning of the party before the birthday girl presents herself her girlfriends (damas) get taken out into the crowd by a boy (garcon) and i was asked last minute to escort on the girls, so i did, and then i also had to waltz with her. it was interesting. haha the first time that i have ever been that involved in a 15th birthday bash.
so that was pretty much all that happened this week. it was a good week
love and prayers
toni hiebert

Work and stuff and birthdays

oook, so its been a while since i last blogged....sorry. what has happened. lets see, oh for my birthday, it was really sweet. there was a sleep over at Hans and Elmas house (all of us salters/yamen were invited to stay there for supper and a movie and a sleep) it was really fun, and Elma made a cake for me and they sang to me and gave me some caramel for my birthday :) then the next day i hung out at mcc here and then in the evening the rest of the salters and i and daniel, edgar, alfredo, and mariela went out to the cine to watch a movie for my birthday. it was a great night, all was paid for as well!!! and then sunday was my host brothers birthday (oct 19) and we had a party for him that day. and then monday (oct 20) :) was my birthday, it was a great day.they made a special lunch at work for me and then my host family here threw a party for me. it was a hard day at the beginning ´cause birthdays are a family thing for me,and i really missed the family that day. But everyone made my birthday so much fun and memorable, i even got my face pushed into the cake. it all makes for a great birthday!!!
oh and then later on that week was my host-mom's birthday, it was a week filled with birthday parties!! so much fun!!

with work, it has been going along pretty good. some days are really good, some just good, and some are just downright bad. but you know, i enjoy it, work is not something that you will always enjoy. i hope to soon see working at talita cumi not just as a job, some days that is all i see it as, a job, that i want to get off of quickly and go home and relax, and then sometimes its also where i dont want to go home and just hang out with the kids all day. i guess once i´ve been there for more than just a month i´ll know it better :)
here at Talita Cumi we are going through some hard times, prayer would be greatly appreciated.
Man, school is about to end for the kids, which means, all day they are here at the home. its going to be NUTS for those three months that they have vacation. but that will also mean that I will get to know the kids better, cause i dont have to keep telling them to do homework. so that will be fun.

what else can i write. Things are pretty calm here now politically. There is a vote (if i heard the news right) on January 25. but for now there haven't been any major fights and stuff like that. and santa cruz has been pretty calm for the last few weeks.
oh something interesting. they dont celebrate halloween here, they have a day of dead or thats what i call it. its a day (nov 2) where everyone goes to the cemetery and remembers their lost loved ones. november 1st was the day to remember the young children that died and then the 2nd was the rest of the people. i went by some cemeteries and they were packed with people! they bring food and music, all the favorite stuff of the person that passed away. and then they party it up infront of their gravesite. they say here that when you do that, the persons spirit joins the party. its kinda interesting.

i think that is all i have to write about right now
peace out
toni hiebert

work, work work

hello, so i've gotten kind of lazy and completly forgot about the blogging thing :-) So what has it been, three weeks or so. Man time flys by here so it seems. So i've been on the job almost three weeks, or three weeks exactly. My thoughts:

I really like the people that I work with, they are awesome and have been really great with getting me adjusted to the place. I'm still adjusting, i mean having 0 kids to all of a sudden 11 its a lot hahah. but so far i really like it. The kids tend to test your patience, but thats expected eh? 

so yeah, the last few weeks have consisted of working, and working. i work from about 8 till about 5 :-) not a dead set time, and that is nice :-) oh last week we as volunteers from MCC all had a three day retreat which was amazing. we spent three days swimming, playing volleyball, soccer, and having a few sessions. It was nice to get out of the city a little bit and relax

man, sorry today i'm on a short attention span, i'll load some pictures up on facebook.

we got to travel!!!! ..... outside of santa cruz :)

so we all finally got to get out of the city of santa cruz finally. i´m not saying i dont like the city, i´m just saying its nice to be in the freshcountry air, no cars, no micros. just dirt roads and mountains and ahhhhhhhhhh. yeah so this last weekend we SALTers had the chance to get out and see Santiago de Chiquitos where on of the SALTers will be working this year. Santiago de Chiquitos is about 13 hours by train to the east, i think. dont quote me on that :) we left last friday at around noon. the time here is never exact so everything is "around". with our luck we were all, almost all of us, feeling sick when we stepped on the train. and the train was, i dont want to say terrible, thats harsh, but it was rough. that friday it was hot, muggy, and mix that with nausea and stomach problems, it was an interesting ride. and by the end, i think we were all a bit grumpy, at least i was. but oh man, we got some beautiful rain when we arrived at 1 am in the blessed am. it was heaven sent rain. thick cold drops that just feel good :) we then fell down on our beds and slept like babies, till the morning, had breakfast at 8 am, and then fell back asleep for a few more hours :) it was a great day :) then in the afternoon, we went on a hike on a mountain that was nearby. let me tell you a little bit about santiago de chiquitos. it is a beautiful small town with barely any cars, so its very fresh and there are mountains surrounding it. all the roads are red dirt roads, and at night, its pitch black. there are not many street lamps, so it is really dark, and when its clear, the stars are quite something. its is awesome!! ok
anyways, the mountain. we hiked up it. i would say it was a good several hour hike. we had to climb some rocks, and then some of us salters kept going up some rugged paths to the top. the view was amazing!!!! then, when we got down, we at supper and icecream and then relaxed. sunday was a day to relax, and we just walked around the town a bit and played cards in the evening. the monday, early in the morning we went for another hike to some water holes in the mountain. i think it might be some freshwater springs. it was really sweet, and we swam in the hole that supposedly has no bottom. it was freakin´ sweet. we all burned a bit, i especially burned quite well. i guess no sunscreen helps with that :) but yeah, at least i´m not soo white anymore :)
yeah than that evening we left to head back to santa cruz. another 13 hour train ride with virtually no sleep. but it comes with the experience :)
all in all it was great!! i really enjoyed seeing the country side.
now with the week almost done, and this coming monday with work starting and all. things are starting to set in that i´m really doing missions here in bolivia. its quite cool i would say :)
peace out and God bless
toni