A "Red Social" update

A quick update on the Bolivian game show, Red Social, that my group and I are participating on..
We were on the show for a second time Friday night, and WE WON AGAIN! :)
So this means we are back on, for a third time, Monday night! It is at the same time and on the same site (see the post before this for all the information).
As of right now we have raised 4000bs from the show, and we are hoping to get another 2000bs Monday night if we win.

All the money we raise is going to Casa de la Mujer, a women's shelter here in Santa Cruz de la Sierra :)

Final update: we played Monday night, and we ended up loosing. :( So we left the show after three shows, and 4000$ won! All in all it was a successful surprise :)

Bolivian Game Show; Red Social!

Tonight my group and I went on the Bolivian television program Red Social to raise money for the Casa de la Mujer!
Red Social is a bolivian game show were you compete to raise money for causes by playing games and such with your team, against one other team.
Here are some members from our team completing one of the challenges!

We ended up WINNING! :) Which means that we won 2000bs!

Since we won, tomorrow night we are going back to compete again, against another team. The program is on at 9pm (bolivian time), which is 8pm (Ontario time) or depending on whatever time zone you are in! If you're interested in watching you can see it online (live stream) at http://www.redpat.tv/

Carnaval !

I realized I have been mentioning Carnaval in my posts, but I don't believe I have explained it yet..

Carnaval is the big four day celebration in Bolivia, and a few other parts of South America. It is a very big deal, and everything closes down for it. The month before Carnaval is filled with pre-carnaval's (shows and parades), and pre-carnaval parties. The actual celebration is very different depending on what district of Bolivia you are in, but it is all based originally off culture.

I don't know a lot about it because I haven't experienced it yet. But luckily it is next week (Sunday to Wednesday), so I will be here for it! Our group is all going to Samaipata, because it is a bit safer than the city during Carnaval. What I know of Carnaval so far is that there is a lot of dancing and music, a lot of water and paint fights, and that I need to figure out how to hide my hair because the paint takes months to come out.. so not much really. But I am very excited for it!
If you google it you can find more information on it, including lots of pictures!

Plataforma Solidaria

My work placement is Plataforma Solidaria; an education, sports, and nutrition center for kids in one of the poorer districts of the city.
This past week was a one-week long summer camp for some of the kids from the neighborhood. It was kind of a end of summer thing since school starts this week, and there were around 30 kids participating.
I, along with about four other volunteers and the Plataforma staff, got to meet and work with a lot of great kids. Each day of the camp had a theme; some days were purely sports, others were "Carnaval games", etc. Since the past week was REALLY hot we spent a lot of time playing with water, and cooling off with activities in the shade or inside.
I really enjoyed the week with all the kids, and I got to know some great kids as well as improve my spanish! A group of the younger kids loved it when I read stories to them (even with my accent) so every day at lunch we would have a little story time and I would read to them. I learned a lot from these kids about the culture as well.
I was really surprised to see the way these kids interacted with each other; within half an hour of meeting everyone acted like siblings. They would discipline, teach, rough around, and protect each other like they were all related. Most of these kids came from really poor homes, and rough situations. A lot of them didn't get enough to eat on a regular basis, and were dealing with big problems in their homes. This is a neighborhood where most kids have probably begun doing drugs by the time they are twelve years old. But when they come to the camp they are all up-beat, eager to learn, and kids. I think the camp gave them all the opportunity to escape and just be kids.
I'm sad that the summer is over, and all the kids have gone back to school. Thankfully though my work is full of surprises and I can't wait to see what they have for me next!
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, since its too dangerous for me to carry a camera. But my boss took some photos so I am going to try and get his pictures, then post them later on. Until then you can just imagine a lot of really incredible, smiling, Bolivian children and I!
:)

A Bolivian Snowman

For Christmas my parents sent with me a stocking full of little treats and fun things. One of which was a can of "snow"! Since my host family had never seen or felt snow before I decided to use it with my host siblings; Danitza, Jeanine, and Percy.
We followed the directions on the can, and ended up making a fairly large amount of snow. The can came with a little ribbon, and eyes to make a snowman.. so we made a Bolivian snowman!
Here are my host siblings with the snowman we made;

A day of work at Centro Cultural San Isidro

On Saturday the 19th a group of us spent the day at the Centro Cultural San Isidro volunteering.
San Isidro is one of the work placements for the program, and two Canadians (Gaelen and Dana) work there. They are clearing out an old, overgrown property to make a garden/outside school.
They will be using the garden to teach kids about growing food, and help give the kids a sense of responsibility.
So on Saturday about six of us went to San Isidro to clear out the land, and create a garden.
When we got there the land was overgrown, with a huge pile of tree branches that needed to be chopped apart. Our tools were machetes, shovels, and rakes!
This is how the yard looked early on in the day..

