PC Bolivia in Pictures... And Beyond!

Something More Positive

2011-02-18T17:56:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm heading to my second year of class in my apprenticeship I want to share some pictures from the first 3,000 hours

This is a Head Start bus with a no smoking sign in the window. Huh?

There are always things that can make me laugh because they look like something else. Funny

Like this ceiling grid piece. Funny

Changing street lamps on a cold, but beautiful December morning with the Mendenhall Towers in the background. Neat-o

This is me hooking up temporary power at a work site. Cool

One of the first panels I made up. Pride

We went to a remote island to hook up monitors on two 20,000 gallon diesel tanks for a radar station. We took a float plane to get there and spent the nights in a tent for about a week. Wow

Jay Quitler

2011-01-25T17:35:00.001-08:00

I recently lost a bet and am hereby required to post a new post.

So it will be about the thing that has occupied my thoughts more than anything else since Sunday: Da Bears. The biggest game in the storied rivalry two of the most storied teams in professional sports. Few rivalries bring to mind such vivid memories and anticipation as match ups like Yankees Red Sox, Brazil Mexico (for soccer fans), USSR vs USA, and Bears Packers.

I've been a little obsessive about this loss. It was such a big game and it was such a big loss. My first reaction was to hate Cutler, hope for his trade or retirement or even hope that this was a much bigger injury than how it appeared. I assumed he was a quitter. This wouldn't be the first time I think he quit this season. Go back to the Giants Sunday night destruction of the Bears. Even though he was sacked at least a half dozen times, none were extremely brutal. But apparently he had a concussion and was unable to make it out of the locker room for the second half. Ok fine. I've had a concussion but was knocked unconscious and was taken off the field in an ambulance. I didn't play another series and then decide that I didn't want to go back on the field. I broke my ankle during a game and after missing only one game I played the rest of the season on it. So my indignation was a little bit justified, at least in my own mind, and this is apparently an opinion shared by a majority of the people who saw this game.

But that having been said, let's just assume that this was a legit reason for sitting out the biggest game in the entire existence of your team. A sprained knee. Which is technically a really teeny tiny tear. Let's say that it really hurt and he didn't feel like he could be effective. Let's just say that's the truth (after a few days to cool down it sounds a little bit more reasonable). Here is the problem with Cutler. People think that he would quit in a big game. We don't know him in any other facet than watching his demeanor on the field. But in that little bit which we know about him we are more willing to accept that he gave up than he couldn't go. His apparent indifference to the game after his departure was appalling, but it was consistent with the way I have perceived his attitude throughout the year.

The Bears players and coaches are quick to jump to his defense and I think that's exactly how they should behave. It's strong enough defense to make me question what I see when I watch the games. But the simple fact remains that they are in a public relations business and as my brother says, "perception is reality." The fact that this assumption has been made by so many people speaks to the collective perception of Jay Cutler. We don't get to meet him, so the judgement we make is based on our behavioral observations and his performance. So we perceive his as a smug, indifferent and ineffective prima donna who chokes under pressure and who does anything BUT get going when the going gets tough.

It's the same reason I am still not entirely convinced that this picture is a fake

Summer in Juneau

2010-05-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

My godson is learning how to sail the seas and become a salty pirate dog. When he gets to college he'll study ARRRRRRRchitecture.

Thanks for the cheese ball joke Katie Conant

Welding Class

2010-05-24T22:22:00.000-07:00

getting ready for excellence

Excellence in the making!

Wait for it...

Excellence!

I'm still up in Anchorage for class. 7 weeks per year. I'm doing well in classes and more than anything I am looking forward to getting done and heading back to Juneau.

I'm next!

2010-05-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta for Uno

2010-05-05T17:44:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhh Yeahhhhhh!!!

Party!!!!

I call this one "Still Life with Taco Bell: Living the Dream? Yes"

I stole this from Brandon (MOTHPOT)

2010-05-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Don't ever call me again!

2010-05-03T19:52:00.000-07:00

http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation?currentPage=1

This one time...

2010-04-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

in Alaska.

Republicans are Nazis

2010-04-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

The Journey Continues

2010-03-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

For some of my friends in Peace Corps Bolivia, the end was only the beginning of their Peace Corps Experience. Many went to Africa and others went to countries in Central and South America. My Friend Ryan went to Honduras for 27 more months. I think he's about 12 months into his second go and he sent me these sweet vacation pictures from his vacation to Guatemala and Belize. Thanks Ryan! Keep up the great work!

April 9th, 2010

2010-02-12T22:43:00.000-08:00

Ginger followup

2010-01-31T13:21:00.000-08:00

Life is short...

2010-01-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

Go Fast!

Have Fun!

Take Chances!

Be Creepy!

Eat Delicious Awesomeness to the Extreme!

Eat to your heart's discontent!

Cue the bacon explosion! Thank you Miz for the inspiration and Justin for the tutelage. I couldn't have done this without you guys. And thanks to K-donk who took all these awesome pictures and just is all awesome all day every day!

And I Yelled to the Cabbie, "Yo holmes smell ya later" forever and ever amen

2010-01-25T17:40:00.000-08:00

This isn't going to help your cause fatty

2010-01-23T12:07:00.001-08:00

The towel

2009-11-14T07:57:00.001-08:00

You're right Kristin, I am taking a break from this thing.

