This week has been busy busy busy, but a lot of fun!
So, last Sunday it was bonfire night here (cos it was the coldest night of the year, which I guess makes sense but doesn't feel right!) but, because the city is aiming to reduce pollution, bonfires were banned and instead there was a free concert on in the city centre. The atmosphere was great and the music was erm.. well.. I enjoyed it, (the Bolivian themed costumes and dancing definitely earned them extra points!) Definitely gonna buy some Bolivian tunes when I return, I've been told they are more in tune on CD, so that's always a bonus.
Last week I helped out with the local youth group which was a laugh, I say helped, but, to be honest, my volleyball abilities weren't helping anyone. I think I've learned to stick with the 3 and 4 year-olds but sadly this is my last week helping with them because next week the winter holidays begin! (Interesting nugget of information: here the government changes/increases the holidays if they feel it is too cold, I really would like to see what they'd do in England if this rule applied there).
Really enjoying Church here too, last week a monkey joined us for the service (no-one else seemed too phased by this) but he must have had other plans this week, nonetheless it's a really friendly bunch of people and a lovely community to be part of :).
Last Sunday evening I had my first trip to La Cancha, the biggest market in South America so I'm told, it was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to go in the day time, you can literally buy anything there, from gorgeous material and touristy things, to cooking equipment, pets (and apparently monkeys), shoes and some rather intriguing ornaments. I also saw a range of dead llamas which is pretty sad, I was rather hoping to see some live ones but there's still hope!
I feel I should continue with my food diary, so.. one of the things I've tried (and strangely loved) was chicken feet soup - don't be disgusted, it was so so yummy but I'm not sure I'd have eaten it if I'd known what was floating around prior to the eating experience! I also had another almuerzo which I love and will miss when I return (maybe they have them in Russia though?!), this one involved soup filled with rice, veg and chicken, salad, a main of chips, more rice, a big burger thing and a fried egg, and then I feel they kind of gave up when it came to pudding as I was served 3 slices of orange, but hey, what can you expect for £1.50 really. This week we taught the group of women to make (and burn) brownies, it's a really nice time to chat to people and find out more about life here.
Because it's the last week of term, things have been a bit different at the school, so, the start of the week was normal, we did some puzzles as per (they are called "rompecabezas" which literally translates as 'it breaks your head', made me chuckle) and sang songs, did colouring etc, but then for the rest of the week there have been various activities. Today all the parents came in to help clean and paint the school, really nice idea and a lovely atmosphere, the amount of paint on me is quite worrying, as is the fact that it won't come off, but hey! (This also reminds me that I left my English class with marker pen on my face yesterday which none of my students had told me about, I'm beginning to think they're enjoying it less than I thought!)
Sorry for the shambles/ramble that is this post, hope you're enjoying reading them and thanks for the thoughts/prayers/messages/snapchats(Rachel Botham here is your shout out, hope you'll leave me alone now)
Might add some cheeky photos in a min too! Love xx
