Sports Day, Saltenas, Foster's Classroom

Preface by Karen: Today was the Montessori School's "Sports season kick-off"--something that apparently all schools do...an all-school Saturday morning pep rally of sorts. The cryptic letter came home last week about how parent-child teams were supposed to run races starting at 8:30am (we skipped that part) followed by an assembly and procession of the sports teams. All students third grade and older are required to participate in a sports activity--E chose soccer. So Susana and Foster and I accompanied Elliott for the very brief assembly and subsequent treats like Saltenas and ice cream. Here are Elliott's remarks on the day, typed in his own hand, followed by some pictures of the event and of the school--Foster's classroom happened to be open so we took quite a few pictures of it. Now here's Elliott:

now today i really can't believe i'm one third
of the way through school here!!! today febuary 27
there was a race in school, well i did not do it because:if you did do the race
after you did it you had to wait an hour and a half till the parrade.
well we got to the parrade part at 10:15,
i was actually in it! /?/ ./either one of those could fit my reacion.
so when i was standing in line waiting for the parrade to start i was pretty
darn nervios.then we started marching,
then the other kids started what i call mumbling-singing a song.so i
just moved my mouth.after all that and we were about to go home(home
in south america)a kid from my class asked me if i waned a icecream,
i said(yes)so he bought me one.(i said thank you a million times)then we started to leave,
but then some kid's dad walked up to us and said(who is Elliott? Matilde talks about Elliott all the time)
well sorry to cut in but everybody seems to know me, i feel like i'm popular
so school is not on a bad start! the people are nice but im jealous that fosters classroom is a lot nicer. mine are small and empty. in the math room the walls are blank except for the alphabet. besides that its fine.

*****************************************************************************

The school is built into a hillside and the 1/2 covered outdoor gym is on the top floor. Clearly rain and cold are not big issues here. None of the school is heated.
The procession begins.
Elliott marching with his fellow futbolistas

Snacks: ice creams, pizza, and saltenas were all for sale after the assembly.

Saltenas are THE morning food in La Paz...served for any occasion that happens before lunch. They are like a saucy hand-held pot pie, filled with a meat or chicken gravy, with hard boiled egg, black olives, peas and just the slightest sweetness. Really good, and often very messy!

Look, Foster's face is improving!

This is the middle of the school, it's built around a central courtyard. Susana and Foster's rooms are on the ground floor and Elliott rotates between 3 classrooms on the 3rd floor.

Below are pictures of Foster's classroom. Susana's looks the same--both have garden areas inside and lots of wooden Montessori manipulatives. Both of their classrooms are multi-age with 3, 4 & 5 year olds.

Alasitas!

(The other language on the sign is Aymara)

Alasitas is a fair --encampment might be a better term! It's hundreds of corrugated metal and plastic and tarp-covered stalls that is set up for several weeks (it starts Jan 21 every year and just closed on Sunday, the official close of Carnaval). Alasitas is a celebration of Ekeko, god of abundance. At Alasitas you buy a miniature version of what you hope to have in the coming year, and the belief is that Ekeko will grant it.

This is Ekeko...it's all about him.

The "fairgrounds" is only about a 10 minute walk from the house so I visited several times over the last month to see what there was to see.

There's stall after stall after stall of miniature items to buy—tiny briefcases of money are very popular, along with passports, college degrees, grocery baskets, houses, babies, cars.

Lucas with mini dream homes and cars.

Alexia and Foster go for the cold hard cash.
Elliot with samples of the many varieties plaster of paris banks savings banks...

and some of the ones we came home with (!?!)

There's also stalls of toys, especially Barbie clothes, games, kitchen utensils, plants, and some really random things, like plaster of paris banks. There’s lots of ancient and very unsafe looking rides, carnival games and of course food. Something for everyone! As long as you go after 3pm, that is. I know well that nothing here starts before 10am, and then rarely on time, but even when I tried going to do some shopping at Alasitas from 12-1 (before the kids got home from school), nothing at was ever open…This is very much a place to do things in the afternoon! A bit different from Jonesborough where everything shuts down at 5pm...

We let the kids lose a few Bolivianos on ring tosses and dice games, but their favorite attraction was the man with a cageful of trained parakeets. For 2 Bs (about 30 cents) you can pick out a bird and the parakeet sits on your hand, gives you a “kiss” on the cheek, then picks a little folded paper out of a drawer with your fortune. Elliotts was especially impressed with his fortune which said: "You have a lot to offer, you will get a solid education and because of that everyone who knows you will respect you."

The gringos didn't buy any food at the fair, but we studied it!
These colorful (and sanitary!) drinks are sold all the time on the streets in La Paz.
A view of Alasitas from the road...with the typical way of carrying things here in the awayo.

