1.24.08 La vuelta

I put up some more photos from my visit in the US, and also a picture from when Andres and I went out to the campo (countryside) my first weekend back as a reintroduction to being here. moooooooo.

Being back... the things I notice. Some you've heard about, some you haven't.

Speaking Spanish all the time. How quickly you forget, how quickly you remember.

The rainy season. How brimming with life my neighborhood is. How hills that look down on Cochabamba have transformed from a dusty green-brown to a vibrant mix of the tender green of fresh growth and a deep happy forest green. How even though it's summer, the moment the sun is covered with clouds, it gets chilly. How the pacay fruit on the tree in my yard is all ripe. How good it tastes fresh off the tree. The fact that I have a tree in my yard that I can pick fruit off. How it's fig season again, and my co-worker brings in figs for us all to eat, just like last year.

Marketplaces lined with many different vendors all selling the same thing. Five hardware stores on one block. How crazy it is. How logical it is.

How easy it is to catch a bus... anywhere. How I can look out the window on public transportation instead of concentrating on the road driving. How I look forward to the moment when I cross the bridge into the center of town because I can see everything at once - the highest peak you can see from Cochabamba, Tunari, in the west; the hill up to the Cristo statue (a few centimeters taller than the far more famous one in Rio de Janeiro) to the east; the green hills in the north; and the skyline of the sweet city that I'm about to enter in the south.

How quickly Carnaval has snuck up upon us. How I'm never sure if it will be rain or a water balloon that will soak me on any given day. How amazing it is to see the diversity of dances and dancers.

How polarized politics are here. How little the different groups talk to each other. How strong racial/ethnic/class barriers are. How entrenched racism (intertwined with classism) is. How every group claims that *they* are the ones moving the country forward. How it makes the civil rights struggle in the United States ever more real, and me ever more curious to learn about it. The challenge of speaking out against racist attitudes while not treating with any less humanity those who are racist. How troubled it all makes me.

How Cochabamba is a city that most people in the world have never even heard of. How, in global social justice circles, this city is famous (for rejecting the privatization of its water system). How my other home, Washington, DC - the capital of the United States - is a city that just about everyone in the world knows exists.

Just a few Spanish words:
pacay: http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/pacay.htm
higo: fig
ferreteria: hardware store
justicia y paz: peace and justice

More home photos

Connecticut!

01.08.08 Back from the US

Thanks to everyone for a whirlwind of a trip to the US. Even though there were some of you I didn't get to see, I got to see so many of you individually, that I really feel very lucky and quite blessed. The first few days in DC, a week in San Francisco, a couple of days in DC again, the family trip to Connecticut (all four of us piled in a car), a day in DC, a trip to Asheville, back through Charlottesville, a very sadly missed trip up to NY, DC for New Year's, and then getting to NY finally, then a few days in DC again before heading out yesterday from National Airport, through Miami, to La Paz, and later tonight, to Cochabamba. In a month.

I'm going to put up a few photos from San Francisco, Connecticut, Asheville, and NY in the previous and the coming posts.

In celebration of getting back to Bolivia, I give you the following words of the day:
(With pronunciation guides, as requested by Melissa. Though they might make it more confusing.)

Feliz Navidad! (feh-lees nah-vee-dahd) - Merry Christmas!
Feliz Año Nuevo! (feh-lees ah-nyo nwe-vo) - Happy New Year!
Felices Fiestas! (feh-lee-ses fyeh-stahs) - Happy Holidays! (lit. happy parties)

Buen viaje! (bwen vee-ah-hay) - Bon voyage!
Bienvenidos! (bee-yen-ven-ee-dos) - Welcome!
Cuando vuelves? (cwan-do vwel-vehs) - When do you come back?
Cuidate or Te cuidas (cwee-dah-te or te cwee-das) - Take care
Te extraño! (teh ex-trahn-yo) - I miss you!


Thanks again to everyone for making time for me, and for understanding when things got crazy.
abrazos,
Lily

Fotos San Francisco

12.07.07 Coming Home - Tomorrow!

Hi all,

Right now I'm sitting in the La Paz airport, waiting to get on the plane that will take me home. I get into DC tomorrow morning, and I'll be in the US for a month. That month will be divided between the DC area, Charlottesville, San Francisco, and New York. There's a lot of travelling going on in the next month for me, and I really hope I get to see as many of you as possible.

As the holidays approach, I want to thank all of you for all your support and love - emails, chatting, phone calls, visits. It really makes my day when I get an email out of the blue from someone I haven't heard from in a while, and for all you who have been in closer touch throughout my time here, it's been wonderful to be able to continue being a part of your lives there, and for you to be part of my life here.

Much love,
Lily

11.27.07 Happy Late Thanksgiving

Hi all! Happy Thanksgiving. This email has a lot of news, and contains a lot of ups and downs, so hang on.

First. Bolivians are questioning the US Presidential candidates... can't get much better than that. We've submitted a question from Bolivia for the presidential debate this week. And why not? Arguably, U.S. policy affects Bolivians' lives just as much as it does Americans'.

It's only 30 seconds...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wvDv4JP9_o&eurl=http://www.democracyctr.org/bl og/2007/11/bringing-coca-to-youtube-republican.html

And we'll see if it gets picked soon enough. (Wouldn't that be fabulous?)

Second. I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing, loving thanksgiving. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. Here, we made turkey (four hours in the oven!), I made stuffing (mmm bread crumbs and butter), a friend of mine brought out the mashed potatoes, and someone else brought apple pie. Yum. Oh, and don't forget the Bolivian pique a lo macho (huge pile of meat, potato wedges, tomatoes, and hot peppers). All this in Cochabamba with a mix of Norwegians, Germans, Argentineans, and, of course, Bolivians and Americans. You gotta love it. (Forgot to take pictures. Sorry!)

Third. I am in good spirits after a good number of stressful weeks at work seem to finally be coming to a close. We're going to publish a magazine! It is called j'allalla (Quechua & Aymara for "que viva!"), and it's the democracy center annual magazine. Here's last year's version: http://www.democracyctr.org/publications/magazine/ . Oh, and I'm the co-editor this year (hence the stress, and the recent relief).

Fourth. I have been not only stressed in recent weeks, but also distressed and depressed because of the political situation in Bolivia right now and other events. Sucre (10-12 hours away) is exploding in protests... on Sunday, protesters threw molotov cocktails and four people have been killed over the last days. Cochabamba is calm, so yes, I'm safe, and I promise to be careful. But here's an analysis that Jim published tonight on the recent events for those who want to know more: http://democracyctr.org/blog/ . There is also a tribute to a journalist who lost her life here in the last week. Although I didn't know her, I am friends with people here who were extremely close to her, so that has shaken me a good deal.

Whew. Lots of news. I'm looking forward to seeing you all soon. Much love.

Lily

PS "que viva" means "may it live"

PPS Diana's visit was great! More about that later.