The Wonders of the Altiplano

It's amazing what the sun and a few months of forgetting to brush my teeth does to the body here in the Altiplano. I took this picture of myself about 4 days ago and thought that I looked pretty good in it.


What does the word "Altiplano" even mean? It's actually a word describing the landscape of the area where I work. "Alti" comes from alto (high) while "plano" means flat. It's crazy to think that I work at 4,000 meters and yet there are only a few hills around. Once the trees from the tree nursery I work at take off, people won't know the difference between the Altiplano and Pennsylvania. ;)

I'm a...

Copacabana, Bolivia

Dear Diary, I´m in Copacabana...Copacabana, Bolivia, not Copacabana, Brazil! The weather here is great with a lot of sun. I rented a motorcycle for half an hour and thought it was going to break down any second. Maybe it did. I dunno. My friends and I also rented a row boat and had a blast on the lake. I think something was wrong with it because it would never go in a strait line. Maybe it had something to do with my friend being quite a bit bigger than I am. I dunno. The trout we ate tasted great, even though it wasn't enough to fill my tummy. :( I have a feeling that I'll be back to visit this lovely town in January with some friends. I dunno.

Mateo 28

Mateo 28 is an outreach run by my church once a month. Last Saturday we went to Chua, a small village on the shores of Lake Titicaca. I really enjoyed the trip because it not only covered a spiritual aspect, but also the physical. We worked alongside the local Adventist church, which will hopefully allow the church to be viewed in a more positive light. I helped with the dental work, which basically involved filling needles with new points and with anesthesia. I’ve never seen so many rotten teeth up close. I had to hold heads and hands because some teeth had large roots and we had to work quickly. My other job was holding heads and hands, to make sure that they didn’t poke the needles in deeper. I am looking forward to the next trip and hope to be able to pull a few teeth myself. Many children would get a tooth or two pulled and then head out to watch the puppets reenact the Good Samaritan.

Escuela de Campo

Recently, I've been changed my focus from wells to agriculture, mostly supervising "escualas de campo" (country schools) and a new tree nursery that we are starting. An escuela de campo involves teaching locals how to plant high-grade potatoes that we bring from the city. A local tradition is to plow the earth using two cows, place a potato a foots distance from each other, and on top of the seeds pour sheep manure. If there isn't enough seed then the larger potatoes will be cut in half. We want local farmers to place the manure first and then the potato, so that more nutrition will enter the roots. Also, we are encouraging farmers to seal the cut potatoes with ash, so that no diseases will enter. In theory, using our high-grade potatoes (we sell these at half-price), placing the manure first and sealing the cut potatoes with ash will increase production and quality, providing local farmers with a more competitive edge on the market. I hope it works...