Entrevista

Not a return to form, but at least a return to classes. I began a review of lessons I’ve learned before. We’re simply having conversations, natural conversations, and that’s all. No exercises by the book unless I am really stuck on some grammatical point I have learned but not absorbed. This is in preparation for the exit interview. This will be the final assessment by which the teachers can measure my progress in Spanish from February to the present. The weekly cultural conference was postponed to Friday, so today it was all review, all repaso. It will be all repaso tomorrow, too. I am skipping the field trip the other students are taking to Quillacollo to the shrine of Our Lady of Urkupiña, which I visited back in May. I have written at length about my pilgrimage to Quillacollo, so I won’t repeat it here. I am finding that I am growing less inclined to do the same thing twice, or maybe that is just how I have decided to do things in Bolivia. But I digress.

The interview, which will take place in the fourth period tomorrow, will be conducted by a teacher other Profesoras Liliana and Viviana, my current tandem. What will be, will be. I am not now a nervous tester, but I am a reluctant tester. Results and a discussion of the same will come at some hour on Friday. Whatever the results, I will receive them with good cheer. I’ll share the results with the friars on our provincial council, and more than that, I’ll seek their expert opinion regarding the suitability of my language skills for ministry. 

In the meantime, I have been doing a little extra credit, preparing my despedida from Maryknoll with some appropriate remarks and a few verses. Perhaps I will make a post in Spanish this Friday. 

I’ve been refueling on Powerade, and beginning this evening I will be attacking whatever bad bacteria are left inside with an antibiotic. I had a vegetable omelet this afternoon, and hopefully it will agree with my body. So, yes, I am getting back on my feet. I feel tired, not having slept since Sunday night. It’s like the greatest hits (to the body) are all coming back now: diarrhea, insomnia. No more, sir: I have had enough. This kind of makes it official: my soul, mind, and spirit have left Bolivia, and now my body is telling me it’s through. 

During this bout of unwellness, these songs have stuck with me. Here’s what I have been listening to lately. They sound the way I feel. Sometimes they pick me up, too.

Bob Dylan, Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 

Gnarls Barkley, Crazy

The Rolling Stones, Get Off My Cloud and No Expectations 

and Undercover of the Night 

Having intestinal troubles three times in three months is a nuisance. Is it the cooking at the convent? Have I swallowed too much sink water while brushing my teeth, or shower water when bathing? I don’t know. I suppose a little caution these final days in Bolivia wouldn’t hurt. 

Off now to rest, to have a video call with family, and to hope for a renewal of vigor tomorrow. Four days until New York, dear friends and readers. Keep me in your prayers, and I will keep you in mine.