Wednesday, June 18, 2008

La Musica Increíble de los Años Ochenta

Hello there...

Here in Sopachuy we are still getting ready for the Feria and prepping the garden... not much new to report work-wise, relatively busy and happy, especially now that I am free of that maldito skin rash. I am working on A Confederacy of Dunces, my seventh book since I arrived in site as many weeks ago. Also halfway through 3 separate songs... hopefully at least one will turn into something, I am hedging my bets!

We celebrated Daniela´s 3rd birthday yesterday, Valentina´s little girl... typical kid party, lots of running and cake. They blasted a DVD of American music videos from the 1980´s -- I was ecstatic to revisit such musical gems as Rock Me Amadeus, Somebody´s Watching Me, We are the World, If You Want my Body, the Grease Mega Mix, I Was Made for Loving You, and Who Can it Be Now. (I will admit, however, that ¨Take on Me¨ is a guilty pleasure.) I was the tallest so I suspended the piñata while the kids waited underneath like a pack of ravenous hyenas. Then we sat around and drank beer, and the participating in the conversation became more and more challenging with each glass. But it was a good time.

More soon.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Forage Crops and a Pair of Rabbits

Howdy y´all. I am writing from Sucre, my regional city and the true capital of Bolivia. I am here this weekend running various errands, which range from finding the ingredients for honey shampoo to buying a pair of rabbits for a friend in Sopachuy. I hope they don´t shit too much on the seven-hour bus ride back to town.

In my site we are preparing for the big agricultural fair in July, a yearly extravaganza which attracts lots of outside visitors. Our beekeeping group will have a stand there, where we will be selling honey and, hopefully, other products including said shampoo and lip balm. On the forage front, Don Tomas and I finally broke ground the other day on our demonstration garden, which will include various types of alfalfa, barley and triticale (a mix between wheat and rye); we will plant next week. I brought a couple of cervezas along, as is the custom when dedicating a new piece of land, and Tomas poured out a splash for the Pachamamma, a Quechuan kind of Mother Earth figure. He said a prayer that she would allow our garden to produce fruitfully and that people would be educated by our efforts, rather than laugh at us. Indeed.

About that pictures thing... unfortunately this computer won`t let me upload any. So we`ll have to wait `til next time, I suppose. I haven`t taken that many yet anyway, but I promise next time to offer a comprehensive sample of Sopachuy life. Okay? Okay.

Love and miss. Go Obama.