Emily's South American Adventures

Center party

2007-12-15T17:22:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski

Every year, the Working Boys Center celebrates its anniversary on Dec. 5 .43 years and still going strong, hundreds of families turned out for the celebration. The day started with the sunrise, as the volunteers rolled out of bed to start making pancakes for the center members at 6am. Three hours later, the games started and the children got to work playing in order to earn tickets and win prizes. The festivities ended with kids climbing two tall wooded polls to reach the objects at the top included pineapples, rice, soda, and a live chicken and two bucking bulls covered in candy with fiery horns weaving through the crowd. Craziness.
We finished at the Cotocollao center with mass and lunch and moved to the downtown location for dinner, dancing, and birthday cake. It was the most fun I've had here so far and was a great opportunity to get to know some of the families a little better and spend some quality time with the kids.

Birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving

2007-12-15T17:01:00.001-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski

Spending my third year away from home and my birthday, Halloween, and Thanksgiving in as many countries (Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador), things not being normal has become the norm.
Halloween was a lot of fun to spend with the kids at the center. In my classes, we made masks, learned Halloween words, went trick or treating around the center, painted faces and finished up with a dance party (of course). The little girls still put me to shame with their moves. You think after spending several years around latinos that I would have pick up a thing or two, but no... I'm still waiting.
We celebrated Thanksgiving the Sunday after with Madre Cindy's delicious food. Green bean casserole, stuffing, glazed carrots, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, pecan pie, apple pie, pumpkin pie and of course, turkey.. we missed out on none of the trimmings of the typical feast.

First weeks at the CMT

2007-09-24T15:44:00.000-05:00

As I sit here, writing this in Quito, Ecuador, listening to the kids playing outside during my afternoon off, I can’t help but feel incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be here, to be part of something as special as Centro del Muchacho Trabajador, and to feel for the first time in a while I’m exactly where I’m suppose to be, doing the work I should be doing.
I arrived almost a month ago, on September 1st, spent the first two weeks getting to know the Center, the directors, and my community members and getting acclimated to the altitude and the pace of life. Last week was our first full week, and by the time the weekend came, all I wanted to do was relax, read, and watch movies. I still haven’t ventured out too much into Quito, but I hope to get to know downtown a little more this coming weekend.
My mornings (8-11:30) are spent working with a special education student, who this year has been separated from his group in order to work individually with me. We are trying to help him to become more independent and to challenge him academically. Because of his physical disabilities and special needs, he has not been expected to follow the curriculum that other kids his age do. It’s my job to motivate him and to see how much we can accomplish together this year. He’s been responding well so far, and I am optimistic. In the afternoon, I teach English classes and will begin to tutor students who are too old for their grades this week. Because the Center focuses on working boys and their families, some boys are not received at the CMT until they are 13,14, or 15 years old and are behind in school because they’ve been in the streets shining shoes and earning money. In the evenings when I am not teaching English, I also will be watching over the children of the parents who are in the adult education program. We trickle back to the house, according to our varying responsibilities, and sit down as a community to eat dinner at 8:40.
I never thought I would enjoy teaching (especially teaching English) as much as do. (Now, granted, I still am only in my second week, so I’ll probably have some other things to say once the ‘honeymoon phase’ is over) I think I appreciate most being able to support the mission of the CMT/WBC and helping families overcome poverty, if only in a small way. During orientation, I came to realize that I really am now a part of this “Family of Families”. The Padre (Jesuit, Fr. John Halligan) and the Madres (BVM Sisters, Madre Miguel and Madre Cindy), the guiding forces of the Center, have this great vision of what it is we are doing at the CMT. I had to jot down some quotes during their first talk with us, because I felt like I was a part of living history, and I wanted to remember all I could. The Center revolves around the belief that poverty does not have to do so much with a lack of material wealth, but rather that it is a spiritual problem. The poor must be agents of change in their own lives. They are told that God wants them to be prosperous and that it’s within their reach. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to create a better life but God has given them the gifts they need to transform their lives. Besides just teaching English, Gym, Special Ed, Health, Religion, and Adult Ed, we, the volunteers, are supposed to be teaching self-esteem, confidence, self-worth, and discipline. It’s pretty incredible to be part of something that we are not just hoping will make a difference, but has already proved itself effective among the 5,000 families it has served over its 42-year history.

Working Boys Center

2007-07-19T15:15:00.001-05:00

The Working Boys Center (El Centro del Muchacho Trabajdor) was started 40 years ago primarily as a meal program for the shoe shine boys in Quito (Ecuador's Capital) and has transformed into a center spread across three campuses that invests in the institution of the family and financially, educationally, and spiritually forms its participants in order to combat the root causes of poverty. The Center emphasises human diginity and self-worth, encouraging participants to use the resources they have available to educate themselves and to impove their standard of living. The place breeds success. In the short time I was there visiting in May, I came to realize the real impact that the WBC has on the lives and futures of the enrolled families, especially the children. As a volunteer, I will support the WBC's mission by teaching children English and hopefully Special Education and Religion (I will know my schedule by mid-August). The volunteers typically work 12-hour days, finishing in the late afternoon with adult education classes. The Center provides room and board and the volunteers are responsible for all personal expenses (health insurance, airfare, visa, etc.) and collecting funds for the classroom supplies and outings and activities with the children. If you would like to contribute to my mission, I have set up an account with Paypal that can be accessed on the sidebar of this page. Anything that you might be able to offer, whether it be even $5, would be greatly appreciated and used well.

