Home Again

So I am back in my beloved Chapel Hill once more. I thought that living with little oxygen at 12,000 feet was going to give me a boost here, but I didn't factor in the heat. Just less than 24 hours of it has just about killed me.

Despite the fact that I was sick the entire last week in Bolivia, it was actually really nice. The conference was terrific. Outside of warmer weather, tasty food (which was probably the culprit of my nausea), incredible scenery, and fun outings with staff, it was a great learning experience as well. Members of the boards of education and health from each of the four cities with the program attended. It was great to hear their thoughts and ideas. The bottom picture is from from the hotel.

Upon returning from the conference my fellow interns and a few others from Save went to the Tiahuanaco for the Aymara New Year. Everyone stays up all night to wait for the sun to come up. The idea is to catch the energy from the first few rays of the sun. Its a really beautiful and fun celebration. It is suppose to be the coldest night of the year (I certainly found this to be true), and the key to staying warm is either dancing, drinking, or both. Unfortunately for me, the disgusting feeling in my stomach kept me from doing either and thus I was sick, cold, and tired. Furtunately for me, one our coworker's mother lived there and let me sit in her house after I reached my breaking point. The top picture is before I gave out.

With my last blog I will end with a few of the things that I love and will miss about Bolivia (in no particular order).

Mommas with babies on their backs wrapped in bright colored blankets (its the ideal MCH image, and actually this is in order. It's # 1)

National Bolivian music and the love that Bolivians have for it

Bolivians pride and love for Bolivia
Eating too much papaya

Fresh orange juice on every street corner

City women wearing traditional clothing

Diversity of the people and the land (and the potatoes!)

Cheap ice cream

The sweet bread that I ate almost daily

Mt Illimani

That everyone is involved and active in the political process

The graciousness that Bolivians have to give to a foriegner

Honestly, thanks for reading. When I started, I thought I was just going to be blogging for my mom and dad. Its touching to see that even more than my parents are interested in what I am doing.

Katie