Bermejo Otra Vez

Alright... more about Bermejo. I´ll be working with the school district helping to incorporate environmental ed. into the cirricula. There´s sort of a test pilot program with the three biggest schools going on right now. I´ll be working closely with these schools and hopfully expanding the program to the other schools. There´s a vivero which is kind of run down right now. I´m planing on helping my site mate clean it up during the first couple of months while my spanish gets up to par. Then I´m hoping to orgainize some field days with the school kids there. My site description also mentions starting eco-clubs, environmental fairs, reforestation projects.... There´s lots of work to be done! Kind of overwhelming. In reality I could keep myself busy just working with the largest school. But I don´t want to turn into an substitute teacher, which can happen very easily if your not careful.

Plaza Principle, Tarija

I am so happy to get Tarija as my regional city. It makes Coch look like a hole. There´s lots of trees, narrow one way streets, cute little plazas, less trash, less cars and the air smells clean. And it´s just super tranquillo. I don´t know how to decribe it. But the minute i got there I just felt at ease. No one´s in a hurry. I didn´t fear for my life in the taxi.

We´ll actually the taxi ride to Bermejo was absoulutely terrifying (long story why I had to take a taxi there). For one, it´s a little conserning having a tank of gas six inches from your head (most of the cars run on natural gas) I just kept imagining the taxi exploding in a firey ball of flames. Secondly, we must have been traveling at least 80mph down the road which was ¨mostly¨ paved. And then there are the random dogs, donkeys, cows and boulders you have to dodge. And all this was at night on a pitch black winding road. The nice slow bus ride back to Tarija was much more enjoyable. The whole public transportation situation here in Bolivia has been pretty interesting. Definately worthy of it´s own entry.

But back to Tarija. I´ve never been to Spain, but I imagined this is how it must be. Narrow one way streets, small side walks, coloful houses hugging the hills. We were all eating lunch outside on the plaza. We had a few B´s to spare to we bought a botttle of red wine (which is so cheap here because this is the region where all the grapes are grown!) and to top it off had some cheese cake. It was perfect! Definately not what I imagined for a Peace Corps experience, but I´ll take it!