Kristin Hates my Blog, Miz! Send me the Gald Dern Man Trip Pics!

2009-10-14T21:05:00.000-07:00

Man Trip on the Horizon!

2009-09-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Bears

Casino

Beers

Way to go Mexico!

2009-08-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Seriously, this is a great idea. Click the link below to a great idea in action. People are going to use the stuff anyway. Why are we wasting money we don't have on putting people in jail for using drugs?

Mexico was already great!!!

When all else fails...

2009-08-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

I can always turn to Pearl Jam to make things better.

Here is a short video about the new album which is less than a month from being released!

http://www.tenclub.net/video/making-backspacer

Enjoy the warm goodness!

Mt. Roberts

2009-08-06T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've lived in Juneau for several years now, and I used to get annoyed with the idea of being closed in and isolated. Since I've been back I have had a much better outlook on everything. There is an incredible amount of stuff to do here which I have never done.

For example, I've never gone to the end of the road all the way in either direction. And until recently I had never been to any of the other Southeast Alaska towns. Now I've been to Ketchican, which I thought was pretty nice and laid back. I also recently hiked up Mt. Roberts with my friend Justin and his dog and took these pictures.

It was a beautiful view on a beautiful day of this beautiful summer we have had. Life is beautiful when it's beautiful.

Winning the Hearts and Minds

2009-07-26T16:44:00.000-07:00

Is this what we have been up to over there???

Soldiers in Colorado slayings tell of Iraq horrors

Pearl Jam - The Fixer

2009-07-23T07:13:00.001-07:00

Starting a career

2009-07-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my electical apprenticeship with the IBEW tomorrow!

When in Nome

2009-07-06T13:00:00.000-07:00

The Nome airport is tiny.

Brave children enjoying the surf of the open ocean on the Bering Sea. I was considering dunking myself but opted out and let these kids do it for me instead.

I came to Nome to visit my girlfriend Lorna, who is a fisheries biologist with the state here. If you look really hard, you still can't see Russia. It was a great way to spend the fourth of July. It felt uniquely patriotic to spend independence day in the farthest reaches of the country.

I Guess I'm Kinda Like Marlon Brando

2009-06-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my online research in organized crime. Wish me luck!

It was great to see my family and visit with them this weekend

Now I'm sure you can see the resemblance to Mr. Brando. Look how scared that baby is. My research is paying off for sure.

Golly what a day!

2009-06-14T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have been working at the ski area here in Juneau recently and the days have just been great. We are installing the haul rope which the chairs will be attached to and the newspaper sent a photographer to document it. So I was in the paper yet again at work. Pretty neat

Saturday, May 9th, 10:37 a.m.

2009-05-14T14:38:00.001-07:00

Showing the world my good side

2009-05-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

This week was pretty cool. I got to do some fun work decorating a new overpass with a scene of ducks and grass, and people seem to like it. So much so that I got my picture in the paper.

Even cooler than that, if you can imagine anything cooler than that, was that my nephew, Garrett, was born after an intense and super long labor by my trooper of a sister-in-law Paige. Congrats!!!

Juneau has been great lately

2009-02-24T19:46:00.000-08:00

I'm enjoying much of what Juneau has to offer lately. With skiing, hiking, hockey and abnormally beautiful weather, Juneau has been a great place to be this winter.

Obama says shut your mouth!

2009-02-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

Obama uncensored

Check this out. Obama is from the STREETS!

New Years Reunion

2009-01-08T15:37:00.000-08:00

For New Years ten RPCVs from Bolivia got back together again in the North Woods of Minnesota. It was a great time to get together and commiserate about our lack of ground breaking gainful employment and many other things. And it was a reminder of how great a group of people I was able to serve with.

Tom and I had an intense game of Minnesota Uno in the -20 degree weather. Good times.

Looking out at Russia

2008-12-10T12:04:00.001-08:00

From the Governor's house.

Only in Alaska

2008-12-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

I am seriously considering doing Peace Corps again in Honduras.

Sailing to Panama

2008-10-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

I left from Cartagena and sailed to Panama. It was a pretty city that I wanted to get the hell out of. It was nice to leave.This whale and her baby guided us as we made our way out into the Carribean. I am pretty sure it was a Bryde's whale, but I could be wrong.

We sailed past this tiny island and set up anchor. It was like an island from a Far Side Cartoon.

Another tiny island. There were 2 sets of huts there where the Kuna indians live. They were very hospitable and nice.

On the other side or our anchorage there was this island, which had a few groups of houses, including one that sold cans of cold beer for 1 Balboa, the currency of Panama (which is just a US Dollar).

A long time ago in a Galaxy far far away...

2008-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

The plane that flew us out of Bolvia. I think it was a C-130. The US gave it to Bolivia to fight against drugs. It was made in the 1950s and probably flew in the Vietnam War.
Inside, we all got strapped in and then at least 5 people puked during the 5 hour, top secret flight that followed.

