Moving fast

This week is going by so fast. I can't believe that it's Friday already. Today we went to a public library. This was really an exciting outing for me since I am the only public librarian in our group. It was hard not to compare the differences between this small library and the library system that we have in Haywood County. As we spoke to the director of the public library of Cochabamba, it became very clear that this library was different in many ways. Most of the books in this library were used for reference work. They have very few requests for fiction. We did not see more than a small area of fiction literature. All of the books were very old. To our amazement the director showed us a case of old and rare books that dated back hundreds of years. He opened the case and placed a few of these delicate books into our hands. I held a book that was dated 1691. We worried that the oils on our skin would damage these fragile artifacts. The director was very proud to show off this rare collection.

We also visited a school that contained about four hundred and fifty students ranging in ages from about six to fourteen. The teachers were hard working, lovely women that obviously cared about the students and their need for good literature. Everywhere we go, we are told of the shortages of literature in Cochabamba. As we walked through the school yard, the children pranced around us with huge smiling, brown eyes and posed while we took their pictures. We made a game of taking their picture and letting them see the instant results. It was such a delight for them to see their own image on the screen.

After we left the school, we hurried back to the hotel to retrieve the books that didn't make it to the Biblioteca Th'ruchapitas on Wednesday. They had arrived late along with our luggage. After presenting more books, we held a mini workshop on restoring and backing the books that Gaby had picked out for us to repair. Unfortunately, some of the books were in too bad of condition to try to repair. Gaby explained that it was truly a blessing to have us show them how to save as many books as possible.

New Day in Bolivia

We have been in Cochabamba for three days now and we have seen so many things. Meeting Gaby and the Dangerous Women was a wonderful experience. I am in awe of the work that they do for the children of Cochabamba. To see whole communities of Cochabambinos work together to create better literacy in the region is truly awe inspiring. We take a lot for granted in our normal lives back home. Or course, I do realize that this nation is growing in literacy and we had our own hills to climb in recent history. Today we will visit a public library in the city. Yesterday, we saw a community library that was establish by citizens in a private home. These people have accomplished great success in introducing books to the average person but their work has just begun. They desperately need more books.

First Couple Days

Well, We arrived in Cochabamba, Bolivia late in the afternoon on Tuesday. We had no luggage arriving with us. After our hotel stop to check in we walked to see our travel adviser, Lee with Bolivia Cultura. It was there she introduced us to her staff we would be seeing throughout our trip and gave us an introduction to the city of Cochabamba. After visiting Lee, we stopped to have our first meal at Dumbo´s. That was a fun challenge figuring out the menu and how to order. We turned in early on Tuesday since we had been traveling since Monday at 2ish.

On Wednesday morning we met Bolivian author Gaby Vallejo and the other Dangerous Women of the Bibloteca Thuruchapitas. The Bibloteca Thuruchapitas is a library for the children of Cochabamba. We took them part the books we had collected since most of our luggage had books in it. However we gave them close to 5,000 of money they can use to support their programs here. After visiting with the dangerous women we said goodbye for the day. Then we had lunch at the hotel and took a tour of Cochabamba. On the tour we visited El Christo, which is the tallest statue of Jesus Christ in the world. We also visited the house of Simon Patiño. He was a Cochababian who became rich by discovering tin in mines. We then went on the hunt for clothes to get us through Thursday and turned into bed.

Thursday in Bolivia

Two main trips today. One to the prison ministry programs this morning where they bus 96 children into two houses. One for 6 and up and one for year olds through five year olds. I am disappointed that I cannot upload video as easily as I had hoped the connection speed is just to slow, but we do have lots of video to show when we return. This afternoon we went out into the suburbs to visit two community libraries. In the one neighborhood there were 9000 residents, 4500 of them school age children who used a 400 book library. They averaged 50-100 patrons a day. The second community library was in a private home. The entire day was interesting for both the cultural understandings we gained as well as the hospitality that was granted to us. I am going to see if I have any better luck with some photos before it gets any later!