| After a weekend of getting caught trying to sneak across the border into Peru, I've decided a passport is necessary for South American travel. I have a new telephone number, because I had to get a new telephone, because I got robbed of my other one. Some guy named Carlos got it. I called my telephone only to have him answer and hear him laugh at me..... new number: 77-77-0786 |
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Caught and Kicked Out
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Trapped in Bolivia
During my VISA process this year, things have gone....well, very badly. All of the new teachers have already gotten their Visa's. As for me, not only have I not gotten my VISA, but the Bolivian Immigration office has lost my passport.....
what to do
what to do
guess I'm not traveling.
what to do
what to do
guess I'm not traveling.
H2 Glacier Fear
Friday, 15 students and 5 teachers got out of school at about 2:30 to leave for Huayna Potosi. We picked up all of the gear at the shop, and arrived at the Refugio in the early evening. Many of the students just relaxed when we got there, while some of us others took a short hike. The weather was very foggy, so we weren't able to see anything along the way, which is pretty typical in this part of the valley. We returned from the hike as it got dark, and had a short time for devotionals. The devotionals were a bit more organized this time, as I put together a small little book with the help of some friends, Scott, Caity, Kristen, Donna, and Jim. After dinner, I talked on the topic of Fear/Fearing God with the students, and it was interesting to have them answering questions and hearing their thoughts along the way. It was a good time to have all 20 of us together and share our thoughts. After this, the students had free time for the rest of the night until they wanted to go to bed. Most of us stayed up playing Mafia, which was hilarious with the personalities of some of these students.
Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then started putting on our gear to go into the glaciers. After getting everything together, we started the hike up to the glaciers. As soon as we started, it began to snow and continued to snow the entire way up to the glaciers. It was really fun for most of us to hike in the snow, even though it was getting a lot of our things wet.
When we arrived at the glaciers, everyone put on their crampons. I could tell that the main guide, Hugo, was pretty nervous about having this many students on glaciers. Especially since it was the first time for everyone there except me. After everyone had their crampons ready,
Hugo taught everyone some different techniques for just walking on the glaciers. Some of the students did an excellent job of catching on to the technique, while others could not understand how to really slam their foot into the ice for security. We spent probably an hour or more just walking up the ice/snow without the ice picks, to really get the hang of the crampons. Even though some of the students were still only "walking" with their crampons instead of digging them in, we finally picked up the ice picks and Hugo and another guide, Julio, began showing how to walk WITH the ice pick.
Watching this was also very interesting. These things are awkward the first time you do them, and I could see how much difficulty it was causing for some of the students. For others, it came more naturally. At this point, some of the students were really enjoying themselves, while others just wanted to go back down to the Refugio because they were cold or they didn't like being on the glaciers (or in one instance someone thought it was boring). After doing this for a while, one of the guides climbed up to a high point were he secured a position to do some repelling down a large ice wall. Every student practiced some repelling down the wall, and that took up the rest of the time. Most everyone watched during this time, which made a lot of people cold. After that, we took off the crampons, and hiked back down to the Refugio, where we ate, and headed back to La Paz.
The trip turned out to be very safe. There were no injuries or anything. A couple students got sick feeling in the altitude, but they managed to eventually pull through. Overall, it was much of what I expected. Some students loved it and had a blast, and others really didn't like it all. The next Mountaineering Club trip will probably be camping and fishing again, so that we get a good rotation of trips. Thank you all for your prayers, and any of you that helped make this trip run more smoothly, either financially, or prayerfully. 
Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and then started putting on our gear to go into the glaciers. After getting everything together, we started the hike up to the glaciers. As soon as we started, it began to snow and continued to snow the entire way up to the glaciers. It was really fun for most of us to hike in the snow, even though it was getting a lot of our things wet.
When we arrived at the glaciers, everyone put on their crampons. I could tell that the main guide, Hugo, was pretty nervous about having this many students on glaciers. Especially since it was the first time for everyone there except me. After everyone had their crampons ready,
Hugo taught everyone some different techniques for just walking on the glaciers. Some of the students did an excellent job of catching on to the technique, while others could not understand how to really slam their foot into the ice for security. We spent probably an hour or more just walking up the ice/snow without the ice picks, to really get the hang of the crampons. Even though some of the students were still only "walking" with their crampons instead of digging them in, we finally picked up the ice picks and Hugo and another guide, Julio, began showing how to walk WITH the ice pick.
Watching this was also very interesting. These things are awkward the first time you do them, and I could see how much difficulty it was causing for some of the students. For others, it came more naturally. At this point, some of the students were really enjoying themselves, while others just wanted to go back down to the Refugio because they were cold or they didn't like being on the glaciers (or in one instance someone thought it was boring). After doing this for a while, one of the guides climbed up to a high point were he secured a position to do some repelling down a large ice wall. Every student practiced some repelling down the wall, and that took up the rest of the time. Most everyone watched during this time, which made a lot of people cold. After that, we took off the crampons, and hiked back down to the Refugio, where we ate, and headed back to La Paz.