Going to Panama the old fashioned way

2008-10-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

I got to Cartagena and it is like being in a museum from the age of pirates. It was a gold storage area for the Spanish stealing the gold of the natives, and so they made the city walls about 15 feet thick out of coral blocks and there is a huge fortress to protect it. I set sail on Wednesday and fly back to the US from Panama hopefully on the 22nd of October, just in time to get to Seattle for the ND vs. Washingon game that my brothers and dad are going to.

Quickly through Colombia

2008-10-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Still no pictures, but this is what my last week has looked like pretty much. I am too afraid to take my camera with me when I do go into towns and see the amazingly beautiful things that I have seen. And I have been rushing everywhere anyway. Tonight I am getting on a bus to Cartagena, which is on the Carribean coast. It should be a place to relax and finally take a picture and maybe upload some oldies but goodies from the past month. I will be looking for a boat to Panama, and then... dios sabe.

We got evacuated, but you probably knew that already

2008-10-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

I am going to post the dramatic pictures of the top secret military transport flight as soon as I can and my ensuing journey north (went all the way through ecuador without taking a picture... DAMN IT), but until then I will just be making fun of republicans or doing other fun stuff. Now that I am not a PC volunteer anymore I can do this. But I might be going to Morocco in March to continue in PC version 2.0 so stay tuned... or not.

Evo Si

2008-09-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

The recent referendum saw Evo win with 67% of the vote. Congratulations Evo! Jallalla!

Obama

2008-08-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

I finally found his address on the internet:

http://ohiodailyblog.com/content/audio-obamas-acceptance-speech

This is a recording from someone who was in the audience. It isn't great quality, so if anyone knows of a better link let me know please. I am listening to it right now and it is great so far!

Good bye Corque

2008-08-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

An old feller who has a tienda in Corque has been inviting me to come visit his campo. Well I decided it was time for me to go check it out and it was way worth it. Just beautiful. I wish I hadn't waited so long!

this is the church for the little community where Don Pedro lives

I would like to know what kind of bird this is

We walked up the hill to where he gets his water, it was really beautiful

Reall, what kind of bird is that?

A cactus forest, which I think is pretty cool.

Summit Panoramalama

2008-08-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

My first video. This is the view from the top and my amigo Ryan talking about how that ridge just keeps on going...

My second 16,000 ft. peak

2008-08-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

Tiff and Anna doing ballerina excercises before the hike
Tiffany on the bridge... pretty self explanatory
This is a really big rock and a cactus growing on top of it. Pretty cool.
The view from the top. We could see Sajama from here. My GPS says Sajama was over 170 miles away. How cool is that!!!
Heading back down for dinner with Tiffany and Anna leading the way... I couldn't help thinking the whole way that when the next ice age comes Huari is going to be THE extreme skiing destination for the southern hemisphere

Whale Watching

2008-08-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

One of the highlights of the trip home for the wedding was the whale watching rehersal dinner. I was unaware that there would be food on the boat, but other than that it couldn't have been better.
Eagles are as common in Southeast Alaska as llamas are here in the altiplano, but they both still blow me away
I still haven't figured out how to flirt effectively, but I think I do a better job than this sea lion.
In your dreams Regina Spector
This was the first time I had seen Orcas, or killer whales, and they stayed with us for nearly an hour performing breaches and rolls and stealing the show.

My uncle Marty took all of these pictures, so thanks for sharing!

New Technology in Comedy!

2008-08-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

My sister introduced me to the newest thing in comedyphoto technology. It's called shakey faces, and as you can see, it is awesome. Anna
Carla
Franz
John
John's sister

Lauren
yours truly
Mike did not understand shakey face
Tiffany
triple awesome shakey face

Lauren and Corque

2008-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

My friend Lauren came to visit and helped easing my way back into altiplano life once again after eating alaskan seafood and seeing my whole family at the wedding. She did PC in Bangladesh so she can relate.

Thanks for coming Lauren!!!!

Rocking out at my site, Corque, for a July fourth bonfire. Tons of fun!
Big fire.Franz and Tania chose to ford the river instead of waiting for the next raft. They saved several days but lost 3 oxen and 50 pounds of flour. Later in the journey one of the party died of ameabic dysentary.
An incredibly curious herd of llamas came right up to us, although there was some speculation that they were being hearded this way.
After a hike we came back to the plaza and had a local specialty, chicharon de llama.

The wedding day

2008-08-13T11:01:00.000-07:00

Matt and Paige heard the sincere words of congratulations and we drank our weight in Alaskan micro brews

My godfather taught me how to dance, which is why I rock so hard.
Judging by the fact that I am not in this picture, I think I must have said something funny.
The wedding chapel
My niece, nephew and self
The whole McGuan family together

My bother Matt's Alaskan wedding for the record books extravaganza!!!!

2008-08-13T10:15:00.000-07:00

Illamani (Ee-ya-ma-ni) at over 21,000 feet is the breathtaking focal point of the La Paz skyline. This is the night before leaving for the wedding 6,500 miles to the northwest.
My family rented out this lodge and most of the following pictures are from the area around it. It was beatiful and tons of fun.

The lush, mossy, greeness was such a contrast to the altiplano that I had to take a picture.