The crowd on the last day was crazy.

And here's Susana smiling mug to bid you farewell from Alasitas...

A trip to the doctor

After a week of Foster's face looking like this,

we decided it was time for professional help!

Here's how it went:

Yesterday afternoon, Rosi called her dermatologist on his cell phone. (This is not a personal friend; he lists his office, home phone and cell phone on his prescription pad). We were told to come between 8 and 10 am tomorrow, or else he had no appointments until March because he would be out of town.

This morning we arrived at his consultorio about 9:00am.

The receptionist wrote down this much information: Foster's name, address and birthdate.

She asked us to take a seat.

This is the common reception and waiting area shared by a number of doctors.

Within 5 minutes we were sitting in Dr. Diez de Medina's office-exam room combo. He chatted with us for a minute, sat Foster up on his exam table, and quickly diagnosed an infected rash (impegio). He prescribed an oral antibiotic and a cream, gave Foster a lollipop, and we were on our way. Follow-up appointment next week, same time.

At 9:15 I was taking Foster to school.

Total cost: $21 for the office visit, $14 for medicines from the pharmacy.

We have been to the pediatrician here with Elliott and then Susana, but having not been to a specialist before I was curious if it would be different. But it was the same quick service, same consult fee as the pediatrician.

Bolivia certainly does not have the sophisticated medical technology that is so widely available at home. Javier says there's only one MRI machine in La Paz, for instance (city of one million.) But for primary care, there's something very refreshing about the personal, immediate attention and lack of red tape. It sure worked for us...

The happy patient.

What the kids have to say

Foster had a major breakthrough this weekend: he started speaking Spanish in sentences! Foster's comprehension was pretty good when we got here, but his spoken vocabulary was not much more than names of a few food items, colors, numbers 1-10, Estados Unidos, please and thank you.


Now nearly 4 weeks into our stay, this weekend he just all of a sudden started stringing words together. Truly, this just sort of burst out of the blue and is something everyone has noticed, particularly since he's said very little until now. Samples of his newfound ability to speak:
Quiero papel para biblioteca (I want paper for library)
Esta debajo escalera (It's under stairs)
Voy a dormir en el medio (I'm going to sleep in the middle)

Susana arrived already able to say a few sentences (particularly those beginning with "I want") and she now jabbers away all the time. She does not always make sense, and she massacres the el/la gender thing, but she is completely in Spanish mode...she plays with Foster in Spanish even when they're alone, answers me in Spanish even if I say something to her in English. So her brain, I think, is very busy assimilating, and it will be interesting to see how/what comes together next.

Elliott had the most conversational Spanish to begin with, and he picked right up so it is a little harder to gauge his progress. He has been able to follow along at school and has never reported feeling totally lost. He's not afraid to talk to anyone, so he has made friends to play soccer with at recess and to talk to on the bus on the way home. For Elliott, I expect his progress will be more subtle and will have a lot to do with learning spelling and grammar at school.

Here's what Elliott has to say about school so far. After concentrating all day at school in Spanish, then doing homework, he's lost some enthusiasm for his journal. Nor can journal-writing compete with the Wii lego Star Wars game! So I provided him with a more painless, fill-in-the-blank format (his contribution in green).

• I can't believe I've done 3 weeks of school. It seems like: I've been here for a year already.
• Now I'm used to: going to school.
• My favorite class is: Musica and Matematicas
• My friends are named: Diego, Lucia, Nicolas, Jorge, Santiago and Ignacio.
• What I like best about this school is: English class! And that we're there 5 hours and not 7 like at home.
• One thing that is different here is: we use paper with little small squares for everything. [K: graph paper]
• Some new words I've learned this week: Avanzar (to advance), Recreo (recess), Chisguete (water gun), Merienda (snack), Sin querer (by accident/ without wanting to)

Last, photos for you grandparents out there, illustrating the kids' secret to learning Spanish: non-stop PLAY with spanish-speaking playmates! Be sure to go to the last one to see just how tiring all this play is...
Coloring with Marcelito
Hamming it up with the cousins


Star wars games--Wii or Lego--involve coordinating attacks in Spanish!
Playing in a blanket-tent in the hall (This is where Foster's"I want to sleep in the middle" comment came from.)

Saturday night's costume/dance party, with Javier as DJ. Time of this photo? 11:30pm
All this play IS exhausting. Here Susan props up Susanita...who fell asleep standing up WHILE I was brushing her teeth!

El gimnasio

Does that get your attention? More on the tantalizing gym decor below...

I’ve been going to classes at “Energym” for 3 weeks now. It was the only place I found within walking distance of the house that had equipment from this century. No kidding...I visited several gyms that made Javier's "pedalette" exercise bike look positively up-to-date.
The "Pedalette"--its been here as long as I can remember, at least 25 years.

