I'm bad at goodbyes, so it was hard to have to go to the orphanage, and the kid's gym specifically to do just that. I knew it would be harder at the orphanage though, and I was tempted to just not go at all, simply disappear. I knew I would end up regretting it though, so I forced myself to go. I took along my camera as well so I could snap some final photos.
The girls were excited to see me, I helped them with homework and then told them I had brought my camera. As I expected the usual frenzy took place with everyone wanting to take a picture. I let them play with it for while I sat with the other girls and watched telenovelas. After the shows were over though the little ladies wanted to take photos with me, so here are some of the results:
I couldn't say goodbye... so I determined that I would come back, if only for a day to say goodbye to the girls. I was planning a trip to Peru, Bolivia and Argentina with my friends Alex and Marissa, so a stop in Oruro wouldn't take us off course too bad. I'll tell you about that trip and my final day at the orphanage in my next post.
My last day at the kid's gym was easier... but only because I wimped out and didn't tell the kids I was leaving. I suck, I know. I did tell the coach, so I'm betting she told them. I brought my camera and was able to get a few shots before the kids tackled me and took it over. I have hundreds of blurred shots and closeups of eyeballs now. But there were a few salvageable shots. Most of the boys wanted pictures of themselves doing acrobatic moves on the rings. I was able to settle them down for two group shots though.
After saying my goodbyes, my abuela, my cousin Adrian and I went to the bus station. Our flight was early in the morning leaving from Cochabamba, 4 hours away. We took the overnight bus with arrived at 2am. But the airport does not open til 5am. The bus lets you stay on until 5 though, sleeping in the back as it is parked. It was rough for me... I got an hour of sleep. We were the first ones to arrive at the airport though, but we then had a 4 hour wait. They don't make it easy to travel out of Bolivia... there are so few flying options. But anyway, we made it into Buenos Aires, Argentina. The bulk of the family now lives in Buenos Aires, and we stayed with my Uncle Hector.
The next day it was my abuela's birthday, so of course we had a big party. My Uncle bbq'd tons of steak, brought out the beer and put on the music. Alex and I wanted my family to taste a bit of Mexican cuisine, because none of them ever had tried it. We searched all day to find a Mexican grocer but to no avail. We had to settle for a small international section in a supermarket called Jumbo that had a tiny selection of Mexican food in between the German and Japanese section. There were some cans of beans, some tortillas, dipping sauce... not much, but we bought what we could and and bought the ingredients for mojitos (my idea:) The food turned out great, and the mojitos were a hit, even with my abuela, who soon got up and started to dance:
Even I got in on the action...
So I finally got the tattoo I've been talking so much about throughout this blog. I woke up one day in Buenos Aires and didn't want to wait anymore. I looked up a tattoo parlor and went! Remember the Bolivian Devil mask painting I saw on the side of a building? Well I printed it out and took it in for the tattoo artist to look at. The mural isn't there anymore by the way, they painted over it a week after I took the pic. Anyway, it took three and a half painful hours, but I got it done! It felt as if someone were using a serrated knife to cut into my skin the whole time, but I didn't cry... as much as my cousin Adrian and friend Alex wanted me to, as they stood nearby waiting with cameras. Here is the pic that inspired the tattoo:
The reason I like it so much is that it plays a big part in all of the festivals in Oruro, and this mask in particular originated in Oruro. Different cities in Bolivia have different masks, and this one is specific to Oruro. I found a cool website that shows you many of the other masks, scroll down to the bottom to see the devil mask: http://www.musef.org.bo/mascaras/02.html
But here is me getting the tattoo, and the final result:
I will tell all about my trip to Peru next time.
