A Franciscan Abroad

[Edit:  Fixed error in the first line, I have NOT fallen off the face of the earth.]

Hello world, contrary to popular belief I have not fallen off the face of the earth. I am still alive and well here in Cochabamba. I was, however, afflicted with a combination of business and laziness and for that you all (whoever is still reading this) have my deepest apologies. Now for the update.

I am down to the final month of my course here in Bolivia and it is hard to believe that the time has passed so quickly. Those of us here in the basic course graduate December 9. After that I plan to spend several weeks traveling in Bolivia before spending Christmas here with my brother friars. A few days later I will head to Lima to begin the second part of assignment this year. My Spanish is much improved since I arrived here in July, although it remains far from perfect. I am hoping that my time living and working in Lima (in Spanish, por supuesto) will move me significantly closer to my long term goal of total fluency.

In other news, I have started preaching in Spanish since the last time I updated this blog and the experience has been wonderful. I have preached three times and while my homilies weren’t perfect, they were relatively good considering my abilities with Spanish. They were also helped by the fact that my professors corrected my grammar each time. I did make some minor pronunciation mistakes in each one, but nothing that seriously harmed my ability to be understood. I also have to read my homilies in Spanish, which is something I want to get away from as soon as possible. The good news is that I have several more opportunities to preach before I leave and should be able to continue when I am in Peru.

My visa journey also continues. I finally received my residential visa as a Catholic religious this week and began the process of applying for an id card (called a carnet here). Despite the fact that I am only here for a little under two months, I am required to apply for the card. This being Bolivia it takes almost a month for them to process my application for the id card. If all goes smoothly, never something that should be assumed with Bolivian immigration, I should have the card on or around Dec. 10.

I had my first pickpocket experience a couple of weeks ago. A team of thieves working a bus I was on stole my Ipod Touch right from under my nose. It happened on a crowded bus. One of the thieves smeared caramel on my jacket when I wasn’t looking and then offered to help my clean it off. While he was distracting my in this manner, his partner was reaching into my pocket to take the Ipod. I, of course, didn’t realize this until after the fact, when both of them had exited the bus and there was nothing that I could do. While an obviously not something I am happy about, I seem to be surviving without my favorite electronic gadget (there was a period of withdrawal). My ability to deal with the situation is helped by my families offer to buy and send me a replacement for Christmas when my sister and her fiancé visit in December.

That’s the highlights from the past month. In the next several weeks I will be finishing up classes and preparing for our graduation celebration here. All the students have to give a short reflection on their experiences over the course of the program and want to spend some time figuring out what to say. I have also been asked to be the master of ceremonies for the graduation and will need to work with the coordinators to get ready. Every aspect of our closing ceremony is student planned and led (with help from the faculty and staff here) so I will probably end up helping out with other things as they come up.

It is my fervent intention not to wait another month before posting something else, so stay tuned. Peace and All Good.