Le temps a passé vite depuis mon dernier billet. Je suis well occupée. Between month ateliers à prepare my first contacts with youth libraries, my flute lessons and English, plus a few festivals ... I do not have time to get bored.
Fortunately, if the weeks are charged on weekends you can relax. Besides the weekend Charlotte and I went back and Pierre Arnaud (our two French friends of departure) has Coroico, a small village in the Yungas, a region north of La Paz. , A horse between the Andes and the Amazon. We took advantage of Friday holiday (Easter) for Thursday night from the night bus to La Paz
Despite its proximity with La Paz, Coroico is all there is more exotic. Three-hour journey, we move from 4500 to 1750 and the transformation of landscape impact. As a measure we lost altitude, the climate is dry and windy hot and humid, the peaks are peeled from the Altiplano highlands place has a luxuriant vegetation, and the paved road turns into dirt track!
When we arrived in Coroico a nasty surprise waiting for us: all the hotels were full arch! We started by walking from one hotel to another, without success. Finally, the night (and rain) falling, we finally decided to ask their help to the people. I started going door to door, explaining that even a cellar we should ... and it worked! After about twenty houses, a woman finally agreed to rent us a room. It was necessarily a little more expensive than if we had booked a hotel but it was either that or return to La Paz, so for us it was just miraculous. A
Coroico we did two nice walks in the mountains. The first was to bring us up to three large waterfalls. In fact, after a good 2 hours walking in the mountains, we led on a road along which was a small pond fed by two goals and where you could take a dip. The pond water then flowed over the road, mingling with the mud brought in by trucks tourists ... In short, it really was not the oasis in the mountains than we imagined! For cons, the presence of Bolivians on deck chairs beside the road confirmed to me that in Bolivia as in Mexico the weekend is always an opportunity to escape with the family, to the simple pleasures. It also reminded me my stay in Puebla a few years ago, when every Sunday with the whole family is was leaving the restaurant, the carnival, the fair has, or at the cemetery ... it was like being in France a few years ago, At that time many families and mass entertainment ...
Saturday evening a party was organized the centrality of Coroico. We were fortunate to attend a concert and dance Afro Bolivian! Yes, there is a black population in Bolivia! Brought as slaves to work in the mines there are several centuries after the conquistadors parties, these are African refugees in the Yungas and settled! If in their dances and their music can still feel the influence distant African roots, they are a full Bolivian. They have also amply demonstrated by their songs their commitment to the nation.
Barely back in Sucre, I shop with the mothers of Mesa Verde. Fortunately it was Colin who was responsible for preparing the workshop. After the workshop and the workshop salads peanut soup, Colin chose to do a workshop cakes fruit yogurt. In fact everything went well until the moment he took the cakes and cook or we realized that the gas cylinder (here everything works gas) oven was empty. We went to buy a new one, but the pipe was leaking, after a few minutes the gas had spread through the air caught fire. Fortunately the librarian rushed to turn off the gas tap, but it still makes us a scare. Colin finally brought the 4 cakes at home for cooking in our oven (and has put a driver back in stunning full of batter into the bus). Tomorrow is my turn to host the workshop. I planned a workshop quiches. So I pray for the oven works
Other events highlight of recent days, there was our visit to the hospital. Rest assured, no one was sick, it was just a must to get the visa. Among a bunch of other papers and proceedings Elodia are responsible to do for us, there was a blood test and chest X-ray. It must first obtain a doctor's prescription to go then do the blood test. Small detail: the doctor arrived at 8am, and having blood taken place between 7 and 8am, you could not do both on the same day and we had to come on two mornings at 7am. At least I've won a free blood test and got to know with my chest
In fact it makes little time for the migration procedures were tightened. It certainly was born as a result of the open letter by Morales to Europeans there are two or three years (A must read: http://www.alterinfos.org/spip.php?article2422 ). He had written following the tightening by Spain of its migration policies and the publication of its "Return Directive". Then she encouraged foreigners to come and work on its soil for several years, Spain (and France after him) has suddenly cut off the faucet and began to promote return home. In his letter, Morales threatened to apply to EU nationals crossing into Bolivia the same steps as those suffered by Bolivia on the old continent. Having witnessed when I lived in Spain from the galleys of my roommates Latino (illegal employment, regular outings in the country to renew a visa ...) I understand the decision to Morales. This hardening is not desirable in itself but was the only recourse for Bolivian our country has to understand they can not do what they want with strangers, let alone when they were encouraged to come
... Meanwhile, I hate having to deal with the administration, I try to take these steps in stride, telling me that I'm expenses unjust policies conducted in my country. Still, provided you have a visa soon ...
Raul, my darling has Urkupiña. He hardly speaks English, but his big smiles outweigh the floor and he is always ready for everything!
Last Tuesday, it was El dia del niño, that is to say the children's party. I failed to know the origin and age of this tradition but I can tell you that she is successful. On this occasion, we organized an afternoon recreation with the children of the four libraries managed by the association. Magali with an internal teaching internship in Ayni, we decided to make the game of spider web. Children should move as quickly as possible between the son of wool stretched without touching them. It had the air of their please. Then there was the traditional race bag worked well too. Here leaders have no real safety rules to follow and it is sometimes a bit confusing. I who was used to count the children every two minutes and to reform the ranks at every street corner, I'll have to change my habits. Nevertheless, given the legislative delusions that prevail in France, it's nice to be able to organize activities without having to constantly consider the worst (I'm not sure that would have allowed this race to organize bags France ... it's true, children could also fall ... it happened more than once).
After classes Quena (ending tomorrow), my English classes are my other great 
pleasure of the week. Already it feels good to speak English because the apartment we speak mostly in French. And it allows me to see a lot of rules forgotten to remove my old doubts and improve my English writing. I reconnected with my old habits model student and teacher harasses my questions length of courses. The smallest player zampoña Cultural Center Masis
If a roommate is going well, with its good and bad sides. The good is the pleasure of feeling like a little family, to fetch bread for 7 in the morning, cook and eat more than one, to hold large parties on the terrace, to meet friends from other , or always have someone on hand to help you or listen to you ... The worst is that it is hard to isolate the days of bad moods, always hard to be LISTENING other when they need it, or to make available to help when we had planned to do something else. In any case, it is a good practical level community life is going pretty well. Even if every other day a faucet starts to leak or a decision breaker trips, each person bringing a little of his own, it always ends up not being repaired.
Assia is sleeping ... Small
last reminder before you leave: those who wish are welcome! Sucre is a really beautiful city and a good stage travel. I will soon have a little description of things to see around: the Salar de Uyuni, the mines of Potosi, Cordillera Andes (which invites for great treks), the Amazon forest, La Paz, Lake Titicaca, the indigenous communities ... and me of course, that welcomes you with open arms and promises you an introduction to formal customs Bolivian and a tour of the city (and bars).
Children reunited the four libraries at the sight of a volunteer clown Lukas Argentine with whom I will set up a puppet workshop!
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