My first post from South America. I arrived here in La Paz, Bolivia on July 26, 2009 at about 6:30 am. We had a very warm welcome from the other staff and other local missionaries as we got our luggage and made our way out of the airport. It was really nice being greeted by warm hugs and handshakes. We were even each given a bottle of water to drink. Hydration is very important the first few days as you adjust to the altitude and the climate.
We were then all shuffled into various vehicles that were to take us to our new homes. Isaac and I are living in a house. It was an interesting adventure getting into the house. None of the keys we had actually worked... So we were forced to jump the gate and open it from the inside. Then the house keys wouldn't work. So we were forced to find a broken window, jimmy the latch, and climb in. Actually...not very encouraging how easy it was to break in :)
But, no worries, we rolled with it. Alison, one of the returning teachers, made us some muffins. She even went to the store while we unpacked and got us a few things to eat, i.e. yogurt, eggs, bread, fruit, milk, cereal. So even though we had to break in, we still felt welcome.
The first week was spent with Ashlyn and Alison showing us the city. Ashlyn and Alison are both returning teachers. They came early to organize and run the orientation week. We learned our way around the city. We learned how to use public transportation. We got cell phones. We went shopping for blankets and things we forgot or were planning on getting here. It was a good week. It was a fairly smooth process...surprisingly. Moving from one Country to another Country can come with all sorts of complications...but I'm actually amazed how quickly I began to feel comfortable and at ease.
This second week has been a Teacher Work Week. All the teachers are here now. And we've been going to the school every day (except today (Thursday) because it's Bolivia Day! Don't forget to celebrate Bolivia's independence!). We've had meetings. We've organized classrooms. We've organized schedules. We've prepared lessons. It's been busy but really good.
It's starting to really sink in that I'm going to be an actual teacher with an actual classroom with actual students giving actual lessons and grades in an actual accredited school...sort of intimidating...okay,
very intimidating! But I'm liking my schedule. 8, 9, 10, and 11/12 grade Bible classes. The curriculum looks good. There's just a lot I'm going to have to remember to do, like give out homework assignments and grade papers and stuff like that...teacher stuff that I've never really had to think about doing.
Altitude. Thankfully, hasn't been a huge issue. There's the occasional shortage of breath when going up stairs or climbing hills. I had a couple of interesting experiences going for a run and riding my bike to work...both were fine until the road goes up...then it's amazing how difficult it becomes. Like you're breathing very hard but it's not really helping at all.
...
Well, i started the above post on Thursday evening. It's now Saturday morning. It's rainy out. And we have to go to the school again for Open House for the parents and students. With the rain, I'll be interested to see how many people come.
If no one comes, it will still be good to be there and work on some more lesson plans.
