walled city

The streets of La Paz are lined with walls....all kinds of walls, some brick, some bushes, some metal fences. Every house is surrounded by a high wall, and some put broken glass, barbed wire, or other sharp objects at the top to keep out robbers. I've never seen anyone scaling these walls, but I guess it happens. Sometimes you get a peek behind these walls when someone opens their door to leave, and you can see the most beautiful yards and entrances, like something out of The Secret Garden! It is hard to find businesses or stores sometimes because they are hidden behind these walls with just a small sign outside. Some houses even have private security guards. Our neighborhood has a security guard that is supposedly watching out, but basically he has a whistle that he blows every 15 minutes just before he dozes off. Quite annoying.

answer-what in the world!

Great answers!!! Nancy gave it away right away, but I'll definitely have to try the David E Reid response! Joaquin thought that was funny too! This is the light post where we put our trash out...those are our pizza boxes! I've never seen those two dogs there before, but there is always someone snooping through the trash! Most of the time the wild dogs are traveling by themselves...but sometimes you see packs of like 5. They don't bother you at all and just keep right on troting by like they have important business. You can tell the strays from the house dogs...the house dogs don't know how to cross the street and the others just dodge right in and out of the cars. They are everywhere too! I think Bolivia has the most wild dogs of any country in South America, but don't quote me on that!

what in the world?

I thought you might like to play a little game. It might be too easy or it might not, but try and guess what this is a picture of and why it looks like that! The answer will appear in next week's column!

it snowed!

This morning when we woke up there was snow on the ground! It is pretty unusual for it to snow where we live...the mountains get it but not in the city. The kids went out to eat it and to make a snow man even though there wasn't that much. And it melted very quickly when the sun came out. I thought you guys might like to cool off with these pictures!!

la paz shut down

Yesterday, everything in La Paz was closed because of a protest or demonstration against the government. There were no stores open and most public transport was no where to be found. (We did find a corner store open near our house to buy bread.) Juan pablo had to make 6 trips to the airport carrying hotel guests and once they blocked the road with big rocks and he just had to sit there. They are protesting the idea that someone came up with to move the government back to Sucre, the official capital of Bolivia, which of course would drastically affect the economy of La Paz. I can't imagine they would really do that, but who knows. We (the kids and I) of course were unaffected. We stayed in our house playing, I finished my book the YaYa Sisterhood which I found in the hotel. Juan Pablo came home a little early so we actually cooked a real dinner. We made burgers and I put fresh pineapple and bbq sauce on mine to make it a Hawaiian burger, and it was really good.
The kids start back to school on Monday. It looks like we're going to try to hire a taxi to take us back and forth all the time, the same taxi, since Juan Pablo is working now. We are underway to buying our very own house. There was a little setback in the paperwork, but I think it should be cleared up this week. I'm very excited about that and if everything goes well we should be able to move in about a month. We still have not received our appliances...I imaging someone is using them and is having a great time. But Juan Pablo assures me they are fine. We have also seen a lawyer about my paperwork to have dual citizenship!! I'll be Bolivian! The kids and I need this so we can stay in Bolivia longer than the 30 days they gave us when we last crossed the border...they saw my passport and said "too much coming and going, you need to fix this!" I thought it was kinda funny. When I get that, then I can get a driver's license...which I don't know if they will want me to have because I'll be the only one stopping at red lights! hahaha!

Juan Pablo's job

These are some pictures of the hotel Cruz de los Andes that Juan Pablo is in charge of. He leaves around 630am and is supposed to come home around 3pm but if we go to the hotel during the day, we usually don't come home till around 7pm. He is in charge of all the personnel and this week is hiring new housekeepers. The hotel was a little neglected before he came, but he is trying to attract more guests and so far it seems to be working. He paid some taxi drivers a tip for bringing guests there and told them everytime they do, he'll tip them. It is a really pretty hotel and I can't wait for you guys to come and visit.

big city

Here are a few pictures from around the city. There is a lot of public transportation in La Paz and everyone uses it. Most of the cars in that traffic jam are public transport. There are taxis, trufis (that is like a taxi but goes on a circuit like a bus), minibuses (that is like a minivan, and it has someone yelling out the window all the spots it goes to), and big buses. There is a ton of traffic in the city and vendors on the street and people walking in the street which makes it difficult to drive. I've never seen so many people walking around as I do here.
That is Isabela on a big roll of cotton. The hotels are located near the street that sells material in huge bolts. There are guys that carry these huge bolts of material on their back with ropes.
The last picture is from the top of one of the hotels. There are houses built all the way up the mountains! La Paz is a city surrounded by mountains...it has amazing views, and huge cliffs!

movies again!

