We are continuing to plod through the many uses of the subjunctive form of grammar. But we made more digressions into unscripted conversation, Profesoras Liliana, Viviana, and me. This makes the time pass more quickly. We also read an article by Profesor Osvaldo to prepare us for the Wednesday conference. He is taking about ten of the students to El Alto, La Paz, and Copacabana this weekend. The conference is all about this part of Bolivia, which Profesor Osvaldo, himself a paceño, proudly calls home. More to come after the conference later this week. I regret that I will not be seeing Lago Titicaca and Copacabana during my Bolivian journey, but that’s all right. I have been to La Paz, and I have seen many splendid lagoons in the wilderness of Potosí.
I will be hanging around Maryknoll Wednesday afternoon until it is time for the monthly film screening and discussion that evening. We will be seeing The Professor and the Madman, or in Spanish, El Profesor y el Loco. It’s the one about the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary. Yes, it’s an ironic choice, seeing a film about the quintessential reference book of the English language … in Spanish! And why not? Brother Scott saw this film one night at Convento San Francisco during convivencia with the brothers (I must have elsewhere that night) and gives his two thumbs up.
Backtracking, briefly:
On Friday morning I had a video call with Lionel, a member of Maryknoll’s missionary disciple formation team in the United States. He leads workshops in culturally diverse parishes in the largest cities of the U.S. to train lay leaders for domestic and foreign mission activities. He is an asylee from Guatemala who has resided in the U.S. for 30 years. It was a privilege to hear his story and learn about the work he does to form disciples and bring together different cultures. These are two high-priority goals for us at Church of the Good Shepherd. I hope to continue the conversation with Lionel this week and gain wisdom from him that may help me be a better minister to/for/with the people of my parish and community.
On Sunday afternoon I took a long walk through the city center to Parque Mariscal Santa Cruz. This is a family-friendly aquatic park (admission 3.50 bolivianos) with barbecuing grounds, a carousel, a trolley ride, a great pool, a miniature aquarium, and paddle-boat rides (prices varied for these). You entered the aquarium through the mouth of a sea monster—pretty cool. I enjoyed looking at the fish making funny faces at us from their tanks and pools. Many of the kiddies relished feeding the fish. When they emptied their little plastic pouches of fish food into the tank, you should have seen how the dozens of fish made a scrum to the tank edge! It was a hoot watching the fish squirm over one another, mouths gaping and puckering. I took my time wandering around the grounds. The sunshine was abundant and the sky was blazing blue in the late afternoon, and the park was teeming with families. I parked myself on a bench by the little lagoon and watched the people pedaling in the water. For a few bolivianos more, you could paddle in a swan boat! It all reminded me of the Boston Public Garden. As the sun began to fall, I said evening prayer, with Cristo de la Concordia extending a benediction from his distant hill, and a little rainbow visible in the mist of a fountain spray shooting up from the paddleboat pool.
God is good, and all that God has made is very good. And why not?
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