During the last month, I have had the opportunity to be able to do some traveling. All the schools were off for two weeks for winter break, and I took full advantage. I first made my way to Santa Cruz, one of the biggest cities in Bolivia. Last year, I got to know Romer, a Franciscan brother at the time, through some different activities that we attended. He was someone I connected with right away. He was only in Cochabamba for a brief time, because he was shortly thereafter sent to another part of Bolivia to finish up his training. He and his Franciscan brothers were actually in Cochabamba in protest, refusing to go back to their training and work because of injustices that were taking place within their own religious community. Yeah, you could say we got along pretty well. We both are a little rebelious and not afraid to shake things up when we feel it´s the right thing to do.
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| My friend Romer |
Anyway, throughout the last year we stayed in contact, and when I knew I was going to have a couple week vacation I got in contact with him. I took the bus to Santa Cruz and was happy to have Romer, my friend and tour guide for the next few days, there to greet me. During our time together, we walked through the city seeing and experiencing things like; the main plaza, view from the church bell tower, museum of culture and history, showing me his old school that he used to teach in (one hour plus walk in the country) tasting lots of typical foods of Santa Cruz, and maybe most importantly, teaching me the transportation system. It was great to be able to catch up on what had taken place during the last year in our lives, and with that, many meaningful conversations about life. Being able to be fully present with someone and to develop strong relationships is one of the best blessings of life. I am fortunate to have many great friends and family in my life, and I am extremely thankful for each one of them.
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| Main Plaza in Santa Cruz with Church in the background |
The next stop during vacation was a visit with part of my Bolivian family to get some first hand experience of their lives growing up. We made our way to Oruro, a 4-5 hour trip from Cochabamba, to spend time with some of their family and also to revisit their small mining village they grew up in. I had been waiting for this experience for a while, because I have heard so many stories about their lives growing up that I wanted to understand better their stories and lives through a tangible experience.
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| Statue of Mary in Oruro |
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| Down in the Tourist Mine |
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Me with Emelia (top center) and Nieces and Nephews
as well as Emelia´s Aunt |
We were able to do some fun things like walk around the markets, go down into a mine which is now a tourist site, and climb up to the top of the city where they recently built a statue of Mary almost the size of the statue of liberty.
But for me, what was most impacting and special, was to be able to go back to their origins in the mining village of Machacamarca. I had created this vision in my mind of this place from the many stories that I had heard, and now, I actually got to see it, to walk the dirt streets, to see their childhood home, and to feel a bit of the reality that I have never experienced. It is hard for me to describe what comes next...I felt a mixture of emotions from being in this place. I felt the excitement and joy of the good stories and memories that Emelia, my Bolivian mom, had as she retold parts of her life pointing out the actual physcial places where these events took place. I felt grief and sadness as I watched Emelia show me where her mom was killed by an electrical accident only a few feet away from her room at the age of 5. I felt cognitive dissonance, as I saw a childhood and way of life, completely different from my own. If only...was the beginning of so many questions I had in my mind; and this night and day difference of life or environment was ¨won or lost¨ thanks to only the good or bad fortune in ¨ovarian roulette.¨ I felt a strong sense of desire, seeded in love and service, as well as duty or responsibility, to use my good fortune to the best of my ability. I don´t know exactly what that means for my life yet, but I do know I want to commit my time and energies in striving to be a conduit of love, peace, and joy especially to those in most need.
Emelia, Uncle, Aunt, and Nieces-Daniela and Gabriela
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| Me standing next to Emelia´s childhood house |
These are a few reflections of my time in both Santa Cruz and Oruro. My desire is for the words that I speak and write, and the feelings I contain deep within my soul or being, to continue to unite. May I and We live a life according to our deepest beliefs and values. And to this I say Amen. ¨May our future actions grow from here!¨
