I now have:
-a counterpart
-a host family
-a work placement
-a group of 17 other people from all across Canada and Bolivia
-2 project supervisors
-less sleep than I should have
I met the group in the Edmonton Airport and we waited for the Bolivians to arrive. They got a little bit held up and for some reason their project supervisors got stuck in Toronto, but they arrived. Then we got paired up and got on busses to go to Morris Meadows, a camp in Alix Alberta. Morris Meadows is a big farm/hotel-like-place. They are currently trying to become the wedding capital of Canada so if you want to get married in Alix... there you go. While we were there we sorted out questions of counterparts, host families and work placements. We were there from Tuesday to Saturday when the Drayton Valley/Montero group went to Drayton Valley and we came to Cochrane and met our host families.
I am now living with the Geise family... Maryanne is a Montesorri preschool teacher originally from Ontario (her parents make maple syrup) Tim is a chemist and a very involved community member. I have two host siblings, Kim was on the program in China last year and Geoff, her younger brother. They are pretty wonderful and have helped us cover the house with bilingual sticky notes to help me learn Spanish and Ana Paola learn English.
Because Tim is the chair of the Cochrane Environmental Action Committee, Ana and I got to going the whole committee on an interpreted float down the Bow river on Sunday afternoon. The river was beautiful and there was a breeze so we didn't roast. The water was probably only 10 or 13 degrees so only the bravest of us (not me) went swimming. It was probably the best way to spend our first day in Cochrane.
We started community orientation on Monday and have been doing that ever since. We have had all sorts of guest speakers and lots of fun times. We have gotten pretty used to translating but not all of the speakers have so the Bolivians sometimes go a long time without understanding much. The language barrier makes for some funny jokes too. Ana and I had a whole conversation about the difference between "chicken" and "kitchen" and then "cena" and "cine." I am learning a lot of Spanish though. I can usually understand what other people are saying if they speak clearly.
Tomorrow is my first day of work at the Library. I will be working there for two days per week and at the Sustainability Resource Centre. I'm working with Sergio Denis who is from Camiri. I'm pretty excited because it was my first choice for work placement and Denis is going to be pretty fun to work with.
The other fantastic thing about Cochrane is that I can ride my (borrowed) bike everywhere. I really want to ride at night when there is no one on the road. I'm kind of afraid of the guys who drive big trucks here. I worry about all the people who don't wear helmets (it isn't the law here) I really don't want them to get crushed by trucks.
Well I think I am beginning to babel. Love to you all!
Anna
p.s. Check out http://www.cochranetimes.com/ for an article on our group!
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