three week catch-up

The past three weeks have passed in a whirlwind of new experiences, and until now I haven´t found the time and energy to recount everything…  So I`ll try a quick update (sorry for no pictures yet, I`m still figuring out how get them off my camera).

First, a few definitions:

MCC/CCM (Mennonite Central Committee/Comité Central Menonita {in Spanish speaking countries}): ¨a relief, development, and peace agency of the North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches.¨

SALT (Serving And Learning Together): A program for North American young adults to do a year of  service/learning outside of North America (this is what I´m doing)

IVEP (International Volunteer Exchange Program): A program for non-North American young adults to do a year of service/learning in North America

YAMEN! (Young Anabaptist Mennonite Exchange Network): A program for non-North American young adults to do a year of service in countries outside of North America.

and now what I´ve been up to:

Orientation to SALT (Akron, PA/Aug. 8-15): This week about 55 SALTers, 60 IVEPers , and 10 YAMENers collided on the grounds of the MCC Welcoming Center/Offices in Akron, PA.  We stayed in guest houses according to countries so I lived with all those coming from or going to Latin America.  We had a great time talking in bits of Spanish/English/Portuguese and trying to learn various Latin American dances like Salsa and Samba.  All week we had lectures about various things to prepare us for the year, and during our free time, we played pick-up sports games and jammed with various instruments.

In the Air (Sat. Aug. 15, 5:45pm Philadelphia -Miama– arrival in Santa Cruz, Sun. Aug. 16, 8:15 am): I experienced my first flying sickness after we made a quick touch down in La Paz, Bolivia.  Apparently, passengers can sometimes be affected by the altitude here.  The Bolivian SALT coordinator Lori Eschleman Longenecker, her husband Lynn, and three children, Nathan, Maria, and Jesse picked us (a total of 6 Bolivian SALTers) up and took us to the CCM center in Santa Cruz.

CCM orientation (Sun. Aug. 16- Tues. Aug. 18): The CCM office/center in Bolivia is the biggest in South America and has some pretty cool features like guest rooms for visitors, a library (yay books to read!), houses for the caretakers, offices, and a communal dining room and kitchen.  In the 2.5 days we were here we met the other CCM workers, learned a bit more about the culture here, and got to try salteñas, a traditional Bolivian pastry.

¨Runawasi¨ in Cochabamba (Wed. Aug. 19- Fri. Sept. 4): On Tuesday night we took a ten hour overnight bus to Cochabamba (more west and higher altitude) for 2.5 weeks of language school.  For a few different reasons, this year CCM wanted to send the SALTers to Cochabamba for language school.  So far CCM has only worked in the province of Santa Cruz and therefore hears only the political voice of the East (more on politics later).  They are trying to expand their program into the West also which has been the poorer part of the country for many years.  So in trying to make more western contacts, they´ve sent us SALTers to Cochabamba.  Also, they found a school that could give us four hours of individual classes a day and homestays which seemed better than what they´ve done in Santa Cruz before.  Runawasi is a small school in a neighborhood on the west of Cochabamba that teaches Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara.  So far many of the other students we´ve met are also planning to work in Bolivia for year or two or travel in South America.

Host family practice: For our two weeks in Cochabamba I´ve been staying with Doña Antonia Estevez and her large family (2 adult daughters, 1 adult son, and 2 grandaughters who are 12 and 17).  I´ve had fun trying to communicate with them, but still can´t understand conversation at their normal pace.

Cochabamba: The other SALTers and I have had fun exploring the city and finding interesting cafés and sites.  Last weekend we took a 2 hour bus trip south to Incallayta which is the second largest site of Incan ruins in South America (Machu Pichu is the largest).  We walked around the ruins for about 2 hours hearing about what the buildings might have been used for.  This weekend Lori and Lynn came and planned some more country orientation activities for us.  Thursday we heard a talk about recent Bolivian politics/history from a guy at the Fundación Gandhi, Friday we saw a drama by a group of young people (many from poorer circumstances) called  COMBA, and Saturday we learned about Andean cosmovision/spirituality froma professor at the Catholic University.  The many things to do-see-learn here have kept my brain tired and ready to head to bed at an early hour each night .