Mission 2007

2007-03-22T17:59:00.000-05:00

The associates were again invited this year to participate in the mission trip organized by St. George College, the Holy Cross high school located in Santiago. To us, people from the United States, the idea of going door to door talking about God is something extremely foreign, especially outside of the Evangelical/Mormon circuit. But here in Chile, it is commonplace and welcomed. To begin with, the vast majority of Chileans are Catholic (it's something crazy like 85% or more). When you go on mission, it is not your goal to convert anyone. It is more about spending time with people and learning about their lives, their struggles, and their joys. St. George missions in three-year segments. Last year, I accompanied the group to Osorno (a rural area 12 hours south of Santiago) for their third and final year there. This year, after 24 hours in bus and 2 ferry rides, my group landed in Alqui, a small town located on the island of Tranqui, off the coast of another bigger island Chiloe, off the coast of the mainland of Chile. At some points, I literally was stopped in my tracks at the sight of the scenery. The rich greenness of the trees and shrubbery, with the deep blue sea as a backdrop and the snow-capped volcanoes in the distance; at some points it was just too much to take in.

There are 24 families that live in Alqui, and I was able to get to know a good number of them during our 10-day stay. Every morning we would wake up early, have prayer, eat breakfast, and set out to visit houses. Everyone was aware that we had arrived; you can imagine how quickly news travels in an isolated town of 100 people. In the average day, each group of two to three would visit one to two houses. Most often we would spend a few hours talking about their families, their work, their life over 'mate,' the traditional tea of southern Chile. It is served in a wooden or ceramic squatty cup and sipped through a metal straw. The host puts the loose tea leaves in the cup, adds water, drinks it (usually 3 to 4 big sips), fills it up again and starts it on its way around the circle. After each person finishes, he/she hands the cup back to the host, it is refilled and handed on to the next person. Because it is cold in Chiloe year-round (we were there in summer and I still wore thermals and a wool sweater everyday), the mate and conversation are always shared around the wood-burning stove. There is no electricity, very little indoor plumbing on the island, and not a single store.

Despite the differences in development, the people of Alqui live relatively well. Most of the men of the town work in the salmon industry, while the women spend their days tending to the crops and to the animals and collecting seaweed on the shores to sell to local buyers (to be later made into hair and skin products). Everyone lives off the land. During my time there, I think I ate the best I have in South America. Fresh lettuce, potatoes, carrots from the garden. Lamb, chicken, pork, salmon, seaweed, ducks eggs, all raised, caught, or collected within yards of the homes. There is no refrigeration, so whatever was put on my plate was for certain walking or swimming around only hours earlier.

For me, this time around, mission was an intense personal experience. It was like I had finally found what I had been searching for all year. Since moving to South America, my spiritual life has been thrown through the wringer. There has been a lot of doubting, questioning, and feeling lost. Alqui seemed to make it all make sense again. It was moving for me to go into an unknown community without family, friends, or acquaintances (or without the label of being a Holy Cross Associate) and to be fully accepted, without hesitation, and to feel at home. "Donde hay amor y caridad, donde hay la paz, Dios ahi esta." "Where there is love and goodwill, Where there is peace, God is there." Everyday as I sang those words in mass and as I looked around at the people who had welcomed me into their houses, fed me, and shared with me a small part of their world, I came to understand more clearly what God was trying to tell me. Where there is love and goodwill. Love was all around me. Where there is peace. What could be more peaceful than a town surrounded by rocky pacific beaches and quiet pastures and woods? God is there.

While the St. George students spent their afternoons and evenings working with children and teenagers, I visited the women in the community for more mate and chats. I've learned a lot about myself this year in Chile, but missions seemed to synthesize it all together. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop doing the type of work I do here. I love to learn about people. I love to travel and to get to know other customs and ways of living. The women of Alqui really showed me that I'm finally able to open up, to feel comfortable in another language, and to form relationships easily. We'll have to wait and see where this experience is leading me.

Start to the new year

2007-03-22T17:28:00.000-05:00

This year, like last, Christmas was spent in Pocuro, my town. The associates from Santiago came in during the weekend, and we spent Sunday baking cookies and preparing our Christmas dinner. In Chile, Christmas Eve is celebrated more than Christmas Day. We went to mass at 10:00 pm in the chapel situated next to our house and then came back and ate dinner under our grape arbor, exchanged secret santa gifts and sang Christmas carols until the wee hours of the morning. Instead of sitting around, reading magazines, while missing our families, we took a proactive approach this year and organized a camping trip to the natural springs located about an hour away. We packed up our cooler, hopped on a bus, and spent the day swimming and laying out next to the lake (remember, it's summer here). We camped for two nights (I'm slowing turning into the nature girl I've always wanted to be), and came back refreshed and feeling like we knew each other a little better.

Recap of the end of 2006

2007-03-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

One my favorite events from the end of the year was the Saint Theresa of Los Andes Pilgrimage. 80,000 young people showed up to take part in the 28 kilometer walk through the Andes to arrive at the shrine of the Chilean Saint. There was so much positive energy and it threw me back to my days going to similar events with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

For our final 'community day,' I planned a little horsebackriding outing for us in the Andes in November. We were able to use some of the money we had earned doing a translation project to spend the day on horse (or mule) back to trek to a lake hidden in the mountains. It was a great way to end of the year.

After months of rehersals and meetings, 'Que familia es mi familia' was a huge success. We had four performances in as many towns, drew big crowds, and provoked lots of laughs. This is a picture of me as 'Ruben' and my 'girlfriend' Blanca.

My housemate Maureen left in early December to return to the States. This is us in our house the night before she left.

