The TIMELINE

Alright so let's do some fast-paced detail filled catching up...

1. October 2011
   1. Arrival to Okinawa 1, Bolivia: Oct. 7—Carmen, Eric L., and Sor Nora picked me up at the airport
      1. Started the wretched visa process in Santa Cruz—finished sometime in November...
      2. Okinawa—beautiful town in the country and I live in a nice little gated community. We spend most of our time at the Sisters' house (a 2 minute walk away)—for meals, between classes to snack and/or chill, and to use the internet thanks to their generosity! =) There were 5 Sisters (Sors) when I arrived
         1. Sor Nora: 58 years old, the director of the site here—going on her 12^th year in Okinawa...the whole community and all surrounding know and LOVE her...and for good reason! I think she might be a living Saint...
         2. Sor Gladys: She is the youngest one here at 30 years. This is her third year here in Okinawa. She is super sweet and was probably the first to make me feel welcome here with her sincerity and kindness. She was in charge of the internas at the time and this year is Administrator for the school.
         3. Sor Leo: 42 years old. She's been here 5 to 6 years. Loves basketball and loves to laugh...we are always smiling with her around and she makes us feel like family (not wearing her habit when visitors aren't around..! = O ) She was and is currently Director of Education for the elementary grades.
         4. Sor Rosario: 58 years old, been here 5 to 6 years. She is Director of Education for the secondary grades. She has a very honest way about her and is very easy to talk to and be around. I love her voice too, strong and sincere.
         5. Sor Marta: 42 years old, had been here for 2 years and was the Administrator. She is hard-working and very real...not afraid to tell you what's up...loved her honesty. She is now working in Sucre.
         6. Sor Sandra: She was not here when I arrived but she's 42 and is in charge of the internas (boarding school girls) this year. She had worked with Sor Leo and I believe did her novitiate with her and so it is fun to watch the two of them joke around together—she has a great sense of humor.
   2. This month I was shocked by my many things—too much flying at my senses
      1. Trash in the cities, stumbling over my Spanish words and struggling to understand Spanish, seeing posters of half dressed women, seeing trash thrown out the windows and in the streets everywhere, clumping into "trufis" (taxis that take you long distances) with strangers to get anywhere from Okinawa, trying to memorize names, the amount of mosquitoes and bugs, pulling a string to flush the toilet, washing laundry by hand etc...
   3. Got used to my new name “Teacher Kati!” as it is called out along with the other volunteers everywhere we walk
   4. Went to communities with the other volunteers for catechism and recreo
   5. Shadowed Susan and Eric in their classrooms and went with Susan to visit Dona Catalina to teach her to write once a week, also started crocheting a bag with Susan at a friend, Dona Dalcy's, house and met Tomoko (a Japanese woman who has been a friend to many of the volunteers throughout the years) and Dona Mery (another great friend/Bolivian mom)
   6. Carmen left at the end of the month
2. November 2011
   1. This month was a little rough for me just finding my place here and adjusting
      1. Led to me meeting my little angel, Vivian (9 yrs. Old)
   2. We celebrated Thanksgiving at Tom and Laura's house in Montero with the other SLM's
   3. Classes and community visits ended at the end of this month along with visits to Dona Catalina's (when summer started up here)
   4. Susan left at the end of this month
3. December 2011
   1. Eric L. left at the beginning of this month
   2. Helped out with Villa Feliz preparing the kids for Christmas with Sor Marta and the other volunteers
   3. Eric C. arrived to Okinawa
   4. Eric K., the bf, arrived to visit me on the 21^st!
   5. Had Christmas Eve dinner with the volunteers, the Sors, Eric, and a family of 5 children, a grandmother, and a single mom
   6. Christmas Day breakfast at the volunteer house
   7. Dona Dalcy's mom house for Christmas evening get together
   8. Dec. 28 (?), Eric and I left for La Paz
   9. Dec. 29 Rode bikes down “The Most Dangerous Road” and then stayed 2 nights at the Selva Verde animal refuge in Coroico
   10. Celebrated New Year's Eve at Adventure Brew Hostel in La Paz cheersing and singing Auld Lang Syn with people from all over the world on the rooftop watching fireworks
4. January 2012
   1. Marcelle's friend, Maria, arrived on the 2^nd
   2. Eric Kalvaitis left for home on the 4^th==taking a belly full of bichos (bugs-amoebas) with him
   3. Eric C., Marcelle, Maria and I took a trip to Samaipata to do some hiking and visit ruins
   4. Marcelle, Maria, and I traveled to Sucre and did another long crazy hike—hail storm followed by not one, but two, rainbows—that's right, a double rainbow to finish the 7 hr. hike with our fellow European friends that we met
   5. Maria left for the US
   6. Marcelle left for the US on the 14^th
   7. I didn't celebrate my health long and was found to be inhabited by our parasitic friends as well
   8. Eric C. arrived back from his trip to Peru and a few hours later, we headed to Cochabamba for a retreat with the other SLMs
5. February 2012
   1. Classes started February 6
      1. I'm teaching 4^th –6^th grade English classes at San Francisco Xavier
         1. 6 classes, 80 mins. Each, 3 days a week in the afternoons
   2. The internas (boarding school girls) arrived at the beginning of the month to start classes and stay here at the internada.
      1. There are 9 of them this year and feel a bit like 19 some days. A lot of energy and a lot of laughs! =D
      2. We do an hour and a half study hall with them before dinner 4 days a week
   3. I started lessons back up with Dona Catalina teaching her to write.
      1. She's a 78 year old woman who lives in a local barrio and we've been working on her signature
   4. Eric and I began karate classes 3 times a week with our sensei who was trained in Japan
      1. We practice outside barefoot in the grass at 8pm with a handful of school kids and our friend, Jorge, who recently left for Ecuador
   5. Lynn, a volunteer from Maine, arrived at the end of the month.
      1. Her church has helped here for the last 4 years
      2. She worked for a hard week getting med kits resupplied at the surrounding communities and meeting families to whom her church has provided help for medical and/or educational purposes
      3. Eric and I spent time translating these encounters. It was an amazing experience to hear stories of people in this community and to watch Sor Nora's loving interaction with them all.
   6. Started to get a better feel for life here and really seeing the beauty of the community and the BEAUTIFUL blue sky and GREEN GREEN grass here.
   7. At the end of the month, I realized that the bugs were back in my belly...or perhaps, never left
6. March 2012
   1. March 10^th: Judy, another volunteer, arrives to Okinawa coming from Cochabamba

      1. Did my best to clean the house before her arrival--even put on the exterminator backpack and de-bugged the house!

      
      

Gracias ADios!

Geez! Can you believe it??!  Not sure if you heard, but ALL blogs were under construction for the last 4 months and so I was unable to start one up! Hmphh...well despite these unfortunate difficulties, I have decided to not let that stop me from creating my blog now.  

Alright...so that's more or less true...the "more true" part being that I am finally starting up my blog!  =D

I thought that I would start off by talking about my purpose for coming. So this first entry is addressed to family and friends...hahaha, who I imagine is you.