This week will be our last at language school and then we´ll head to Santa Cruz for another week of country orientation.  After that I will take my 10 hour train ride to Santiago de Chiquitos!

And hopefully from now on, I can do a little less general review and more stories .

Chao!

three weeks until i leave for orientation…

What is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
-Mary Oliver

Hooray for everyone who sent money to MCC for me!  Thank you!  I recently found out that MCC got $5,400 for me which is way more that what I needed to raise.  On Saturday I plan to move home to Iowa, so this week will be full of packing and cleaning. Anything that doesn’t fit in my parents Honda civic goes to Gift and Thrift .

Some interesting facts about Bolivia I’ve run into recently:

• Lake Titicaca, located at an altitude of 12,507 ft, is the highest commercially navigable body of water in the world.
• Almost half the population of Bolivia resides on Altiplano plateau, with an average altitude of 12,000 ft.
• La Paz, Bolivia sits at an altitude ranging from 11,811 feet to 13,287 feet above sea level and has the world’s highest golf course. The air is so thin that a well-hit shot will travel several meters farther than at sea level. The largest deposit of salt on the planet is in Bolivia.
• Bolivia is one of the wettest countries in the world. The annual rainfall is over 5000mm.
• The world’s largest butterfly sanctuary is in Bolivia.
• The potato was first cultivated and the llama was first domesticated in Bolivia

letter for SALT

Here’s what I wrote to let people know what I’m doing next year.

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June 2009

Dear family and friends,

During the months following my graduation from Eastern Mennonite University in December, I spent time trying to figure out where my Music Performance and Liberal Arts majors might take me next.  Then, while baking cookies and cakes at a bakery in Harrisonburg, Virginia, I stumbled upon an option that I am thrilled to tell you about.

In August I will begin a year-long adventure serving with Mennonite Central Committee’s SALT program (Serving And Learning Together— http://www.mcc.org/salt/).  This program brings together young adults from North America to engage in and learn from another culture in the world by living with and working for the people there.

the previous SALTer in Santiago de Chiquitos

My placement as “youth orchestra and choir facilitator” will take me to Santiago de Chiquitos, Bolivia, after a week of orientation in Akron, PA and a month of language study in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  This town of about a thousand people in Eastern Bolivia boasts no paved roads, generally hot/humid temperatures, and great hiking trails (and a ten hour bus/train ride for me from MCC’s main offices in Santa Cruz).  I will work for an organization called SICOR (check out this site for some great photographs– http://www.sicor.org.bo/nuevoIndex.htm) whose vision is to reclaim the lively heritage of renaissance and baroque music found in many of the Jesuit mission towns of the Chiquitania region (look here for a map of the area– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesuit_Missions_of_the_Chiquitos).  These towns still have large archives of music written by both the European Jesuits and Bolivians from around 1600.  Santiago de Chiquitos is the farthest-flung of the communities in Chiquitania and therefore receives less support from SICOR.  My job here, among other things, will be to work with MCC and SICOR to plan and direct rehearsals for the youth in Santiago de Chiquitos.  I am extremely excited for this opportunity to practice and share my musical knowledge while listening and learning from the wisdom of another culture and language.

In the next two months before leaving, I have many preparations to make.  For this year of service, MCC requires participants to raise $4,300 to cover expenses.  Will you help me raise this money? There are two ways you can do this–

1)      Online: Go to http://www.mcc.org/donate/donate.html

-Under “Designation” select Other

-In the space beneath type in “SALT support for Kristen Swartley (628913)”

2)  By check:  Fill out the green sheet in this envelope {check “1.)__SUPPORT…”}

-Staple a check with “SALT—Kristen Swartley” on the memo line to the green sheet

-Send to MCC (address on green sheet) by July 13, 2009

Anything that you can give will be greatly appreciated! Other ways that you can help support me and keep in touch during this next year include writing me letters or emails, keeping me in your thoughts and prayers, and visiting me if you happen to be in Bolivia J.  If you would like to get update emails about how things are going please send your email address to kristenswartley@gmail.com.  Again, thank you so much for your help!

Peace to you,

Kristen Swartley