Sucre, nuestro nueva casa (Our new home!)

We arrived on Thursday morning to Sucre Bolivia Sucre is a city of about 200,000 people, quaint and beautiful in it’s own way. Different from La Paz, Sucre is made up of mostly small 2/3 story buildings, (no high rises) and most everything downtown is built with a colonial look and painted white. Sucre, like all cities in the highlands of Bolivia, is built in the middle of mountains so the walking is strenuous, and the roads are steep and narrow. The elevation here is a little over 9,000 feet so the altitude is still a challenge, especially pushing a child in a stroller, carrying bags, and walking straight up hill. When we arrived on Thursday one of the first things we did was check into the home of Freddy and Delfina Margarinaos, our host family for the first month or two. Freddy and Delfina have a beautiful home and we have been given the third floor for our living quarters until we find a place of our own in town. Freddy is a retired surgeon and Delfina is a retired pharmacist so they have a very nice home (Bolivian standards) and they have been very friendly and open in welcoming us. At least it seems that way. They can’t speak English so we have no clue what they are asking us, so we just smile big, shaking our heads and saying “si”.
A few highlights from our days in Sucre so far: After checking in on Thursday afternoon we met our new friends Derek, Claire, and Noelia Plantenga. The Plantenga’s are originally from the states and have been living in Bolivia for almost a year. It has been a true blessing to meet them and get to know them. Their daughter Noelia is only about 6 months younger than Ella and she has been a good friend and playmate for Ella. Not only do the Plantenga’s have lots of Bolivian experience but they have been so friendly and helpful our first few days here. We look forward to spending lots of time with them and getting to know them better over the coming weeks and months.
On Friday afternoon we checked into language school. Both of us took a written Spanish exam to test our Spanish knowledge and then sat for a short oral examination. We all knew it was a matter or time until John said something stupid in Spanish. Well during the oral exam the teacher asked John where he was from. It’s hard enough, just trying to understand what they are asking you, let alone trying to answer back with some semblance of intelligence. Well, prior to leaving for Bolivia we made up a prayer card with our Bolivian address. “Casilla 879.” Well, John being the alert and intelligent student that he is, remembered the address “Casilla 879” and rattled it off to the teacher. Unfortunately John did not realize that “Casilla” is the word for Post Office Box. So actually John told his teacher that he lived in a Post office box. I am sure that is just one of many awkward phrases to come.
We have definitely enjoyed our first few days here in Sucre. We could write three pages or more on our experiences here so far but time doesn’t allow. We have had basically no internet connection since being in Sucre so blogging has been difficult. We hope to share more experiences as time permits. Thanks for the prayers and support. We need them and appreciate them. We miss our family and friends and think about you often. We look forward to sharing again soon!