Me staring as '' the naked lady''

2006-11-08T10:23:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

So. I'm part of a theater group in my small town of Pocuro. Many of the women that I act with are also in the personal development group that I work with that is run through the diocese. They started by acting in presentations dealing with women's issues and have expanded to the full-length comedy that we are currently rehearsing. Well, we received a call from Santiago last month asking if we would be willing to put on a play entitled '' The parabola de la mujer desnuda.'' (The parable of the naked woman) The women had presented it 4 years ago at a similar conference of Latin American women. Considering we only had a week to practice and that the play was made up of monologues, I was a little nervous about making my international debut in such a rushed manner. I showed up to practice with the sad news that I would not be able to accept my role as ''the nun''. The women took the news okay and we decided that I could do my part by working the music. Well, everything changed when the ''mujer desnuda'' (the naked lady) never showed. In a matter of 15 minutes I went from pressing the play button to having the central role. Well, I'm learning that in life you have to be ready for anything...

Welcome to my world

2006-10-13T14:26:00.000-05:00

Finished jam
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

Ryan and I have been talking about making jam since we arrived here. It seems like something you should learn to do while living in Chile right under learning how to knit, garden and play the guitar. I bought strawberries at the outdoor market last week and last night Ry and I broke out the sugar and got down to business. Our finished product turned out even better than expected. Peaches come into season soon and we already have our sights set on future 'jam sessions.'

Happy Birthday to me!

2006-10-13T13:59:00.000-05:00

Emily blows out the candle
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

Well, I have now completed a full year of my life outside of the country. Turning 23 in Chile was a lot easier than turning 22 in Bolivia. This year I was surrounded by people who I really have come to know as friends. Gina, my chilean mamá, greeted me in the morning with a homemade 'brazo de reina' (the queen's arm), a chilean breakfast pastry made with a supersweet carmel-like sauce called manjar. In the afternoon, I was presented with another cake at my theater group practice. In the evening a few friends came over for tacos and brownies with mint chocolate chip ice cream :). All in all I was given 5 birthday cakes this year. It is said here in Chile that ''food=love'' and I feel it (in my heart and on my hips :) ) This past weekend Maureen and I had a joint birthday party where we danced until the sun came up. Two b-days away from home down, only one more to go!

Dieciocho

2006-10-12T12:34:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Chile celebrates its patriotic festival the 18th of September. I celebrated my first Dieciocho spending a lazy Sunday afternoon in Plaza Nuñoa in Santiago chatting with friends, making a huge quantity of empanadas in the outdoor oven at Carmen's house, learning how to dance the cueca in Matias's (Maureen's boyfriend) kitchen, and checking out my first rodeo. Regretfully, I was not able to make it to a 'fonda' to try out my new dance moves this year. Maybe by next year, I will be able to move my napkin twirling out of the house and into public.

Riding Adventure

2006-10-04T11:26:00.000-05:00

Originally uploaded by ABRostkowski.

Since my sister is crazy about horses, I couldn't let her come to Chile without riding in the Andes. We spent a beautiful day in the mountains, me on my horse and her on her mule.

Sisters... Sisters

2006-10-04T11:19:00.000-05:00

Me and Em in Santiago
Originally uploaded by ABRostkowski.

Amanda (looking amazing), visited me in early September. It was a week spent catching up, having fun, and showing her a little of the world I live in. We visited the port town of Valpo, toured around Santiago, went horsebackriding in the Andes, spent time with families, and just enjoyed being together again. If you care to see some photos, check out our flickr sites!

Valdivia

2006-08-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Last week my friend Alex and I decided to take a last minute trip to Valdivia, a beautiful city, located on the water 10 hours south of Santiago. I met Alex during orientation at Notre Dame last year because he too is doing a Congregation of Holy Cross program, Chile Alliance for Catholic Education. ChACE for short. He has spent the past year teaching English a the Holy Cross high school St. George's College in Santiago. Anyway, he's great. We met up in Valdivia Sunday morning and spent two days jumping between islands, visiting the ruins of old Spanish forts, and drinking delicious Valdivian beer (the city was settled by German immigrants.. so let's just say they know what they are doing.) Some of the highlights (for me at least) include sea lions looking for handouts at the fish market, wildlife boat ride, hopping the water taxi, the Kunstmann fact ory, and watching cable tv in the hostel (pathetic.. I know.) But yeah. The scenery was incredible. Chile is a compact country, but it certainly has a little bit of everything. The more I see of it, the more I am amazed by it.

La fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Las Nieves

2006-08-07T14:49:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Chilean cowboys (huesos). Cueca (national dance). Charango music. Parading Mary through the streets. Yesterday was definitely one of those days I felt like, 'Man, I am really living in Chile.' Latin Americas are crazy for 'La Virgen.' Mary seems to take centerstage in all the churches. Every year Pocuro celebrates our patron ''Our Lady of the Snows.'' Apparently, she was an apparition of Mary in Rome, and she made it snow there. Being in the campo (countryside) of Chile, she is important to the people because they pray that she helps to bring snow to fill the mountians in order to provide water for the next growing season. Hundreds of people showed up to celebrate mass and go on procession, stopping every 10 minutes or so to pray and sing Mary tunes. At the end we all gathered together by the chapel to chat and to warm up over hot chocolate and cake.

Human sled

2006-08-04T12:59:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

One of my many titles here in Chile. During winter vacation, we piled the girls from the hogar into a van and started our hour and a half journey to the snow. This was less than a week before the snow that fell here, and our trip was the first time some of the girls had ever seen snow in their lives. We played, built snowmen, and the girls went sledding on plastic bags and on the gringas.

It's the first snowfall of the ..... century

2006-08-04T12:53:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

So, we Pocuro associates were lucky enough to be here for first snowfall in as many as 19 years. Kids and adults alike were crazy with excitement. The mountains closest to our house, which rarely have snow at their peaks, were covered from top to bottom for 3 days. We survived the cold by huddling together, living in our sleeping bags, drinking lots of tea and eating Moosewood's minestrone soup.

