Cuenta Atrás

Another week down, with two weeks of classes to go. At a moment this mid-morning when I was getting agitated about my tied tongue and balky brain, Brother Scott consoled me by telling me that I can now count the number of classes left with my two hands. He is right, and in fact, I could count the number of classes left on two maimed hands, if need be. Tuesday, Aug. 6 is Bolivian Independence Day, a national holiday. So on that day I will be out on the streets around Templo San Francisco listening to the bands playing patriotic songs and other hymns to the state. Thus it is two weeks and nine class days to go. Let the countdown begin! 

Another consoling thought: there will be a going-away party. Our Mennonite volunteer friends are organizing a despedida for Brother Scott and me. Grateful doesn’t begin to describe the feeling of appreciation I have for them. We’ll be having the get-together a few days before Brother Scott goes back to the United States. We’re doing this on his schedule because he leaves several days before I do. Knowing the Mennonite volunteers as I do, I know this will be a fine-spirited celebration of friendship and fellowship across cultures. 

A flyer has appeared on the bulletin board at Maryknoll inviting students to go to La Paz and Copacabana at Lago Titicaca. Profesor Osvaldo is making arrangements with the mission center for students. Nine names have appeared on the list, but neither my name nor Brother Scott’s is among them. For one thing, I have already been to La Paz, though not to Lago Titicaca or Copacabana. For another, it is the weekend of Aug. 2-4, and I would prefer to hang back with my Capuchin brother, who will leave Bolivia the Monday immediately after. 

With no more extended travel plans on the horizon before departing Bolivia, I look forward to the next two weekends as opportunities to rest and to explore a little more the beauty and refinement in the heart of Cochabamba. You may have read my dispatch on Convento Museo Santa Teresa. There are still other churchy monuments I have not yet seen. There are other green spaces and other noble-looking plazas where I have yet to relax. There are other cafés and restaurants where I have yet to eat! All of this awaits. Time is counting down.