This is the view from the front of the lodge. The chapel where the actual wedding went down is hidden in the peninsula to the left. Look at the difference in the shape due to the huge tide variation, which can change up to 30 feet during new or full moons.
We had a picnic and a hours long mushball game which was one of the highligts of the trip.
The McGuan boys and my brother-in-law Chris went go sock some dingers Matt and Stone
Matt burns all symbols of his former, single life at the bachelor party bonfire.
My dad, the poker shark, making some easy money. I learned everything I know about poker from my dad, and it pays off.

Bolivia cracks me UP!

2008-06-16T10:39:00.001-07:00

This picture was on sale for just $150 US dollars. Yes, they are doing the Titanic "I'm King of the WORLD!" pose.

The walk to Villa

2008-06-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

Half way to Villa there is a tiny pueblito called San Jose. We stopped there and amazed the people with our white skin
When we got to Villa we were invited to a pretty special lunch. It is kind of like a pot luck and everything was made even more delicious because of the long walk that preceded it.
There were several different dishes all put together into a smorgasbord. Oh yes, I just used the word smorgasbord!
Click on this picture to see the one of worlds most valuable animal, the skittish vicuña.

It's very cold here

2008-06-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I had my first visitor to Corque in almost a year. My friend Ryan, a fellow B-45 volunteer, came out and helped me install some pumps for the wells I have been drilling. We had a good time. Sharing this experience with friends is very gratifying, so come one come all!

If you look really hard, you can see that it was actually SNOWING!!!! in this picture.

I am a fan of snow, so this really made me happy as you can see. The snow is more visible here too.To get to Villa Esperanza we had to hop a ride in the back of this truck. It dropped us off about 15 miles from town, so we walked.
I was so happy about the snow and having a visitor that the cold didn't bother me. I was also well prepared with the alpaca scarf my Aunt Susan made me.

From the Polish Attorney:

2008-06-02T12:08:00.000-07:00

Senor Jorge McGuan,

After thorough scrutinization of the imposter, I have come to the conclusion that I look nothing like this Bolivian wrastler Miz. In order to avoid further confusion and possible lawsuit, and not to mention slander and liable of my good name, please find and destroy my alleged doppelganger. Also please post the attached picture of me lounging around the house to your blog, as well as this correspondence, so your readers can also avoid any confusion and bask in the glory of the one...true...and only Miz! I'M MIZ B****!!!

Thank you for your time and prompt response to this matter.

Best,
Miz

Brandon is 27, this was his party

2008-05-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

The Miz!

2008-05-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

My mejor amigo and world's greatest guy, is named Miz too, and he looks amazingly similar to this popular professional wrestler in Bolivia. This poster is in a movie store in Oruro.

This is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I have been denied both times I have tried to buy it, but I have a plan that is just about fool proof.

Llama baby

2008-05-16T13:53:00.001-07:00

Some workish pictures

2008-05-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is the transportation to Villa Esperanza, in a "camión". I believe the translation to English is hellishly illegal and dangerous way to get home.
This is an ayni at work on drilling a well. Ayni is an aymaran work group that gets larger projects done.
This is after the well has been cased and we are trying to develop it so that it filters water more rapidly. You will notice the little rapscalion, Alber, cheezing it up for every picture.
After finishing work on the well we were drilling, we walked back to the previous well and did some more development work.
And then they cooked a nice meal of llama meat potatoes and barley soup, unlike the previous meal, which was made of unidentifiable llama innards.

I just like sunsets, OK!?!

2008-05-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's becuase it's the end of a hard day or that they are really amazing here. Probably because it's the end of another hard day.

I took this of myself on the way back to town after driling all day. Long Shadow makes me feel even taller than I do when I am around Bolivians. It will be weird being short again in the United States.
Sajama is the small far away bump on the horizon
When the sun was born on Lago Titicaca, which is the Aymara tale of their civilization's beginning, I bet it looked something like this.
Sajama (right) and the Chilean sister volcanos (center) which you can see up close here.
Llamas in the sunset don't get old for me, but they might for you.

AmeriCAN Values

2008-05-16T12:58:00.000-07:00

From what I hear a lot of our excess food is now being used as a gasoline substitute. Well, the beneficiaries of these cans of vegetable oil (other picture coming soon) would be unhappy to hear that. They are lucky here, they won't starve without assistance. However, I am sure they will notice if we no longer give as much aid as we had. Por ejemplo, the tractor that was donated to my town was from Iran. Where is John Deere?

Marlen Beizaga

2008-05-03T07:01:00.000-07:00

My favorite person in the Peace Corps office and the nicest person in Bolivia, Marlen, and me in my town outside of a house I wanted to move into, but it didn't work out. This is the new town that I am drilling in. I am finally getting work done again.
My boss Tim proved that he is Bolivian by getting the Land Rover stuck after visitng Villa Esperanza.

Thanks for the pictures Marlen!

New Camera!!!

2008-05-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

Wooo Hooo! Just in time for the revolution this weekend I got a package from my Aunt and Uncle and in it, among other great stuff, was a camera! Thank you! New pictures should be posted soon.

More of those amazing SULLIVANS!!!