My Parents' Visit

2006-06-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Okay. So this was a while ago, but still worth mentioning. My parents visited during Easter in April. You can check out the pictures from the week on Flicker. They arrived on Good Friday and my mom joined me on the Stations of the Cross that stopped at the homes of various members of the Pocuro community. Saturday, we climbed Pocuro Hill where this photo was taken. Some highlights from the week: Lunch at Gina's house (Gina is an old friend of the Associates and welcomes each new group with open arms. It's amazing to feel loved by someone starting from the first moment that person meets you. We enjoyed cazuela [a typical Chilean soup entree with chicken, rice, squash, potato, and carrots. Ask my mom. It's simply amazing] ), Party at our house, (It was the first Easter I've spent drinking pisco [the unofficial national beverage]. Our friends from around Calle Larga to meet the folks. I have to say that it was one of my favorite nights so far in Chile) Viña del Mar (My parents and I relaxed, ate well, and caught up on life by the ocean), Dinner with the Associates (it's a tradation that whenever anyone comes into town, Santiago and Pocuro get together for a good meal and good company). It was fantastic to have them here. It's fun to have them know the people in my life, to be able to speak with them about my housemates, people in the community, our crazy dog Memo, and for them to be able to understand exactly what I'm talking about.

Pocuro

2006-04-25T17:59:00.000-05:00

Emily on Pocuro Hill
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

This is a photo of me at the summit of Pocuro Hill looking down at my town. My parents and I hiked up the cerro Easter Saturday when they were here for their visit.

My solo tour of Santiago

2006-04-13T13:14:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

So, I had been living in this country for 3 months had still not really come to 'conocer' Santiago. One Saturday morning I woke up early, realized I had nothing to do, and decided to walk to the plaza and catch the next bus into the city. Santiago itself is only an hour and half away from my town. I, with my Lonely Planet book in hand, hopped on the metro and navigated downtown on foot. It was sort of strange playing tourist for the day, but really gave me a boost in my language confidence. In Los Andes, people just expect you to speak Spanish. In Santiago, a city that sees thousands of visitors each year, if you can say, '' Hi, my name is Emily. I'm from the US. I arrived 3 months ago.'' they count you as fluent. Lucky me.
This is me taking a picture of myself in front of the La Moneda building where the Office of the President is located.

St. Patty's Day 2006

2006-04-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Okay.. so it's almost a month later, but my parents are coming to Chile tomorrow and I'm sure I'm going to have a ton of things to blog about when they leave so I thought I should take today to get caught up. The HCA's are known in Pocuro for their fan-freakin'-tastic St. Patrick's Day parties. (as you can imagine, without us, it's not a big holiday in small town Chile) I would say that over 50 people turned out for the festivities. This year was extra special because we had decided earlier in March to paint our living room a bright green (okay, so Maureen and I decided at Ryan gave us our way...) Check out the rest of the party here. ( This picture is me, Caitlin (HCA in Santiago), and Anna (our German friend who works with me in the children's home).

Hiking in Puerto Montt

2006-03-30T14:10:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

When we tried to leave Temuco, it turned out that all of the return tickets to Santiago were sold out. What else was there to do but head south and soak up some of the beautiful Chilean scenery, right? This is picture of Ryan and me during our hellish, but enjoyable day in the mountains. Just a peice of advice: hiking in the cold rain for 8 hours after leaving 90 degree Chilean summer heat might not be the best of ideas. Some of us were more prepared than others (I had just bought the hat and luckily brought my raincoat with me) others (if you notice the impromptu gym shorts scarf that Ryan is wearing or Tom's lovely look) were not.

Habitat for Humanity

2006-03-30T13:59:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

I know I haven't written in a while, so I'm just going to post a few quick things so that you know what I've been up to for the past month. The chicos and I went to south to Temuco to work for a week with Habitat for Humanity. Habitat Chile focuses its energies on added to government-sponsored housing. The houses that we were working on are going to go to a group of families who lost everything they owned in the struggle against Pinochet in the eighties and are finally being compensated by the government.

Prayer Request

2006-02-13T16:39:00.000-05:00

A very good family friend, Dani Wagner (who just celebrated her 16th birthday last week), was diagnosed with leukemia two weeks ago and is currently undergoing treatment in Maryland. Her progress can be followed on her very own blog: www.daniwagner.blogspot.com. Prayers please :).

5 hour burritos

2006-02-09T13:01:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

That's definitely a title you won't see in a cookbook. Yes, my friends, Emily is becoming quite skilled in the kitchen (or at least trying to venture outside of the pasta and sandwich realm). This is a picture of one of my lastest creations. Although it takes forever to make just about anything here, I have to say that I am finding it enjoyable. When we sit down to a meal, it is something special because we know just how much time and energy went into preparing the food. We go to the feria twice a week to visit Sergio, out vegetable/fruit guy. It's fun to come home and search through the cookbooks, trying to figure out what to make next. (Because pre-packaged food are either not available or too expensive, we make most things from stratch. I made the tortillas, salsa, and cooked the dryed beans over the course of the 5 hours)

CEVA

2006-02-07T15:16:00.000-05:00

The last week of January, the HCAs and I volunteered for a children's camp for ages 4-13 run through the diocesean office. It was a lot of fun, although ridiculously exhausting. We planned activities, played games, talked and sang about God,(typical Bible-school like themes for each day), and took fieldtrips to an ecological museum, a neighboorhood pool, and the zoo in Santiago, and had a water and mud soaked day provided by the fire department). The kids that we worked with live in a rural area of Calle Larga called Valle Alegre (Happy Valley). Most of their parents work in the uva (the grapes that fill the region) and are left home alone all day with nothing to do so they showed up each day just filled with joy and energy. I worked with the youngest age group (4-7). They were a handful, but never stopped making me laugh. These are my little buddies Fidel (who happens to live on Castro street, coincidence?) and his sister Antonia.

