A final note

As my time in Bolivia started to draw to an end I started to feel a sense of guilt for leaving. I have taken so much, learnt so much and enjoyed so much and it isn’t fair to just leave it all behind. I'm leaving behind the ever-present fear, pollution, danger, sickness and at times hopelessness of life in Bolivia. All I have left to comfort myself is a promise not to forget my life here and all that Bolivia has shown me.

My last few weeks in Mineros San Juan were my busiest but my most satisfying. It was great to see Proyecto Horizonte's new website go live, the safe water project launched and the Proyecto Horizonte Christmas cards actually in print (more info to follow on Facebook)! Although I tried not to have a despidida (farewell) at all, I ended up having three awesome farewells in the different areas of PH that I was working in and eating lots of cake (thanks Tantakuna)! This worked out really well in the sense that it allowed me to spread out the final farewells to all the wonderful and important people in my time here.
Such as…
…My Spanish teacher Carla. Not only an incredible teacher and listener; she was a true friend and a vital sounding board for me during my entire nine months in Cochabamba.

…Profesorra Mery the English teacher at school who pretty much enabled and equipped me with everything I needed to get anything and everything done in the community.

…My two best friends here who put together an amazing ‘This is your life in Cochabamba’ video that made me ball my eyes out and laugh uncontrollably. Something I will cherish forever and possibly the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me!

It's over now and time to go back to my other reality but what I'll miss most of all is the smells, sounds and stories of a city that has treated me so well.

Thanks Mineros San Juan, thanks Cochabamba, thanks Bolivia!

A busy few weeks

The last few weeks at Proyecto Horizonte have been productive. Productive unlike any other weeks here in Bolivia. The fact is, things take time to happen here and after six months of trying, failing, pushing, pulling and sometimes succeeding I am pleased to say that some things have happened.

In school last week we celebrated Student's Day. This involved the often serious teachers letting some steam off and performing for the students in an array of bright and colorful costumes. As for my part, I was able to add to my "I-never-thought-I'd-come-to-Bolivia-and..." list. Profe Mery, who I help in the English classes, asked me to sing Immortal by Evanescence with her, I obliged and sang (not well) in front of the whole school. So now it’s on the list.

Also last week, I was happy to see the first tangible product of our SODIS Safe Water Project when we conducted training with all Proyecto Horizonte staff. My first public speech in Spanish wasn't too bad (I hope) and the participation and engagement from staff was very motivating for me. The project is finally starting to feel real. Now I have my fingers and toes crossed for the launch of the project in the community with SODIS Day this Monday. If all goes well it will be a day of activities, workshops and do-or-die for my theatre group!

With only two weeks left here in Cochabamba my days are numbered and the 'lasts' are starting. No time to get nostalgic though. Phew!

Que mas? (what else can I do here?)

Sarah Sinnott (blog 3)

The great thing about working with Proyecto Horizonte is that you can pretty much do what you like! In the sense that if you see somewhere you and your expertise can help then by all means, help. So aside from working in the school I have my fingers in a few other pies. Last week I realised it might be a few too many pies, but with just over three months left here I know that time will show me what will rise, what is burnt, what tastes good and what is just a little under-cooked in the middle. So in terms of what else I’m doing here:

A little marketing and PR – I’m working with Tantakuna, this is the women’s microenterprise group that consists of a bakery and a handicrafts group. Their banana cake is good, very good, and I love banana cake so I will call myself a connoisseur. We’re trying to sell their cupcakes ´Cochabamba Cupcakes´ at some of the nice spots around town to not only make a little money but also as a channel to talk about the Proyecto and Tantakuna to local Cochabambinos and travellers.
A little communications – A new website takes a lot of work! Fingers crossed I can help get this thing live...soon!

A little branding – Tantakuna is a group of mothers that has a story to tell and we need to tell it in the best way possible. I am working to develop some new words and branding for us to get the word out, both here and abroad.

A little product development – The women of Tantakuna produce some beautiful (and very technical) weaving and knitting but not all of it appeals to the western world. So one of my first ideas when I saw the products of Tantakuna was how cute the key chains were and that with a little work we could appeal to the baby/kid gift market abroad. So along with a fellow Kiwi volunteer here (who had a lot of persistence, patience and better Spanish than me!) we have worked with the group to produce the first samples. I think they rock! Still samples that I think we can make some more improvements on but so far, so good (no pictures yet, it is all still top secret)!

A little design – It’s quite funny to think I’m working on Xmas cards here after all the time, politics, sweat and maybe tears that were involved every year in the process in my old job working for a large corporate with a strong CRM programme! Here in Bolivia, they are still an excellent tool for communicating with our international audience, so we’re looking at running some art classes or the like to get some creative designs rolling from the kids at school.