2008-04-15T11:03:00.000-07:00

Name: Tom and Anna Sullivan
Project: Basic Sanitation, poop control

Site: Okinawa, Santa Cruz
Occupation: Jungle Love

Hobbies: Fantasizing about food and beer we can't get here, planning out future road trips over coffee in bed, cutting up plastic bags and making string out of them, making furniture out of jungly things

Contact info: tomanna.blogspot.com

Tom's arts and crafts time
Just a little something he whipped up
Anna gets churched
donkey=burro, burrito=little donkey, burrito con queso=delicious
Bolivia
Anna and Anna
Far away Anna
Adam and Eve meet Tom and Anna

All of the captions are mine, but the top part Anna sent me. THANKS ANNA!!! See you in May!

The Notorious Amber B.

2008-04-14T09:10:00.000-07:00

Oruro from its hill during Carnaval
The potentially deadly espuma that was everywhere
Traditional dancers
More....
And yet still more!

Jamel, Jasmine, Amber, and Alana. I called them the bad news bears... and I think I am really funny.
Amber, using a big screen
Amber and Jasmine
I think this is Amber doing her job probabaly, Integrated Education people get to play with kids all day, Basic Sanitation people get to play with dirt and/or poop all day
Parrots, ¡wild!

All of these captions are mine. THANKS AMBER!!! You rock!!!

The Sullivans!!!

2008-04-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

The Sullivans are the greatest people on the face of the earth!

Speed drinking aparatus during Carnaval. The amazing and uncompromising Amber B and the always hilarious and classy Anna Sullivan

Tom Sullivan after being sprayed with the potentially life threatening "espuma"

Anna Sullivan, Ben Ranz, and me at Oruro's best attempt at pizza. It's all in the cheese!

Gringo Tinku warrior dancers before the big parade. They finished up around 4 a.m.

Gringo tactics during the waterballoon battle that was Carnaval Oruro

Side View

Profiting off of trash instead of throwing it into the streets where the common Bolvian belief is that there it will disintegrate. This is a compost farm they Sullies visited to learn more about getting rid of all our garbage.

The same place has giant worm farm where the earthworms eat the organics, make fertilizer juice which can be sold, and prevent the diseases that come from the pests that feed on garbage that is not disposed of properly.

Looks like they were on top of the world. When one has vacation days that don't have to be used elsewhere one can enjoy the other parts of South America.

Sarah Nourse

2008-03-11T07:20:00.000-07:00

Sarah is the third in the distinguished line of PCVs to answer the call. I say she is a hero. If I had to pick one word to describe Sarah it would be ambitious. She is a hard worker and she is focused. Thanks Sarah!

Note that those are her captions for the pictures, as I try to avoid the word cute as much as possible.

#1- Cute even with tapeworms

#2- Is the guy on the right actually sleeping?

#3- Wilson is the man.

Datos

Name: Sarah Nourse, aka Doña Sarita (if you want to make me feel old)

Project: Basic Santastic

Site: Muyupampa, Chuquisaca, Chaco

Occupation: Picking up people's trash, teaching English
Note: You should be looking at my blog, http://www.peacecorpssarah.blogspot.com/
Cuidate,
Sarita

Brandon

2008-03-01T14:07:00.000-08:00

The second to respond to my call for help is Brandon. He lives up in the Altiplano with me and helps keep life fun here. He didn't send anything along with the pictures so that's all you get.

Hannah Kim

2008-02-23T12:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, so since my camera was stolen I had an idea to ask my fellow Peace Corps Volunteers to send me some of their favorite pictures from their time here in Bolivia. So far Hannah was the first one to send pictues. She was a volunteer in Tarija, in the southern part of the country which borders Argentina. Hannah was always smiling and lifted everyone's spirits when she was around. She was an integrated education volunteer. Unfortunately she decided to go back to the US after Christmas. Bolivia isn't right for everyone. I know I speak for all of us when I say that we miss her. Thanks Hannah for the pictures!!!

Hannah and Anna at the costume party we had after swearing in after training

This one is of all the B-45 Basic Sanitation guys on our swear in day with our then boss and fearless leader, Lex.

Brandon and me in a bigote competition during competition

This is me at the talent show we had during training (mentioned below in the top 5 parties list). I told the hilarious story of my nephew Stone's third birthday party and read a poem. I think I tell good stories.

All the Basic San Volunteers on the day we found out where our new homes would be

"Happiness Is Only Real When Shared"

2008-02-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

I just got to watch the movie Into the Wild which was based on a book that I read 6 years ago. My friend Sara gave it to me and it was very powerful and I related to it then. Seeing it this morning brought back memories. What a good book. What a good story. What a sad story. You should do yourself a favor and watch it or, better yet, read it.

The quote is from something he wrote while he was starving to death alone in the bus behind him that became his home and death bed. I don't know if what he wrote is true, but I feel like I get to share my happiness with great friends and a loving and understanding family, and I know that it is real. Thanks

Wow, this is not good news...