Missions

2006-01-22T14:42:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Ryan, Caitlin, Roy and I spent the first two weeks of the new year with high school students from St. George College (a holy cross school in Santiago) in the south of Chile on missions. At first, I have to be honest, I was a little nervous about the whole experience. Missioning is something that is really common in Chile, whereas in the States, it's usually associated with Evangelicals, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Eighty percent of Chile's population is Catholic. The goals of missions do not include conversion. It's about spending time with people, praying together in community, and learning about one another's lives.

The typical day:
7:30 Wake up(I usually woke up at 7:55 since my primping time has been reduced to 5 minutes since moving to South America)
8:00 Prayer
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 Set off for missioning. We would leave with a backpack of ''prayer supplies'' which consisted of a Bible, candle, prayer cards, and the 2006 St. George Mission Calendar (oooooh). Each group had 2-4 people and we would set off in different directions going door to door asking people if they had a few minutes. In the 8 days that I went out missioning, my group was only turned away once. It was crazy to me how willing people were to welcome us into their houses, make us tea to warm us up (the south of Chile is cold and rainy even in summer), and share their lives with us. It was beautiful.
The area where we were was just gorgeous. Green, with rolling hills and a montòn of cows and pigs. Some parts reminded me a lot of my home in Bel Air.
1:30 Lunch
3:30 Play with kids in a Bible school-like thing that we put on
5:30 Onces (the Chilean afternoon snack-meal)
7:00 Mass
8:00 Jovenes (young people) get-together with activities
10:30 Dinner
11:30 Prayer
12:00 Dinamicas (games, activities for all of us)
2:00 Bedtime

All and all, it was a great experience even though I have to say that it was one of the hardest times I've had here so far. I had only been in Chile two weeks when we left for missions. I'd say that the most difficult part was being alone. We were all split into different locations which was okay, but was at the same time rough. The Spanish in Chile is very different than the Spanish spoken in Bolivia. People joke that they don't speak Spanish, they speak Chilean here and it's so true. There are so many sayings and slang terms here that we actually have a book in the house that deciphers them all (How to Survive in the Chilean Jungle). The young people, especially speak so quickly and drop all of their 's'es that they are pretty difficult to understand. It was good to be thrown into a situation where I was forced to speak in Spanish the entire time, but at times, was so frustrating for me. I definitely want to go back next year, because hopefully by then I will have more confidence in myself and I will be better able to communicate.

First Chilean Christmas

2006-01-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

I have survived my first Christmas away from home. The HCAs celebrated in Pocuro this year, my home. We live in the middle of wine country and it's absolutely beautiful. Summers in this region of Chile are fantastic. It's hot,sunny, and dry during the day and cools of considerably at night. We have been taking advantage of the great weather by eating under the grape arbor that past Associates constructed in our front yard. I set the table using all the skills I've picked up from the home decorating magazines that I am addicated to. My sister sent the snowflake ornaments that we strung from the vines and the candy canes that made our place settings.
In Chile, Christmas Eve is a bigger holiday than Christmas. We went to Mass in the Chapel that is right next to our house. Everyone eats after mass and midnight, so we followed with the tradition. In the morning, we gave the gifts that made for our gift exchange and spent the rest of the day reading, playing cards, and listening to Christmas music.

Madre de Dios

2005-12-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

Mariela and me
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Madre de Dios is the orphanage where I worked a few days a week during my language study in Cochabamba, Bolivia. It is home to 80 girls, ages 4-16. While the girls are living there for a variety of reasons, most of them have been abandoned or taken away from their families because of cases of neglect and sexual/physical abuse. Many of their stories just break your heart.
I know that you aren't suppose to have favorites when working with children, but sometimes you just can't help it. This is my little amiga Mariela. She and her 6 brothers and sisters are divided between almost as many orphanages in Cochabamba. One of my first days at Madre, I was helping to put together a puzzle on the floor when she crawled onto my lap and fell asleep. From that day on, I couldn't help but love her. Sometimes, walking back from the orphanage, I would think about how crazy it must be to have children of your own. I mean, in three months I grew so attached to the little ones, I can't imagine the feeling you must have when they are actually yours.

Okay. Storytime. I was dreading my last day at the orphanage. To know I had to say goodbye and that the chances are I would never see the girls again ripped at my heartstrings. As I was getting ready to leave, one of the girl found me outside and brought me into the room where they having their afternoon snack. When I walked in they started singing to me to see me off. Then, little Jhovana stood up on her chair and gave a little farewell. She's 7 so it was absolutely adorable. When she was finished, she looked down at her wrist and took of the bead bracelets that she had made earlier in the day and slid it on to my wrist. One by one, girls were taking them on and giving them to me. These girls don't have much. They wear the same tattered and stained clothes most days. They don't sleep in their own beds let alone their own rooms, yet they chose to share with me the little material beauty that they had. Of course tears were flowing down my cheeks at this point. I now always wear a few of the bracelets on my wrist to remind myself to try to give as much as I can of myself to the people around me each day just like the girls did for me.

The mines of Potosì

2005-12-15T18:14:00.000-05:00

DSCF0707
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

The week before we left Bolivia, Ryan, Roy, Caitlin and I went on an adventure to Potosi and Sucre in the south (about 12 hours by bus). Potosi isn't really a tourist destination except for the crazy fools who feel like spending many hours in tunnels underground, and yes, we did fall into that category. This is a picture of me in my mining gear ready to descend into the mountain in the backdrop ''Cerro Rico.''
Potosì, although I am pretty sure that you are unfamiliar with it, has many credits to its name. First, it's the highest city in the world, (which was very apparent by the altitude sickness that I encountered.. not pleasant) Second, it used to be not only the largest city in Latin America, but also one of the largest cities in the world in the 1800s, nearly reaching the population of 800,000. Third, the silver extracted from the mines of Potosì funded a sizable chunk of the Industrial Revolution in Europe. They say that using the amount of silver taken from the mines you could build a bridge of silver from South America to Spain and still had silver to carry over on the bridge.