We had another adventure at the movies this morning. I wanted to take Isabela to see Ratatouille and they have an early show at 1015am. Little did I know that Harry Potter was starting today. We got to the movies and it was a madhouse, I thought, "why do all these people want to see Ratatouille?" So I asked some girls in line what movie this was for and they told me Harry Potter. There were police, and here the police really manhandle the people...there was a lady who butted in line and they pushed her out of the line and made her go to the back!! So we got in fine and peacefully, there wasn´t many in our line...they showed a thousand commercials before it started...and then less than halfway through it, Isabela wanted to go. But that was interesting, they pull down metal doors to cover the entrance outside to the movies while the movies are going on, I guess so people don´t sneak in...so we had to step out of this tiny door which was fun. Maybe we should have seen Shrek 3!

our first party!

We just went to our first birthday party for the kids' cousin, Daniela, who turned five. She had it at a place called the Lion King that has parties for kids and there were clowns that entertained the kids. Here are some pictures from the party. The biggest difference was the invitation said 930 am and no one showed until around 11am. That was normal, they do that so people will arrive an hour and a half later!

the movies

Juan Pablo and I went to the movies the other night. It cost about $10 for both of us including a small popcorn and a drink. We saw Ratatouille about the rat that is a chef and it was really cute. The theater was packed! They sell tickets like at a real theater...row 5 seat 10...and give you a little paper with your seat number on it. We had to buy tickets from a guy off the street because all the seats were taken and he had two together, like scalping. They show you to your seat and people always sit in other seats so you have to keep your number or the guy will ask to see your ticket if someone else wants your seat. The theater was packed full of kids! Of all ages, babies, toddlers, and older. And they were good. There was no crying or talking. But the family next to us had to keep getting up, and the seats are so tight I had to get up to let them by, and the last time they did it my seat broke!! One side was almost sitting on the floor and I was lopsided. It was kinda funny but not really. Luckily there was only like 10 minutes left. Then when it is over, they open these huge doors on the side so everyone can get out quickly instead of filing back the way we came.

the park

I wanted to post some pictures of the park I'm always talking about. The kids absolutely love it but it scares me to death...the slides are like two stories tall and the suspension bridge over the lake has huge gaps and you could easily fall off every time you cross. (I've never heard that anyone has fallen off, although Joaquin's shoe slipped off when he was running and he picked it up to throw it into the lake!) Last time we went, we did the paddle boats and paddled out to the middle and fed the ducks. They give you 15 minutes in the boat then you better get back or they charge you more. Isabela was steering and I thought we'd never make it! It has been super cold here the last two days and rainy so we haven't been in awhile. We actually don't go as much as I thought we would, but I guess that is because it is so close. We may have Joaquin's birthday party there...bikes! There is a bike path around it and they let you rent little tricycles and bikes! The other day he watched a skateboarding expedition on tv and that is only time I've ever seen him watch tv! He's going to be something!

happy fourth of july!

We hope everyone had a very happy fourth! We did nothing special this year, but I did dress the kids in red, white, and blue! Our old tradition was going to be going to Busch Gardens every year, but we just looked at our scrapbook from last year.

around the house

Here are some pictures of daily life...of course with less smiling! We do have hot water for showers. There is an electric shower head that heats the water before it comes out...there is only one knob...the faster it comes out the colder the slower it comes out, the hotter. There are two rooms in the house that receive the most sunlight, making them warmer, our room and the kids' bedroom. So we bathe the kids in the tub and quickly wrap them up and run to our room to get dressed. It's like running outside in 45 or 50 degree weather all wet! The shower we use is connected to our room so it's not that bad. Since there is no heat or a/c we can leave the front door open...did you grow up in a barn?...no, La Paz! haha! The back yard gets alot of sun so we color and play out there and eat sometimes. That's me in the kitchen I'm always complaining about. No, I'm not usually smiling. Since it's outside, it is FREEZING in the morning, and it also has ants alot. I try to keep all food in the fridge. Plus there's the washing dishes thing. I used to have the kids help till they broke a glass and cut their finger. Juan Pablo's dad lives with us, and he washes the dishes alot I think because they will magically be all clean when I come down in the morning. Juan Pablo has started working back at the hotel in the mornings...so life is a little more lonely. Since I can't drive yet, we don't really go out too much when he's gone...it's hard to take the public transportation by myself with the kids. We do have some little stores we can walk to that sell things like a convenience store. We normally buy ice cream bars and chocolate milk. We still snack alot, just not all day like back in the US so I think we all may be a little thinner! The kids have been out of school these last two weeks because of winter break, but their teachers sent home some work the kids have had fun doing...I was worried they wouldn't finish it, but they did most of it in one day. They expect alot more out of the kids, like coloring in the lines, which I'm not sure I agree with, but the kids don't seem to mind. Unfortunately, there were technical difficulties loading the pictures, so I'll have to add them later!