A little social marketing (fingers crossed) – I’m not sure why this is last on my list, maybe because it is what I am most excited about and therefore most nervous and anxious about. I want to do some social marketing/behaviour change work on nutrition and/or health in the Ushpa-Ushpa community, no small task given my budget (zero) and my Spanish (slowly creeping above zero). I’m still in the research phase and from the first few interviews the most used phrase has been “Es muy dificil” (“It’s very difficult”)!!

I won’t let that deter me (yet)!

To contact me directly on my experience so far, and for any further information I could help with, please send an email to sarah.sinnott@gmail.com

Heads, shoulders, knees and toes...knees and toes

Sarah Sinnott (blog 2)

At the start of May I was asked to move into the colegio (school) in Ushpa-Ushpa to help out in the classes of English. Initially I was a little hesitant given I’m trying to speak as little English as possible and quite frankly, school-age kids kind of scare me! I still remember (with an evil smirk on my face) how horrible I was at age 13 to that new science teacher at my school - I managed convinced the entire class to start ‘crying’ and the teacher that we were all orphans! Kids can be cruel and surely as soon as the kids here know how limited my Spanish is they will have a field day.

So I turned up on my first day determined to be the opposite of what I had been in the guarderia; without smiles, without patience and ready to be stern. This was all thrown out the window when I met the English profesora that I would be helping and she welcomed me with open arms and a big contagious smile! I was introduced to each class and the kids were allowed to ask me anything they wanted as long as it was in English. Phew, this at least cut down the topics significantly and only one of the classes plucked up the courage to ask if I had a boyfriend!

The classes have continued to go well and each day I help out with pronunciation and then assist individual students with their work, I’ve been surprised at how much I can actually help the kids understand with simple probing questions and my level of Spanish. I’ve also spent a lot of time singing as many English songs as I know, who would have thought that ¨Heads, shoulders, knees and toes¨ would be such a hit!

Being in the school has turned out to be really good for my Spanish because I can understand what the students are saying and when they are learning the basics of English it reinforces the basics in my Spanish. The biblioteca (library) also has some cool kids picture books which are great reading practice for my Spanish!

So after my initial hesitancies, no one has been cruel or even close to it. Yes, the younger classes can get pretty loud but kids get told to be quiet enough times in their lives so I won’t be starting that any time soon. It’s been great feeling part of the school community and it never fails to make me smile when I hear the students speaking English with a Kiwi accent!

To contact me directly on my experience so far, and for any further information I could help with, please send an email to sarah.sinnott@gmail.com

Neat ninos

Sarah Sinnott: I’m a former Business Development Executive who has taken a year off to travel, volunteer, learn Spanish and live in Bolivia. My work at Ushpa Ushpa started in April 2010 and I will be here for just over six months.

My first month at Ushpa Ushpa was spent in the guardería (the kindergarten). Here I was fully immersed in the day-to-day activities and was able to see and learn firsthand about the community, the kids, the staff and the project as a whole.

Each day was spent with a class of three-year olds helping out where I could while my Spanish improved. For me, this was an eye opening experience, but not in the way one would expect when working in a poor community on the outskirts of Cochabamba. For me, it was the first time I had spent any significant amount of time with kids in my life! And I can only say it was a treat to hang out with these neat ninos.

In terms of improving my Spanish – it is pretty hard to understand what a 3-year-old is saying in any language, especially through tears or a tantrum. And getting 3-year-olds to actually do something that you want them to do doesn’t have a whole lot to do with what you say to them! But every lunchtime after we put the kids to sleep I would sit with the teachers and practice and listen intently while we prepared for the afternoon’s activity and this was really helpful.

Aside from Spanish, in just a month the kids did manage to teach me a lot and at the same time, do all things people say kids will do to you: made me feel young, made me remember how to ‘play’, showed me the power a smile, taught me patience and proved to me that kids really do say the darnedest things in the cutest ways.

In return I did my best to act as silly as possible to get a laugh each day. My favourite was when the girls would laugh so hard that they would topple over, and because they were holding hands they would tug down all the other girls into one big pile of giggling three-year-olds. I miss hanging out with them, brushing their teeth and scooping some more of the home-cooked lunches into their little mouths. To them I was ‘Sala’, the funny gringa with the weird short hair.

What a world away from corporate ‘Sarah’ I am now.

To contact me directly on my experience so far, and for any further information I could help with, please send an email to sarah.sinnott@gmail.com