The mines that we entered were built over 400 years ago and the colonial arches are still visible underground. The conditions are virtually the same as they were then: dusty, hot, and miserable. The miners work long hours often beginning before sunrise and ending after sunset. Many enter the mines as young as 13 or 14 and then leave in their mid-thirties, after the mine has taken a toll on their health and they are no longer able to work. Respiratory diseases, as you can imagine, are very common and lead to early deaths among the miners.

The experience itself, of being in the mines, is something I will never forget. At points it was downright scary. We descended with our guide four floors under the earth, meeting miners and giving them gifts of coca leaves (which give them energy and help them to breath) and refrescos. The further down we went, ducking and sliding on our bellies through small passageways, the hotter it became, reaching 45 degrees C (upper 90s F).

I was never happier to see daylight than when we finally reached the mouth of the mine. The craziness was not yet over. Our guide had convinced us to buy some dynamite earlier in the day from the miner's market. Playing with explosives isn't something I normally would support, but for less than $2 in supplies, how could you pass up the opportunity, right? (there is a video of the explosion on Ryan's site is you are interested)

Bolivian Thanksgiving

2005-11-26T15:23:00.000-05:00

Bolivian Thanksgiving
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

So I have survived my first holiday away from family and it turned out not to be that bad. Of course, I missed my wonderful sister's fanastic gourmet recipes, but we managed to get by pretty well here in Cochabamba. There were about twelve of us that put together a pot luck at the institute. Roy, to my amazement (and he hasn't let me live it down yet) created a pretty tasty turkey. After not being able to find brown sugar at the market for my sister's famous oj carrot string surprise, I opted to make cornbread instead which turned out pretty well.

La Paz

2005-11-16T16:04:00.000-05:00

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Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Julia, my German friend from the orphanage and I decided to take a spur of the moment trip to La Paz, the capital city a few weekends back. We had no plans, no place to stay; we left with just our lonely planet book in hand. It ended being a ridiculously good time. We hopped on a packed overnight bus Friday night and arrived in the city just as the sun was coming up.
Now, granted, mountains are new to me, but I'm telling you, it was the most beautiful view I have ever seen. La Paz is the highest capital in the world and is surrounded by mountains on all sides.When we approached the city, it looked like a bowl of Christmas lights.

What the.....??

2005-11-16T13:21:00.000-05:00

DSCF0523
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Llama fetuses, my friends. In the Aymara culture, which is dominant in the La Paz, Altiplano area, one must bury a llama fetus to mark the start of a new phase in life such as the opening of a business, or the building of a house to ensure health, well-being, and success. The fetuses sold in the Witches' Market are for the poor; the wealthy are expected to sacrifice a whole llama to appease the Pacha Mama.

My visit to the Moon

2005-11-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

adventure, here I come
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Julia and I met up with some of her friends and headed to Valle de la Luna a rock formation about 45 minutes outside of La Paz. It was pretty incredible as you are able to see by my photos. I swear, sometimes I feel like I am living in a Patagonia catalogue.

Villa Pagador

2005-11-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

DSCF0518
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

In hopes of trying to get us talking out in the real world, the institute organized trips last friday around Cochabamba. I signed up for Villa Pagador because I was interested in seeing what life is like on the other side of the city.

Sometimes, minus the crazy drivers, the indigenous woman in traditional dress, and the fact that Spanish is written and spoken everywhere you look, incredibly, it could be very easy to forget you are in Bolivia. Of course, it would be difficult to mistake the area for anything in the US; you definitely get the feeling that you are somewhere far from home. Sometimes, though, looking my street and the types of resturants where my friends and I eat, it's sometimes hard to believe that I am living in the poorest country in Latin America. The disparity of wealth is so great here. Because of this, it was almost odd for me to be able to get onto the bus that I always take downtown, ride it for about 25 minutes and end up in a world so different radically than the community that I live in here.

Villa Pagador has only sprung up in the South side of Cochabamba in the past five years or so. The Aymaran and Quechua people from the campo have been moving closer to the city to find work. Unfortunately, when they arrive, there is not much to be found. This particular community is currently without running water and most of the houses lack electricity. During out day there, we met with several relgious communities and NGOs doing work in the region.

dia de los muertos

2005-11-02T15:17:00.000-05:00

Thantawawa sweet bread
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

The celebration in Bolivia of dia de los muertos is incredible. Many families in Bolivia prepare tables like the ones shown (courtsey of Mr. R. Greenberg) in memory of their loved ones who have died. There is a big fiesta on November 1 when the families gather together to eat, drink chicha (a corn malted beverage that is really popular here), and chew coca leaves. The following day, they take what is left with them to the cemetery.

I was curious to see what the day was all about so I asked my host brother, Marco, if he could take me to the cemetery. I didn't take my camera along because I didn't know if it would be appropriate, but after I saw the carnival atmosphere, I totally regretted not having it. Clowns, ice cream, cotton candy, balloons. All that was missing was a ferris wheel. Okay, I may be exaggerating a bit, but it was definitely not what I had expected.

In Bolivia, instead of people being buried in the ground, they are placed in these two-story high structures. There are made of cement and have doors marking the graves. You can tell who is more wealthy by the type of material that the door is made out of. Some gold, some brass, others wood. You may even stumble across those that only are marked by a paper sign and messy plaster.

