July 1, 2007 - Feliz Año Nuevo

Harlem Globetrotters come to Cochabamba, Sausage Festival in Tarata (don't laugh! don't!), Chicharron* Festival in Sacaba, Andean New Year in the countryside, Festival de San Juan - when everyone in the city sets off fireworks and has bonfires in their backyards, Giving English classes to a small group of intermediate-level Bolivian students, Getting ready to take Quechua classes, joining a dance group to dance in the August Virgen de Urkupiña parades, Vanesa's Baby Shower, Planning my parents' trip to Bolivia and Peru.

It's been a busy two weeks! (It's always been a busy two weeks, hasn't it?) As fun as all of the above is, the news that has determined the flow of my everyday life has to do with something else entirely. My house has gone from hosting the original cast of characters that you may remember from previous emails to a nearly all-new set of people to a very empty house!

Original cast of characters: a Canadian couple (Leah and Jeff), two estadounidense non-profit type women (Graciela/Gretchen and Sarah), a head-in-the-clouds Swiss guy (Alex), the Bolivian owner Chichi, her son Jose Miguel, and me.

Before I left for the States, the Canadian couple left for more adventures and a long trek home to Toronto. When I got back, their room had been turned into an office for Chichi's son Jose Miguel (who some of you will remember, defended his thesis successfully to graduate from law school with flying colors not so long ago).

Also when I got back, Amanda, another former SIT (School for International Training) study abroad student, was staying in the dining room-turned-bedroom, across the hall from me. My friend Josh had gotten to Cochabamba the day before and was staying in the garden room in the back. When Graciela left a day or so after I got back, suddenly, Sarah, Alex, and myself were the longest-standing residents in the house. A few days after Graciela left, Chichi's other son and daughter-in-law arrived from Switzerland for a visit, and we were up at full capacity once again!

New cast of characters: Amanda (fabulous former SIT student), Josh (my friend from DC who has turned half Argentinean after spending some time there =) ), Sarah (from Houston area, has been living in DC, going to school in Atlanta in the fall), Alex (Swiss guy, no relation to Fernando or Priska), Chichi (owner), Jose Miguel (lawyer son), Fernando (dentist son who lives in Switzerland), Priska (the Swiss daughter in law, a former room-renter), and me.

Here comes the denouemont (get ready):
Josh and Amanda leave for the Andean New Year in Tiwanaku (Bolivia's Stonehenge) and to continue on in their travels to Peru. Chichi, Fernando, and Priska go to Santa Cruz to visit relatives who live there (they left last weekend) and will continue on together to Switzerland, where Chichi will spend three months (hopefully relaxing!). Churka (or Maria Evangelina), a woman who worked as a maid for Chichi's family for many years in the past, moved in to take care of the house in Chichi's absence. Jose Miguel left last Wednesday to join the family in Santa Cruz and will be back this Sunday (later today). Alex left for Switzerland on Thursday after five-six months in Bolivia. Sarah left for Santa Cruz en route to the US on Friday after four-five months in Bolivia. Maria Evangelina (Churka) left on Friday to spend the weekend with her family and will be back today. And then there was one - me!

Spanish words of the day

Actualmente - Currently, nowadays
Realmente - A not very commonly used way of saying 'actually' but a common gringo mistake. More a way of emphasizing the veracity of something, as in "estaba realmente mal" - "He was really doing badly"
En realidad - the commonly used expression for 'actually'. As in, 'En realidad, no fue asi' - 'Actually, it wasn't like that'

Salchicha - Hot dog, commonly eaten at the big bonfires of San Juan. Sarah and I cooked ours on the stove =)
Chorizo - Sausage, as in sausage festival (Festival de chorizo)
*Chicharron - Pork cooked in gigantic woks with secret ingredients. (I can't tell you, it's a secret!) Not to be confused with...
Chicha - a common Cochabambino alcoholic drink made with fermented corn. Best chicha is found in the campo (see below). This is Bolivia's take on good country moonshine. Definitely not as strong as straight liquor, but stronger than beer.

El campo - the country, countryside, as in "Voy a ir al campo para ver el amanecer del año nuevo andino" - "I'm going to go to the countryside to watch the sun come up for the Andean New Year" (also known as the winter solstice over here in the South).

Cueca - traditional Bolivian musical genre and dance, most easily recognized by the clever song lyrics and handkerchief-waving dance
Cueca chapaca - Cueca from the gaucho (cowboy-like) southeastern part of Bolivia, also, the dance I am going to perform in August and learn starting Monday!

Bei-bi chau-er - baby shower, like the one we'll have for my friend Vanesa at my house later today! A North American import (the tradition of having a baby shower and the word for it, not Vanesa's baby!).