The trip turned out to be very safe. There were no injuries or anything. A couple students got sick feeling in the altitude, but they managed to eventually pull through. Overall, it was much of what I expected. Some students loved it and had a blast, and others really didn't like it all. The next Mountaineering Club trip will probably be camping and fishing again, so that we get a good rotation of trips. Thank you all for your prayers, and any of you that helped make this trip run more smoothly, either financially, or prayerfully.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
The Brothers Karamazov
I just finished a really good novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, called The Brothers Karamazov. It has more insights than any of his other books that I've read, and by far was one of the more "deep" novels I have ever read.
"Lamentations comfort only by lacerating the heart still more. Such grief does not desire consolation. It feeds on the sense of its hopelessness. Lamentations spring only from the constant craving to re-open the wound"
As for the next MC trip, everyone has signed up. I sadly enough had to turn away students because there was not enough space.... Attatched is the flyer that I gave to everyone, and it actually worked in getting many of the girl students to sign up!
ok nevermind, i don't know how to attatch files....
"Lamentations comfort only by lacerating the heart still more. Such grief does not desire consolation. It feeds on the sense of its hopelessness. Lamentations spring only from the constant craving to re-open the wound"
As for the next MC trip, everyone has signed up. I sadly enough had to turn away students because there was not enough space.... Attatched is the flyer that I gave to everyone, and it actually worked in getting many of the girl students to sign up!
ok nevermind, i don't know how to attatch files....
Thursday, November 03, 2005
El Segundo--- H2
Good News.
I met with Dr. Hugo this afternoon, and the next Mountaineering Club trip is successfully set up for Novermber 18th-19th at the mountain named Huayna Potosi. Not only that, but he is giving us an awesome deal on the trip. For each student, it will only cost 200 Bs., or $25. This includes:
Equipment: Boots, Crampons, ice picks, rain gear, gators, harnesses, gloves, caribeeners (sp?), etc.
Food: Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch
Guides: 5 guides, and a doctor
Transportation: 2 Off-roading Jeeps. And a mini-bus.
Lodging: At the Refugio, which is a little cabin at the base of Huana Potosi that contains bunk beds and a kitchen.
There will be space for 15 students, and 5 of us adults from the school. We talked about the weekend a little, and decided that we will leave on Friday at around 1pm from the school and get to the mountain about 3 oclock, where we will be practicing repelling and some other fun rope-techniques off of the giant damn wall that sits at the base of the mountain. Friday night will be a time for praise/prayer/fellowship in the Refugio. Saturday we will go into the glaciers and practice climbing on Ice walls and teach everyone how to walk with the crampons. There will be one guide for every 4 students, so it will be a very safe day. We will then return to the city Saturday night, as a group of French are going to climb the mountain on Sunday.
Well I need to get going, and work on getting the flyers/bulletins/permission slips out to the families by tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers, and continue praying these upcoming weeks for this next trip.
I met with Dr. Hugo this afternoon, and the next Mountaineering Club trip is successfully set up for Novermber 18th-19th at the mountain named Huayna Potosi. Not only that, but he is giving us an awesome deal on the trip. For each student, it will only cost 200 Bs., or $25. This includes:
Equipment: Boots, Crampons, ice picks, rain gear, gators, harnesses, gloves, caribeeners (sp?), etc.
Food: Friday lunch and dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch
Guides: 5 guides, and a doctor
Transportation: 2 Off-roading Jeeps. And a mini-bus.
Lodging: At the Refugio, which is a little cabin at the base of Huana Potosi that contains bunk beds and a kitchen.
There will be space for 15 students, and 5 of us adults from the school. We talked about the weekend a little, and decided that we will leave on Friday at around 1pm from the school and get to the mountain about 3 oclock, where we will be practicing repelling and some other fun rope-techniques off of the giant damn wall that sits at the base of the mountain. Friday night will be a time for praise/prayer/fellowship in the Refugio. Saturday we will go into the glaciers and practice climbing on Ice walls and teach everyone how to walk with the crampons. There will be one guide for every 4 students, so it will be a very safe day. We will then return to the city Saturday night, as a group of French are going to climb the mountain on Sunday.
Well I need to get going, and work on getting the flyers/bulletins/permission slips out to the families by tomorrow. Thank you so much for your prayers, and continue praying these upcoming weeks for this next trip.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Politically: If you can't stand the heat, get out of La Paz
I don't give La Paz much time before we see some re-occurances of last year. Right now things are relatively peaceful and out of the news, but not for long. Here's the current, Bolivian, political climate: Cool, but heating up rapidly....soon to be REALLY HOT.