Because of the lack of space in the public cemetery, after five years, the bodies are taken out, cremated (if you are there to claim the bones) or donated to the local univeristy. This is, as you can imagine, very difficult for families to experience. Ryan lives with a family whose 12 year-old son died in a car accident 5 years ago. In October, the mother had to be there when the cemetery removed her son's body from his grave. It's hard enough to bury your son once; I can't imagine what it must be like to do it twice.

Jesuit Missions

2005-10-07T10:34:00.000-05:00

Inside
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

This week the institute took the students on a pilgrimage to the Jesuit Missions in the Region of Santa Cruz which is the semi-tropical region of Bolivia situated next to Brazil. We visited six of the original churches that the Jesuits constructed in South America, including the last one completed before the expulsion of the order from the continent in the early 1700s. (We always knew those Jesuits were rebels)It was really great to get out of Cochabamba for a bit and see a different part of the country.

Happy Birthday!

2005-10-07T10:26:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to me!
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

So, I´ve survived my first birthday in South America. My family gave me the biggest cake of my life as you can see in the picture, it took us a good three days to finish. The other HCAs came over to my house to celebrate, eat cake, and play cards (what we do best). I also was let in on a little Latin American tradition. My family told me that I had to take the first bite of cake. No, not the first peice, but I was actually suppose to bend down and take a bite right off the side. Before I knew it, Marco was smashing my face right into the icing. I decided to include the before picture in my blog, but if you care to see the full action, I uploaded a picture on my photo page.

Honk if you love sheep

2005-09-29T13:14:00.000-05:00

Sheep and landscape
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

One usually doesn´t have to part a herd of sheep to use the internet, but in Bolivia, each day is a new adventure. Farmers bring their sheep into the parks of the city to graze during the day. This herd was just a block or two from my house.

Mi familia

2005-09-29T13:06:00.000-05:00

Mi familia
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

So here´s my fam. From left to right: Corina, Katty, Me, Mariana, and Marco. Jorge (my host dad)and our pup La La are infront. Corina is an environmental engineer and visits the house often. She lives close by in Cochabamba. Katty is fifteen and attends the local colegio. Mariana is finishing up her tourism studies at a univeristy in town. Marco is currently looking for a job. He just spent the past week in Santa Cruz, a city about 8 hours away, trying to find work. The job market in Cochabamba and Bolivia in general is bad. Most of Marco´s friends have had to leave town or the country to find descent jobs.

Cacho

2005-09-29T12:54:00.000-05:00

Cacho- the best game ever
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Victory! Caitlin and I are the Cacho queens of Cochabamba (I dare you to say that five times fast)Cacho is the traditional game of Bolivia involving a leather cup and 5 dice. The goal is to get 4 of a kind of every number and then four other special combinations. You can go to any bar, restaurant or cafe any time of the day or night and find people playing it.

¡Viva Cochabamba!

2005-09-16T15:33:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Cochabamba at a great time. On September 14, every year, the city celebrates it´s founding by hosting parades, festivities, and concerts. I tried to take advantage as much as I could of the activities available. There were no classes at the Institute on Wednesday. Instead, the students gathered on the campus and played traditional games, ate food of the region, and tore up the dance floor.Josè Manuel, my new bolivian friend, and I went downtown afterwards to watch one of the four parades this week. I feel really lucky to have met him last week at mass. He has been showing me around the city, taking me to fun places, and forcing me to practice my Spanish (he doesn´t speak English, but we manage to get by).

El Cristo de Concordia

2005-09-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

View from El Cristo
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

On Saturday, my Bolivian brother, Marco, and I took the teleferia to a high point in Cochabamba where a tall statue of Jesus watches over the city. (a picture of the statue is on my photo page). We were able to climb a narrow spiral staircase inside and peer out through the lookout holes. There is no better view of Cochabamba to be found. So far so good in Bolivia. Marco and Mariana have been taking me around with them. On Saturday night, I went to my first Bolivian fiesta. Mucho divertido. I feel that even in the past few days my Spanish has been improving just by being constantly around native speakers. Today was the frist day of classes. At the Maryknoll Institute, all the instruction in one on one. Each day, we go to class for four hours. Each hour, I have a new teacher. Then, after two weeks of the same four instructors, we switch and receive four new teachers. The setup seems that it will work really well. However, it´s amazing how exhausting talking in Spanish for four hours can be. I´m very sleepy. I think an afternoon nap is going to have to become a necessity :) Hasta Luego!

Cochabamba, Bolivia

2005-09-02T10:46:00.000-05:00

We arrived in Cochabamba last night after a long day of traveling. Our flight from La Paz (the capital) to Cochabamba was cancelled so we spent to the majority of the day in the airport. I found it to be good though, it gave us so time to relax before being swept away by our Bolivian families. The three children, Marco (26), Mariana(24), and Cathy (15) from my family met me at the airport. Everyone in the family speaks a little English, which proves helpful considering my level of spanish. The spanish in Bolivia is so much easier to understand than in Chile. I have acutally been suprised by how much I really know. The Quiroz´s house is located in a very nice area of Cochabamba called El Rosedal. The family is great and I am looking forward to spending the next few months here.

Dancing 101

2005-08-31T15:13:00.000-05:00

Music class in Los Andes
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

We dropped by a music class with John (an outgoing HCA) at an elementary school in Los Andes (the closest large town to Pocuro). The children were preparing for the "diez y ocho,"a chilean holiday by practicing the "queca," a traditional dance. I even dusted off my dancing shoes and paired off with one of the boys. The little lesson came in handy last night when we were at Buonos Muchachos, a resturant in Santiago. I got pulled from my seat and had to perform the "queca" in front of the crowd. I am sad to say thatRyan has videographic evidence to prove my poor queca moves.

