Today was a day of complete cultural immersion—and a little culture shock too!
It was a long day full of surprises and incredible sights. We started the day off early, with morning prayers and traditional South American Mate tea, followed by a breakfast of bread with avocado—delicioso!
Our group went into the market in town and was captivated by the sights, smells and sounds of the market and all the unique vendors. Brother Juan tasked each of us with buying an item needed in the house at the market - a particular adventure for those of us not comfortable in Espanol. Hunts through the market for such hard to find items as pineapple (pina), which seemed to be the only fruit not easily available this season had the group running back and forth.
After our trip through the market we had our first meeting with the street children. Brothers Javier, Renato, and Eduardo had organized a game of soccer for the boys and we had the opportunity to participate and cheer them on!
At the Brothers’ house we enjoyed “Dermott’s lamb stew”. At this point in our Bolivian adventure we have had an Italian dinner and an Irish lunch, no one thought this would be the case! After a siesta, we took an adventurous taxi ride to the top of a nearby mountain where the Cristo de la Concordia is located. The enormous statue of Christ was awe inspiring. The views of
The day was rounded off by a visit from the Sisters of Maria, Mother of the Church, who led us in the K’oa ritual, a traditional Andean welcoming rite. We had Chaufa (fried rice) dinner, prepared by Saul, and followed by a marvelous dancing session with the Sisters. We all embarrassed ourselves in attempting to follow the moves they taught us.