So my gym has aerobics & spinning classes 5 days a week timed just right—I put the kids on the bus at 7:30 and walk to the gym. It's about a 5-7 minute walk: 4 blocks, then cut diagnonally across Plaza Abaroa, another 1/2 block and I'm there.
This is Plaza Abaroa, just for some scenery.

Here's the front door of the gym. Most days there's a huge long line of people across the door because the office that certifies high school diplomas (or something like that) is next door. So after I perdon my way through the crowd, I'm there.

The classes have been good. All the instructors I’ve had are so far guys. The aerobics teacher is super high energy, I’ve made it through one class of “baile” (dance) with elastic-hipped "Wally,"and I’m a regular at the spinning classes. They use a lot of the same pop music that I hear at the Wellness center classes…and then quite a few blasts from the 80’s—everything from Flashdance to Pink Floyd. And theres' zillions of nautilus machines and stuff like that too. And the cost? $34 per month, no strings attached.

There are only two things I don’t like about the gym: The first is that the spinning instructor comes around and adjusts your knob (for G.B.: this would refer to your bike's pedal resistance, of course.) And not just once, but 2 or three times in a class! When I’m gasping for breath and sweating buckets at 11,000 ft elevation, I’d like to adjust my own knob, thank you!

The gym is also in a small space and they've put glass and mirrors everywhere to make it look bigger. Which at first had me walking into walls.

But the part I don't like is that all the mirros reflect the myriad larger-than-life posters of fitness models that are plastered all over the walls. Inspirational or unsettling? You be the judge!

Well, I'm putting up with it, mostly so I can get away with eating at the ever-abundant Gisbert family table: Susan's during the week and Pablo and Dani's on the weekend. Eating here deserves it's own entry (which it will get soon), but just to give give you a quick taste of the temptations driving me to the gym, let me name off a few of the daily desserts that have graced the table (after, of course, the soup, salad, & entree lunch): Strawberry-Rhubarb pie, bread pudding, NY style cheesecake with cherry sauce, chocolate pie, brownies, poppyseed cake, chocolate cupcakes, peach cake, angelfood cake...need I go on?

Maybe I'll need to try the special reduction techniques I saw this morning--the woman in front of me in spinning had her mid-section wrapped in Saran Wrap. I shouldn't be incredulous: maybe that's the secret of the women here who all seem to wear single-digit sizes (and that would be mostly 2's!)

Karen

Word for the week: Carnaval!

Costumes! For us, carnaval began on Friday when the kids all had carnaval parties at school: with costumes, candy, confetti and spraying "espuma". This year, everywhere is lots of propaganda about "not wasting water during carnaval" (throwing water balloons and soaking with water guns--anywhere, anytime--is a traditional activity). Instead, espuma--a canned foam spray--is being promoted as the environmental alternative???

Vacation! Carnaval is a two-day holiday here on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday...thus a 4-day weekend. Sergio, Rosi and family packed up a few things (!) to go to their country house in Yanacachi, where they will be joined by a dozen or so of their friends.

Foster watches the packing.

Elliott and Susana wasted no time in accepting Rosi's invitation to go along. As you can see from the pictures, there was no room for me to join them, but when I hypothetically offered to go too (so that Foster would go and we could all be together) Elliott's answer was a resounding "NO!" If I went, he would stay behind. Hmm...I have to wonder what he's up to right now...but I have a feeling that happens in Yanacachi will stay in Yanacachi! They will be back Tuesday.

"Puma" (Foster's version of Espuma)

Water and foam play in the streets would seem to be the major carnaval amusement for kids. Today as we drove to lunch and back, Foster had a chance to squirt water and foam from the car at passersby. Our rules were to look for other "players"--anyone carrying a squirt gun or espuma can was fair game. But Foster was pretty happy just spraying foam out the window whether he had a target or not. I think I enjoyed randomly trying to spray people as much as Foster did--it's pretty fun to have everyone out there just ready to play. We got blasted more than once by folks with well-honed water balloon skills...they got us thru the car window, and while we were moving!

Some street scenes: you'll see the well prepared wear plastic covers and sometimes goggles.

Diablada

Last but certainly not least, the biggest deal of carnaval in Bolivia is the dancing in the town of Oruro. And it is a focal point of national pride this year as everyone wants to reclaim the "Diablada"--the costume and dance that last year the Peruvian Miss Universe contestant had the audacity to claim was Peruvian. Bolivia won't stand for that! In any case, the newspapers claim up to 50,000 dancers and thousands of musicians participated in yesterday's all-day parade of dancing and costumes. It really is very elaborate. Here's a link to a very short video clip to get a taste (it may not be the best, but it was the first thing I found!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgQC-QWb5Rc

All for now!

Karen