We worked with some other volunteers from San Isidro, including a few from Germany, to clear out the land and create the garden.

We hadn't finish it when we left Saturday, but here are some pictures of the now almost complete project!

The pictures don't show all of the area, but the trees are still there, and underneath them is a bench and logs for sitting. It turned out quite well I think, and I got to meet some really nice new people. It was definitely worth all the hard work! :)

A lot to catch up on..

I realize I am REALLY far behind on blogging, and I have to apologize because I have been insanely busy and haven't been able to keep you all updated.
Bolivia is hot, really hot, but I am proud to say I'm surviving. I am constantly amazed by the things I see here, and I am continually learning.
Last week was the campamento de medio programa. I cannot believe that my time here is already half over! Since we're going out of the city for Carnaval (the big four day celebration all across Bolivia and other parts of South America), we stayed in Santa Cruz for the mi-projet instead of going away. It was a week packed full with group activities, and counterpart talks. In the end I think it was fairly productive!
Over the past few weeks we have been going out once a week to collect money for Casa de la Mujer. We have raised a pretty good amount of money, though I'm not sure exactly how much. We're planning to continue collecting weekly until the end of the program, and hopefully we will reach our goal!
My Spanish has gotten a lot better since coming to Bolivia, and I can now hold my own in most conversations! I am still practicing every chance I get though, and I have a lot more to learn.
My work placement is absolutely incredible! I will blog more about it later, because its so great it deserves a separate post. But it is partly to blame for me being too busy to blog.
I know this is just a really quick update, and I apologize, but my Education Day is tomorrow so I have to get back to working on it!
My counterparts (Sophie and Danitza) and I are running the education day tomorrow on the topic of abortion. Abortion isn't legal in Bolivia, but just as many abortions happen yearly in Bolivia as they do in Canada. The difference though is that in Canada the abortions are in safe, supervised environments, while in Bolivia they are happening illegally, in unsafe locations. I have learned a lot about abortion and its situation around the world, now I can only hope that tomorrow the rest of the group learns just as much!
Hasta proxima.. and it will be soon I promise!

Second Sector Project Activity

We did our second activity for the sector project (Casa de la Mujer) on Wednesday January 9th.
In the afternoon we stormed the plaza, which is the big central park in Santa Cruz, with our posters and collection buckets. We spent the afternoon talking with people about our cause, showing off our posters, and collecting money.
When the event was over we had raised around 1050bs! So far our money raised for the Casa de la Mujer is around 2550bs, and we're still collecting!
:)

Sector Project: first activity

Our sector project (the focus of our work when not at our work placement, and what we are raising money for) is the Casa de la Mujer in Santa Cruz. It is a location for woman and children that are victims of abuse. They can visit the center during the day, or in severe cases they can live in the center. They have doctors, psychologists, a library, a technology center that holds classes, and even their own radio station. It is a great place for women to take shelter or even to access resources.
We did our first activity for the Casa de la Mujer on Thursday January 3rd, and it was a great success!
We made posters against violence, and violence against women, and then went to El Cristo (the big statue in Santa Cruz). We collected money from people and cars at the lights, and showed our posters. Since our sector project supervisor David used to work on a television show, three different stations came to film us. We raised around 500bs, and made plans to do it again to keep raising awareness and funds.
Here are some pictures from the event! :)

The Amazing Race - Santa Cruz edition

On Thursday December 27th our group did a mini "Amazing Race" across the first ring of Santa Cruz to help the Canadians learn a bit more about the city and learn to find their way around. All of the Canadians were paired up (pairs were picked randomly from a hat), and then they were given one Bolivian "guide". The rules were that the "guides" were to accompany us, but they couldn't help us by translating, or giving us directions. They were just there to make sure we stayed inside the first ring, and to help us stay safe.
My team was Ian, (a Canadian from Nova Scotia), and Nicole, (our Bolivian "guide"). Each team was given a paper with checkpoints across the city, and instructions for what to do at each checkpoint. We were also given a map of the city.
Then we began the race! It took a bit under three hours for the first team to reach the finish line. Guess who the first team was? Ian, Nicole, and I! :)
Everyone had tons of fun, and we all learned a bit more about the city and how to get around, so in general it was a great activity for the whole group!