2008-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

This comment was left after the following ABC News story:

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Story?id=4262036&page=1

This is a BS story! I have worked in a number of embassies as a US Army Intelligence officer, and State Department people, Regional Security Officers and Other Governmental Agencies know full well you can’t recruit Peace Corps or US Persons. Actually, it's better to recruit local nationals. If they become compromised there isn't any blow back. As far as Peace Corps goes, they are private US persons and they do not even have access to US Embassy services that government employees have. Actually in all my years working in Latin America I never saw that the Peace Corps did much of anything. Honduras had the largest contingent and they all looked and acted like refugees from the counterculture. They dressed horribly and were poor representatives of the US people. They would come in once a month and get their check and then back out to their assignments, which I saw as drinking a lot of the local cheap booze. My people knew well enough to stay clear of them. They were even under orders not to stop and give them a ride if they were hitchhiking even if the weather was inclement. We had a saying: “I’d rather be a baby in the belly of a ####, than a member of the peace Corps” This “Scholar” is a liar!
Posted by:djendrizal 3:22 PM

Carnaval Oruro!!! and then the bad news...

2008-02-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

Carnaval Oruro was the wildest and craziest and one of the top five funnest parties that I have ever attended. The list is below:

1. Haines Alaska Brewfest on the set of the movie White Fang and the ensuing party at the nicest guy in Haines' house.
2. Fil's wedding in Hawaii in 2009... Although it hasn't happened yet I'm still pretty excited about it.
3. Oruro Carnaval
4. The Second Annual McMizby Festivizal, With Report which included a blow up jumpy thing, frozen margaritas, and a huge slip and slide with an inflatable orca whale way before Regina Spector had dreams about them
5. "Sexy Lexy's Super Little Talent Show" in Cochabamba during training 2007

The only bad thing about the Carnaval, besides the hangover, was that after taking about 30 minutes of some of the most incredible video and about 200 irreplaceable pictures, my camera was snatched from my pocket and is lost for good. I have no hope in getting it back and no money to replace it. So, my friends and faithful reader or two, so long and thanks for the memories. Bolivia Pictures is on an indefinite redirection. Unfortunately, there will be more of my writing and less pictures. Sorry, and I hope you stick with me.

Chile con Queso

2008-01-09T15:50:00.000-08:00

Arica, Chile's northernmost city on New Years Day. We tried to surf a little bit, but mostly just ended up drinking saltwater.
Surfs up dude. I know that is not a surf board if the foreground, but it is in the background. This is Ryan and Brandon, my fellow vacationers and PC volunteers in the Oruro Department.
Chile was a little bit more expensive than Bolivia.
Oh, how much was dinner? 35,000? Good I was hoping you were going to say 35,000. I just happen to have 35,000 right here.

If I've learned one thing in life, it's try to be a good person and make your parents proud of you. If I've learned two things, it's never pass up a chance to be in a picture with pretty foriegn girls.

Big Mama Sajama

2008-01-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

This is Sajama village, about 10 miles from the highway where we got off the bus and started walking. It is also where the park entrance is.
This is Sajama from one of its foothills. It is a huge volcano rising up to 21,400 feet. Ryan, the person pictured, and I hiked up a foothill that was 16,500ish feet high.
We set up camp at a conveniently located hot springs here at about 14,000 feet.

It's a nice view to wake up to, and the hot springs were about 25 feet away.

These are Sajamas little chilean sisters. Not quite as big as Sajama, but together they form an impressive trifecta of 21,000+ foot volcanos.

And here they are silouetted at sunset. The skys are crystaline and the air up here is the clearest I've ever seen. If only there was more of it.

Chris Brings Tanks to the Altiplano

2007-12-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

(Manager of Learning) MOL is a concept that my boss loves, and that's exactly what has gone on during this tank building taller headed by Chris, the new PCVL boss, and JICA (the Japanese Peace Corps-type organization).

The girl, Leydi, taught us how to find cactus fruit and showed us which ones were ripe and which ones still needed time. They tasted like a mixture of kiwi and raspberry, and we learned something from a 6 year old. That was very gratifying.

A view of Beautiful Oruro from the hill we were building the tank on. These suburbs don't have a car in every garage, let alone two. But they are working together, men and women and children all working really hard together. It was great because it helped changed the opinions that Chris had about the altiplano. He was really impressed and complimentary. He served his first two years in the Santa Cruz region.
Here is a picture of the tank being built. A little bit too much concrete and sand mixture (1 to 3 mix) was put on at this part and it sluffed off. They fixed it when it had dried a little more and it shouldn't have any effect on the strength of the tank.

These tanks can be used to harvest rain water from your roof and it comes out of there clean and drinkable.

Old Bones

2007-12-13T14:28:00.000-08:00

These bones were dug up at the original site for the 30,000 Liter tank being constructed on the outskirts of Oruro with my PCVL boss Chris. The Jaw bone is strange, take a closer look. The marble was already in the eye, maybe put there by the kids who hung around. It was dug up with the pottery beside its head, which led us to believe it might be really old. We moved the placement of the tank.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-20T15:51:00.001-08:00

Now all I need is a football.

Alpaca Land

2007-11-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

I bet you don't have one of those signs where you live. When I get to the truck stop town where we are drilling wells--which are going much better-- the road is paved. It's the international highway and it is always a huge relief to my nalgas to get to the paved part
I recently found myself surrounded by a bunch of alpacas on my way back to Corque from drilling a well. This is an alpaca baby, probably only a few weeks old.
They are really curious and have these giant bugged out eyes that seem to be wondering what the heck I'm doing there.
So fluffy and soft, but...
their meat is kind of tough. Those big black things in there are chuño. They are not good. This is a pretty typical lunch in the campo.