It´s getting cold in here, so put on all your clothes

2005-08-31T14:51:00.000-05:00

It´s getting cold in here, so put on all your clothes
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

In Chile, there is no central heating except in very nice hotels. To install it would be very expensive because they use virtually no insulation in when constructing homes. So how do you stay warm when it is chilly in Chile? You pile on the clothes, pull a hat on your head, and drink mucho tè. This picture is of me and the gang trying to huddle together for warmth in the Pocuro house as we were enjoying the evening reading together.

Los Andes

2005-08-29T15:10:00.000-05:00

I have learned that internet cafes are tricky, especially in el campo de Chile. I tried to post a few days ago when we were in town, but the computer froze and I lost all my brillant writing. But alas, I am back to try my hand at it again. We arrived in Calle Larga on Friday evening by the bus from Santiago. While I have this pesky tendency to fall asleep whenever I enter any sort of vehicle, my eyes were could not leave the mountains around me. The sun set and the rain began to pour before we reached our house in Pocuro, and it continued to rain all day Saturday and Sunday. Friday night we watched a Chilean folk group practice the the chappella next to our house. We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to have breakfast with the priests of the parochia (parish). The parochia is made up of twelve chappellas around Calle Larga. After breakfast we went on a tour of all of them and were able to see the surrounding areas. Yesterday, we went to mass at the Pocuro chappella and then had a grand community day with the HCAs from Santiago and our facilitators. So far today, we went to the comedor (soup kitchen), to English class in one of the local private schools, and dropped by a music class in an elementary school where one of the associates works in an afterschool program. We are currently in Los Andes getting ready to go to the girls orphanage. So yeah, today was mostly spent checking out the opportunities for service in the area. Now that I´ve caught you up to speed, I have to tell you about this morning. I woke up today to blue sky an the sun shining. I ran outside even before I got dressed because I hadn´t yet seen the mountains because it´s been raining for the past few days. Man, it is amazing. Pocuro is snuggled in a valley with the Andes mountians on all sides. The natural beauty is absolutely unreal.

Hola Santiago!

2005-08-24T15:19:00.000-05:00

la ciudad
Originally uploaded by kadu80.

So I have offically been in Chile for 11 hours, half of which I was in bed napping. Traveling tuckered us out. I didn´t realize how tired I was until my head hit the pillow. I can´t believe that I´m finally here! The current associates who have been living in Chile for the past year are great. It´s fun to finally meet them after seeing their pictures and wondering what they are like for the past sixth months. I have seen the Santiago house and have met Jack (the three-legged dog that resdies there). I can´t wait to get started on the language training. The current HCAs gave us "permisso" as the word of the day. They say that it can get you practically out of any situation. Walk into a meeting two hours late- "permisso". Don´t have bus fare-"permisso". It´s the catch-all phrase! Okay. We are going to explore the barrio now. Hasta luego.

My bags are packed I'm ready to go...

2005-08-22T23:27:00.000-05:00

Leavin' on a jet plane. It would be fun to post a picture of my overstuffed bags (just made a trip to pick up some last minute essentials and my backpack and suitcase are not receiving them well) but even my card reader is packed far far in the depths of my suitcase with no hope of being reached before I arrive in South America. So it's finally time. I'm leaving on a plane in less than 12 hours. It's kind of crazy to know that I'm going to be gone for over two years. I just had a final round of goodbyes on the phone tonight. Even though some parts of leaving make me sad, I'm so excited to be finally on my way. I'll be arriving in Santiago early Wednesday morning where I will be staying for the next week. Then it's off to Bolivia to learn some Spanish. I just got the information about my host family; it's the part that makes me the most nervous. I hope that it all goes okay. Well... it's time to get to bed so that I can wake up and start living my dreams!

War Paint

2005-08-12T21:14:00.000-05:00

DSCF0171
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Ryan and me during the International Orientation retreat on the Indiana Shore. It was a fun day of making plaster face masks, writing haikus and swimming in the lake. Orientation basically is just summer camp with a few presentations here and there. Okay.. maybe I am exaggerating a bit but it definitely has had its fun moments.

Room with a view

2005-08-12T15:01:00.000-05:00

Room with a view
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

This is the view from my bedroom window. I definitely have enjoyed my time at Moreau Seminary. This campus is beautiful. No worries Marquette folks-- I still love my mu-rah-ah

HCA 2005

2005-08-05T16:05:00.000-05:00

IMG_0959
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

The domestic orientation ended on August 5; the associates climbed on to Greyhounds and made their way across the country. 60 hour bus ride for some folks. Yikes!

Photo Savenger Hunt

2005-08-04T13:52:00.000-05:00

IMG_0907
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

One of the many fun activities during HCA orientation. This is Ryan and me "fitting into a small space" in ND's library. To see more of our campus adventures, check out Ryan's Blog (link located to the right under my profile)

Chile is fantastico

2005-08-01T20:42:00.000-05:00

IMG_0860
Originally uploaded by Ryan Greenberg.

Meet the Chile Associates 2005-2007. Left to right. Caitlin Early (ND grad, orginally from New Jersey). Roy Pequeno (St. Ed's grad, orginally Humble, TX). Ryan Greenberg (ND grad, orignally Utah.)This is the group during our first house meeting.

Mu-rah-rah

2005-07-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Emily, Karen, and Tim
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

Made a stop in Milwaukee to visit with friends before heading to ND. Pizza shuttle and frisbee by the lake... what could be better?

Goodbye Maryland!

2005-07-26T21:07:00.000-05:00

DSCF0066
Originally uploaded by erostkowski.

My last few minutes at home. My friends and family doubted it, but I was able to cram my life into a hiking backpack and a small rolling suitcase. So far so good. It's been a week and I'm still not through everything.