There are some different scenarios that could take place during the elections in December. The worst and most detrimental would be that there are no elections (which seems to still be an outside possibility). The current interim president would quit because he doesn't want to do it any longer, and Bolivia would be president-less. In that case, people would be upset, flying off the handle actually, throwing dynamite and rocks, setting up blockades, and spanking taxi trivers. The police would try to ease the tension with the use of rubber bullets and tear gas.
IF the elections take place, it looks like it's between one of three guys. The first, and most popular right now (at about 30% of the population), is Evo Morales. Evo is backed by funding from other socialists that we all know, Fidel Castro (Cuba) and Chavez (Venezuela). My entire church in El Alto is voting for Evo Morales because he is "for the poor people". The second guy is Tuto, who is a smart democratic politician, who holds about 28% of the populaton. The last guy is named Samuel, and he is supposed to be really "suave". My spanish professor told me that he could walk into a Burger King, and talk the workers into giving him 3 hamburgers for the price of 1.
SO WHO WILL WIN?
Nobody knows. Not even the taxi drivers, and that is SAYING something. The reason is that in order to become president, the candidate needs a majority vote, and it looks highly doubtful that that will happen. If no one gets a majority, the the decision goes to the parliament.
Even though nobody knows WHO is going to win, everyone knows WHAT is going to happen if certain people win. Want to hear? Good. If Evo (the socialist) wins, the country will be temporarily peaceful. The long term effects on his presidency could be things such as the legalization of Cocaine, and the nationalization of the national resources. If Tuto or Samuel wins, the country of Bolivia shuts down in December and January (maybe longer), due to violent demostrations by the campesinos and whoever else wanted Evo in office.
I've decided to root for Evo. I know that socialism doesn't have the greatest track record, but neither does democracy in Bolivia. We have had more presidents, and more military coups, than years of freedom. It's time for a change.
IN OTHER NEWS
I'm meeting with a guy name Hugo this Thursday who is interested in the Mountaineering Club that I've started. He is a doctor, and owner of a huge climbing organization here in La Paz. He wants to discuss prices for students, and trips that we are wanting to take later on this year. It looks like this company can be really good for the club (price-wise), and the students can be really good for the company.
Stay in Prayer for the countries political crisis, and the meeting I have this Thursday with Hugo.
There are some different scenarios that could take place during the elections in December. The worst and most detrimental would be that there are no elections (which seems to still be an outside possibility). The current interim president would quit because he doesn't want to do it any longer, and Bolivia would be president-less. In that case, people would be upset, flying off the handle actually, throwing dynamite and rocks, setting up blockades, and spanking taxi trivers. The police would try to ease the tension with the use of rubber bullets and tear gas.
IF the elections take place, it looks like it's between one of three guys. The first, and most popular right now (at about 30% of the population), is Evo Morales. Evo is backed by funding from other socialists that we all know, Fidel Castro (Cuba) and Chavez (Venezuela). My entire church in El Alto is voting for Evo Morales because he is "for the poor people". The second guy is Tuto, who is a smart democratic politician, who holds about 28% of the populaton. The last guy is named Samuel, and he is supposed to be really "suave". My spanish professor told me that he could walk into a Burger King, and talk the workers into giving him 3 hamburgers for the price of 1.
SO WHO WILL WIN?
Nobody knows. Not even the taxi drivers, and that is SAYING something. The reason is that in order to become president, the candidate needs a majority vote, and it looks highly doubtful that that will happen. If no one gets a majority, the the decision goes to the parliament.
Even though nobody knows WHO is going to win, everyone knows WHAT is going to happen if certain people win. Want to hear? Good. If Evo (the socialist) wins, the country will be temporarily peaceful. The long term effects on his presidency could be things such as the legalization of Cocaine, and the nationalization of the national resources. If Tuto or Samuel wins, the country of Bolivia shuts down in December and January (maybe longer), due to violent demostrations by the campesinos and whoever else wanted Evo in office.
I've decided to root for Evo. I know that socialism doesn't have the greatest track record, but neither does democracy in Bolivia. We have had more presidents, and more military coups, than years of freedom. It's time for a change.
IN OTHER NEWS
I'm meeting with a guy name Hugo this Thursday who is interested in the Mountaineering Club that I've started. He is a doctor, and owner of a huge climbing organization here in La Paz. He wants to discuss prices for students, and trips that we are wanting to take later on this year. It looks like this company can be really good for the club (price-wise), and the students can be really good for the company.
Stay in Prayer for the countries political crisis, and the meeting I have this Thursday with Hugo.
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