Chapare

Blog-Chapare 

A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Chapare; which is the nearest jungle to Cochabamba. I went with the mobile hospital group, who during the dry season, spends two weeks a month ministering to different communities both through direct medical attention and also education. I had an opportunity to participate in an educational workshop on health. The first morning, two people from our group drove separately to pick up leaders from two separate communities deep in the jungle. We now had a group of about twenty people between the workers and the leaders. The next two and a half days were filled with teaching, praying, singing, sharing stories/life, and preparing food; kind of a daunting task when cooking for twenty. We all slept in a building that would be considered a small one level house in the United States. We slept basically shoulder to shoulder which wasn’t all bad because the weather now gets down into the low 30’s at night time; obviously there is no heater unless body heat or hot tea or coffee counts. 

Sleeping Situation

Workshop with Leaders

Learning about health-promoting higher standards of living 

       

I didn’t quite realize exactly what I was getting into before I left for Chapare, and was a little disheartened to find out that most of the teaching during the workshop was in the native language quechua. Most of the leaders spoke some spanish but for the most part it was all quechua or a mix between quechua and spanish which seems to becoming more popular now. This left me quite helpless with what I could do during the teaching of the workshop. Whenever there were activities though, the workers would translate into spanish because there were two others besides myself that didn’t speak hardly any quechua. One example of a “break the ice” type activity that we did... On the first morning, we were told that each person had to act out being a type of animal and then we had to explain why we picked that animal and a short introduction of who we are. I absolutely love these uncomfortable games especially when I have to try and do it in a language that I still struggle with. (sarcasm maybe?) It just magnifies the embarrassment a bit. Oh well, its good to be able to make a fool of yourself and not care too much, or at all, about what other people think of you. I get to learn and relearn this lesson a lot here in Bolivia. 

              Getting to have fun and make a fool out of myself as the only "gringo" dancing a traditional Bolivian dance

Worker- Roxana and some of the kids

Enjoying the guitar and charango

                                          

                                            

Related comment-Thank you Mr. Eppink, 10th grade biology teacher, for making me and every other student stand on our chairs and sing our names in front of the class. I was extremely shy back then and it was one of the most horrifying things I had to do in school at the time. I am now very appreciative of this lesson and understand the importance of this simple act on many different levels.

One of the views from the "road" into Chapare

So back to the experience...It was nice to be able to participate when I could in the activities/lessons of the workshop, but I also did what I could with preparing food, washing dishes-no dishwasher which I’m actually starting to prefer, playing the guitar and singing, playing with some of the kids of the leaders, and just bonding with the people during our time together. It was a very positive experience and I was happy to have been a part of it. 

This is from a hiking trip in Alaska but shows a different type of beauty and awe that I saw in Chapare. 

 I want to finish saying, that I had the opportunity to ride with the driver and the leaders back into the jungle to drop them off into their community, and it was quite a powerful experience. I don’t think I can quite put it into words, what it is that I feel, when I am overwhelmed by the awe and grandeur of nature. For me, it is very profound, awe inspiring, and spiritual or mystical. It has a way of stirring in me the mystery and grandeur of God or the divine and the infiniteness of that being. The external reality touches something within me, and I somehow feel a connection or union to that which has created it all.

Another great shot with a good friend Luke Owens





                                                                                                 

                                  A little view of the "road" and some of the views of Chapare