Despite the majority of schools being on strike the entire week, except for Friday, we were able to complete all of the follow up blood tests and concentration tests. Friday was a wirl wind but all is well. The top picture is with two sweet little girls patiently waiting to get their little finger pricked. This is really special because patience in these classrooms is something extraordinarily rare.

Friday night Sibia and I went to Chapare. Its about three hours from Cochabamba and is in the tropical rainforest area. Essentially we saw some rare, but ugly, bats and birds and I got bite by a monkey =). Honestly, we had a really good time and it was wonderful to see something new in Bolivia. I should explain the monkey bite. There is a little refuge for monkeys who have been sold on the black market or have been mistreated. There they are taken care of and are trained to live in the wild again. The monkeys are extremely domesticated and will come right to you. The sweet fella in the picture was a little cold and enjoyed snuggling in my jacket. Though the monkey pictured above was docile and loving, not all were so. When I would not let one little spider monkey have my camera, he bit the living tar out of my pinky finger.

My friend from Switzerland that also lives in the house with me works with severely malnourished babies at the hospital for her nursing intership/practicum. I went with her to work this afternoon and was able to hold, feed, and rock some of the little guys and gals there. Most of these children are in the grave state that they are because of a very simple disease, diarrhea. All are from the campo (the countryside, or very rural areas) and their families have very little education and money. Due to living so far away and having the responsibilities of a family, other children, and their household, the parents have to leave their sick babies at the hospital and do their best return and check on them. It is usually once every three to seven days.

One little guy, Anthony, especially stole my heart. He is about five months old and weighs about 6.5 lbs. Just a few weeks ago, I held my new nephew (Tucker) who was also about 5 months old at the time. Yet, Anthony was a bit smaller than Tucker at birth.

The extent of loss that poverty inflicts has been so real to me the past few days. Whether it is the loss of minds due to little resources for education, the loss of innocence due to four year olds having to sell gum or beg on the streets, or the loss of lives due to lack of information on how to prevent the easily preventable.