Avril Lavigne in the campo?

Today I went on a hike by myself up in the Andes above my house.  It was a peaceful, restorative time, sitting on the edge of a eucalyptus forest, listening to the wind and looking at the sprawling city in the valley below.  The only people I saw was a Quechua woman and her son, walking their two donkeys, loaded with straw, down the mountain.  I sat under my umbrella, eating popcorn and reading a book as it rained, breathing in the eucalyptus and wet earth smell.  When the sun came out, I sat on a rock and read Psalm 65, looking at:

"...the hills are clothed with gladness.  

The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; 

they shout for joy and sing."

Once the sun had warmed the rock, I curled up on it and fell asleep.  Needless to say, it was just what my soul needed.  I walked gratefully back down the mountain in the light rain, listening to the thunder echoing off the peaks.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I reached the lower part of my hike, still very much in the campo, and heard Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" blasting from a mud house across the way.  What?!?  I guess even the campesino's appreciate her gritty lyrics and bumping beat.  Sheesh.

Thanksgiving was both good and hard this year.  I spent it with the Quispes, the family I've known for 3 and a half years.  Last year, we also celebrated Thanksgiving together, so I suppose it's a sort of tradition.  I made pumpkin pie and stuffing, and Reina and I prepared a whole chicken and green beans.  Pretty darn close to the real thing, if I do say so myself!  Yum. 

  me, Reina, Josías, y Alejandro

Collin, my brother, also called while the chicken was in the oven, and we all got a kick out of talking together with him and his best friend Jeff on Skype.  We could see each other on video, and laughed and talked in Spanish for over half an hour.  That was the best holiday gift, sharing my two communities with each other.

 Evo and Manfred propaganda

It's also presidential elections next weekend, and the city is a zoo.  Pick-up trucks crammed with various political supporters drive through the city, blaring propaganda over loudspeakers.  Most plazas and street corners are full of political campaigners, handing out pamphlets and free calendars with the presidential canidates' faces on them.  Evo Morales, the current president, is running for re-election, as well as several other candidates.  One of the presidential candidates is the father of my former student!

Thanks for your prayers, phone calls, e-mails and support.  I'm fighting against this sadness and discouragement with EVERYTHING I've got.  Gracias por fighting with me.

Katie

Mauricio, me and Joycé (Andreina's little sister)