An attempt to show what it feels like

2007-11-20T15:23:00.000-08:00

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. The kids here remind me why I'm here, and bring extra joy to my life.

Feeling: hope and happiness

This is the big mountain outside of La Paz from the air plane when we arrived in May

Feeling: Fianlly Real

This is a salty lake bed outside of Huari, another altiplano site, which is starting to fill in now that the rainy season has arrived.

Feeling: Awe

One of the hardest things about Peace Corps is constantly saying good bye to all of the great people you meet while you're here.

Feeling: Sad, awww

Kids and !&$%#

2007-11-20T15:15:00.000-08:00

All Bolivian babies are this adorable. I'm not kidding

I'm happier to be here than they are

Do you smell the shit that I'm shovelin'? Me neither because it was a properly maintained ecological dry latrine and it is now fertilizer in a garden. I knew I would eventually be dealing with poop in the Peace Corps, but at least not as frequently as I thought.

Talkin' trash to little kids

2007-11-20T15:07:00.000-08:00

During training we gave a "charla" to kids about not littering, recycling and reduction of waste.
In one of the classes a little girl stood up and sang a song for us. It was pretty incredible. So then they wanted us to sing a song so we sang "I'm a little tea pot."
We gave little candies out for people who would answer questions, unfortunately a lot of the wrappers ended up as litter, but it was still a great experience.

Sorry these pictures are lame, but at least they're new

2007-11-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

Swanking away the blooze at a fancy place in Cochabamba for my friend Jamel's birthday
Unfortunately you can't see the title, but if you could it would say Phony Baloney, the Counterfiet Kid, starring MR. T

You can find some crazy stuff in the markets of Bolivia, but not what I need... besides rice
This is my best friend in Corque, a plant I named Frank. If there is ever another picture of this or my other plants on my blog I will delete it and you will never have to come here again.
That's all for now. I'll try to improve, faithful reader.

Baby steps to little league

2007-10-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

OYE alcalde! (that's his office in the background) Softball is the next big thing!

She's using a lefty mitt on the wrong hand because it's all I had, but I have a feeling that's going to change, right faithful readers?
Just about the cutest (not a word I like to use mind you) thing I've ever seen

Fielding some questions

2007-10-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

1. The couple with the llama....what happened to the wool????
These people don't look real.
Are you sure you didn't dress them up like this just for the photo??

They use the wool. Either they spin it themselves or they take it into town (Oruro) and have it spun for them I think. I swear, that was real.

2. Where did you get the "prom" dresses???

You can get all sorts of stuff here. Every night at don Pedro's house we'd see 10-15 semi-trucks go past on the highway from Chile and they told me that they were filled with contraband. I had to wonder what it was, because the only direction drugs go in Bolivia is out and these trucks were headed toward the city of Oruro. They said that they were filled clothing from the U.S. True? who knows, but there are markets filled with used clothing, and among the clothes are indeed prom dresses.

3. That governor guy looks like he is wearing giant fruit loops around his neck.
What gives??

They pretty much are giant fruit loops. It is puffed grain that they wear at fiestas. My guess, although I should have asked by now, is that it is a festive way to celebrate a good harvest.

4. I'm up for an explanation of the benefits of dry latrines.

Oooh, I'm so glad you asked!
1. No water usage, very nice in the dry dry dry dry altiplano.
2. When used properly there is no bad odor.
3. When built properly the bad stuff won't leak out and get into the aquafer.
4. Six months after closing one side and beginning to use the other (there are two chambers where the poop goes) the contents are sterile and can be used as fertilizer.
5. You can throw the toilet paper into the hole instead of into a trash basket (that's bigger for me than for Bolivians).

5. The kids are adorable. Is there anything I can send you for them?

Just well wishes or prayers, if I do my job you guys letting me go should be enough. But if I think of anything I'll let you know.

6. I have some money from our Church Women's Circle (Susanna Wesley Circle) and
will be sending some baseball things to you in a week or so, in packages less than
4 pounds each. Do you still need that "cup"?

My dad said he'd take care of that, but thank you!

7. Thanks for sharing about the diet of Bolivian pigs. I'll think twice before I eat bacon.

American bacon is totally safe, and one of my friends who went to culinary school once chewed me out big time because I was over cooking bacon. I'd just stay away from the value brand unless you want company in your head in the form of a worm.

8. Fabulous photos. I feel like I am there with ya'all, except for the extra comforts.

Thank you very much!!!

The ongoing misadventure of Don Pedro's well

2007-10-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

It's tough to see, but there is beautiful Sajama on the left from don Pedro's hill
And here it is again from the hill behind my house
And this is don Pedro's house, where we ran into some trouble drilling. We're going to get back at it on Monday and hopefully that will be the end of that. The first building is where we all slept, and I think the building in the back is where they keep mountains of chuño, the almost flavorless and nutritionless freeze dried potato relative which is a staple of the altiplano. In the foreground is doña Rosa in her kitchen. The "walls" are made of the sticks that they use for fuel. It's pretty interesting to imagine my grandma cooking thanksgiving dinner outside on her knees with a mixture of sticks and llama poop for the fire.

