Update #2- MCC Retreat
A gathering at the MCC retreat
So after my first 3 weeks in Santiago, I took the train back to Santa Cruz for the MCC Retreat and to get a few things done in the city. A couple days after I arrived at MCC, all the MCC Bolivia workers (I think there are around 60) piled into two small buses and a van to drive to Semipata (a smallish town known as a great tourist destination) for our annual fall retreat. To get to Semipata we drove 3-4 hours west of Santa Cruz, which means gradually curving up into the mountains. Our lodgings here were simple, yet homey guest houses where we ate and had different sessions during the day. I really enjoyed to chance to catch up with all the MCCers that I don’t get to see often.
along the bus ride to Semipata
We returned to Santa Cruz after about two days of retreat, and I had a chance to spend a night with Arelis, one of the other SALTers. Her family attends a Catholic church that some of the other 3-year MCCers work with, so we went to the Saturday night mass and then chilled out at her house. The cat at her house had kittens, and I mentioned that the previous SALTers in Santiago had their own kittens and the Whittakers had offered me one of the kittens their cat was going to have. The next day Arelis showed up at MCC with a kitten in a box that she had brought on the Micro (bus), and apparently the kitten had very orally expressed its dislike for traveling in a box. She had told her host mother that I was interested in getting a kitten, and her host mother immediately decided she should send this kitten to me. I very quickly fell in love with this kitten and decided it would be worth trying the 12 hour bus/train ride to take it with me.
my kitten, Eva
As it turned out, Susan Tattershall, the woman who was coming to build the organ, was on her way to Santiago about the same day that I was so we decided it would be more fun to go together (with my kitten). Because the train didn’t run that day we took an overnight Flota (these buses are generally thought to be less comfortable and slower than the train, but they’re not too bad). I had fun getting to know Susan a bit during our trip, and the kitten did pretty well, although was happy to finish the journey. Susie now lives in Colorado and works for a University Honors Program, but has spent her life working on organs. Much of her work was restoring and fixing old organs in Mexico, and so she spoke wonderful Spanish.
the yard at the MCC compound where I stay in Santa Cruz
Overall my time spent in Santa Cruz tends to be a mix between being a chance to relax and take a break from my job (and have “English” days- what we call taking a break from Bolivian culture and spending time with other English speakers and doing things that remind us of home like watching movies), and having to frantically catch up on communication (blogging, skyping, emailing, etc.), working on various projects for the music school, and shopping for things I can’t get in Santiago or are cheaper her in Santa Cruz.
Also, for those of you who want to see more pictures, I’ve been putting them all up at this website (there are links to this on the side of this blog page too):
bolivian baroque 