A Whirlwind Blog Entry

It's been busy here in Bolivia; so busy that we've been too distracted to keep pace on the blog. Since Char's birthday, there has been almost a complete turnover in the volunteer crew. Three volunteers left, and three new ones arrived. When the new Northwestern resident arrived, we basically took her straight from the airport to Aqualand to enjoy a day of water, sun, and huge slides. While it was no Noah's Ark or Racing Rapids, we had a wonderful time. Derek, along with Ethan and Mike, rode the equivalent of the Plunge head first and backwards. Char was nearly swept away in the wavepool while she laughed and laughed uncontrollably. It certainly was not the typical Bolivian experience, but it was nonetheless a great first day for Dorothy.

Our sporting events continued at a high pace at the clinic. We played another exciting game of basketball so intense that Ethan came away mad and seriously bruised. It was nothing that a cool bag of juice couldn't fix. Derek learned a new dessert recipe for mousse de banano (whipped egg whites, bananas and cloves) from Maria, the nurse at the clinic. Despite his best efforts, he had some trouble since Maria forgot to pack the whisks for the electric mixer. Derek finished off the week at the clinic with a horse and cart ride to town under the sunset with Celso. We are really getting used to the tranquilo way of life in Palacios and are recognizing more and more why the Molitch-Hou family chose this spot for the clinic.

Back in Santa Cruz, we enjoyed another night out at the Cuban restaurant followed by drinks , live music, and dancing at Cafe 24 by the Plaza. Char practiced her Spanish all night talking with our friend Xavier, who thinks we should have at least five children - loco! We also did some power shopping so get ready for Christmas! In addition to many presents for everyone back home, Derek bought a charango, the traditional Bolivian ten-string instrument made of an armadillo shell.

After a short weekend in Santa Cruz, it was back to Palacios for Char and back to work for D in Santa Cruz. Char has been helping out with a parasite and Vitamin A program in the local schools. She visited several schools this past week to talk with teachers about handing out medications to the students. It should be very interesting in the weeks to come. She also got some more driving practice in during a huge storm. The dirt/sand road was nearly washed out as she expertly maneuvered the SUV to safety! Meanwhile, Derek was working into the wee hours of the night all week building a solar thermal collector. He bought a drill, some saws, and scavenged the junkyard district of Santa Cruz. The highlight of the week was walking down the 3rd ring showing the condensor coils he cut off an old refrigerator to all the shop owners who had given him blank stares when asking them where to find a scrap yard. IF it works, the system will be used to heat water and potentially be connected to a solar still for purifed drinking water. His larger project, the solar photovoltaic system, is still in planning and evaluation stages, but it has been fun to start pounding some nails and experimenting with designs in the meantime.

We finished off this weekend with an awesome Halloween party at our house in Santa Cruz, where we went as Popeye and Olive Oil--because everyone here thinks Derek laughs like Popeye. Everyone had a great time picking out the most amazing costumes in the costume district that D found while searching for fiberglass insulation. Not only were the costumes a hit, but the party also included sweet halloween blue and orange lighting, carved pumpkins, muchos dulces, a flying ghost remeniscient of 1102 Saalsaa haunted houses, a major dance party, Charlotte's famous chocolate chip pumpkin cake, a re-appearance of Derek's coveted fresh guac and salsa, and most fun of all, a very pensive penguin. A great time was had by all, even the clerk at the costume store who Rich had invited that afternoon. Dancing went late into the night and we were both "strong to the finish thanks to [eating] all of that spinach" [pizza]. Toot Toot!

More to come...and check out our new pictures we posted (the link is on the side panel).

Love,
Char and D