God bless Amerrruhca!

I swear, we do work in Peace Corps

2007-10-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

This is pretty dark, but there's my fellow volunteer walking into the rainbow. We were looking for the house where they were drilling. This is success for us. They are drilling in Condoriri without our help. We spent a few hours walking around looking for the equipo before we had to give up and go back into the central plaza where we found beds for the night.
Many of the houses in the countryside have little chapels, this one was like something out of Indiana Jones (which I hope they show here). It's original purpose seems to have been forgotten. It has been used as a sheep corral for a long enough time to turn the floor black... because of the poop.
33 meters deep with 1 inch galvanized pipe. These campesinos were earning the water that will **hopefully** come from this well. They pull a this stick, which is attached to the rope that is attatched to the tubing.
We use a bipod set up with 4 guide lines. If you have suggestions to make it better or questions as to how it works, comment.
This is the "bus" back to town from our drilling site. That day, the only day of the week when there is transport, 14 other adults, 3 bicycles, 4 llama hides, a baby, and a rowdy rooster wanted to get to Corque in addition to me. We fit in a regular cab, regular bed Ford pickup truck.

This picture just can't do it justice.

After I got back from a week in the campo drilling, llama tripe soup for breakfast, alpaca liver for lunch and tea with bread for dinner I stopped at this pension (house that serves food) for some french fries and chicken. It's never tasted so good. These children live there, and are my future Corque little league all star team.

Kirby's Birthday

2007-10-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

We went and taught ultimate frisbee to some Bolivian children. Gotta squeeze some work in there, right?
Kirby in Bolivian birthday garb with his girlfriend. The armadillo in his hand is a percussion insturment like a rattle.

Baseball in Oruro

2007-10-14T11:19:00.000-07:00

B, the other gringo on the Peligrosos Rojos (Dangerous Reds) throwing smoke.
That's me. I'm having a really hard time finding a cup here in Oruro. Scary.
These are some of the Bolivians and Cubanos on our team. Two of our Oruro volunteer friends are also pictured here.
This is just to show the field in Oruro, where we play. It needs some work, but there is a lot of interest in baseball here, so in a few years they might do something to make it better. Other cities have really nice diamonds, like Okinawa, which is a Japanese settlement in the Santa Cruz region.

If you don't like it, don't eat meat. ¡Evo viene!

2007-10-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

This was taken minutes before I almost keeled over and died from lack of oxygen. Before the Evo came there were soccer tournaments and other feats of strenght. I took part in the bike race and came in last by about 15 minutes. But I still have my pride?
For the town's anniversary they slaughtered 5 llamas in addition to the pig. It's not every day that the president comes around.

This cute little girl was sort of interested in what was making all the noise. She was looking inside the pen where the next picture was taken. This is how we get bacon. I didn't eat this pig, and wouldn't eat any pig that was killed in my town. They eat from the latrines (which are right next to the stream see below).

As you can see, I was really keen on helping with this one. Check out the disgusting, trash filled, project for the rainy season stream in the background.

This little girl was so curious, it was almost disturbing, and yet cute at the same time.

The townsfolk from our whole county crowd in to see Evo, please remember that I got to shake his hand.Evo and the Prefectura, who is the equivalent of the governor of Oruro province

Evo right before he takes off back to La Paz with some lawyers from my town.

Fun time during training

2007-10-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

Training was really busy, but we found time to be inspired by the Big Lebowski, dude.

An unidentified friend trying the local fermented corn alcohol drink, Chicha. This is kind of what it made you feel like.
Some of our host family children at my host family's restaraunt and pool. We had one holiday during training, so we had a barbeque. USA!!!!
This is my host family and me at dinner of deep fried pig parts, hopefully it was cooked well enough to keep me from getting brain worms. Only time will tell.
Tom, Anna, and I showing how bad ass we can be when we want to

Some pics from our 3 month training

2007-10-14T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is my training group walking over to an overlook of Cochabamba from near the radio and radar towers for the Cochabamba airport

This is a view of Tiraque from the top of our hostel during a weekend trip during training

Altiplano full moon during Tech Week

This is an Inca Era building, so long abandoned, and so well built, that this huge tree has grown atop a doorway

I had half of my language classes during traing at this house in Illataco, outside of Cochabamaba
Across this river valley there is what looks to be a 1 room house, as tranquil as anything I could imagine. I want to vacation there when I'm retired.

Some Training Projects

2007-10-14T10:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm sorry, but I have to. I've been told that I'm built like a brick shit house. During training we actually built this one. It's a great design though, and I could expound on the benefits of dry latrines, or baños ecologicos, at length if there is interest from you guys.

This is the skeleton of a rain water catchment tank that B-45 (the 45th PC group in Bolivia) built in a boarding school in Tin Tin on our tech week trip.

This is just before we were going to put the cap on and call it almost good.

These are three of the beneficiaries with our 3rd year PC Volunteer Leader, Lex inside of the tank. It should be holding 10,000 liters now.

First Post

2007-10-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

Sunset in Antipichaca at Don Roberto's house where I have been drilling a well

President Evo Morales in Corque

Baseball at 12,500 feet in Oruro