Transport

Before I start talking about transport, I thought you might enjoy a small story about an English couple in our group, Ben and Dawn Golding-Webb. They have been here a few more months than us, and speak much better Spanish. Ben had his first public talk in Spanish last week. Today I was out in the field service with Ben and a local sister. Now there is a verb in Spanish which is used quite often that has a completely different meaning if you insert an "r" in the middle. With the "r" it basically equates to the "s" word in English! The sister casually mentioned to Ben that this is the word he has been using for the 4 months he has been here - including in field service, and yes...in his Public talk where we had our 20 publishers, and 40 others mostly interested ones! Ben is quite devastated and understandably embarrassed.
Now for a more mundane subject - transport.
I was amazed when we arrived here, by how many taxis there are. It is no exaggeration to say that around half the vehicles are taxis! However when you come to appreciate that cars are incredibly expensive here, it is more understandable. For example even a clapped out really old car can cost $5000US. In equivalent local currency I guess that means an old car costs over $30000 Bolivianos! Even a second hand Japanese motorbike under 200 CCs can be $2000US.
Somehow quite a few of the locals afford vehicles, perhaps this is equivalent to buying a house in NZ, as most people have an extended family home anyway, not needing to purchase one and move out on there own.
Anyway the majority of the people here, including us, use taxis and trufis and micros to get around, even quite far out into the countryside. To get around most parts of the city costs in a taxi, 4 Bolivianos per person, and if it is right across town you may need to pay 5. It is curious that ere you pay per person. The same trip can net the driver 4 Bolivianos for 1 passenger, or 16 for 4 passengers! After 10 p.m. it goes up to 5 Bolivianos per person. You can also hire a taxi by the hour for around 30 Bolivianos which is handy if you need to make a lot of short trips while shopping.
We have read a lot about how the taxi drivers try to rip off tourists, but only once or twice have we had someone try to charge double or more. The trick is to refuse to get out until you get your change. Generally they are pretty honest. In fact one day Drew left his wallet in the taxi and he came back to find us to give it back! Perhaps more care is required in the bigger cities, I don't know we haven't been yet. It does pay however to negotiate a rate prior to departure if going further, and don't pay until you arrive. One day we paid first and the driver stopped at a petrol station and told us to get out. We were a bit wary thinking he was dumping us off, but then we saw a sign saying passengers had to disembark while refuelling.
Micros are another option, when travelling within city limits. They travel set routes, and have letters signifying the route displayed on the front. Unfortunately they don't have schedules here, so no-one can tell you what the route is! It was suggested to us to get on and trace the route on a map, doing so for each letter so that you learn where each goes to. It is worth doing because when you get on you pay 1.5 Bolivianos (22 cents NZ) no matter how far you are going. Be aware though that on weekends the route changes, and sometimes even during the week the drivers forget to change the letter on the front!
Trufis travel set routes also, but usually out of the city. They are basically vans seating about 12 people. You can flag them down anywhere on the route just like a taxi, and they are incredibly cheap. We use a trufi to travel from Tarija out to San Lorenzo where our group has its meetings. It takes about 25 mins and is probably about 15 kilometres or more, but it only costs 3 Bolivianos per person (54 cents NZ) Even a taxi is only 7.5 Bolivianos for this route per person, but still more than double the price.
Trufis go right out into the remote areas, and are indispensable when preaching. We get on a trufi until we get to a group of houses, get off to do them then catch the next trufi to the next part of the territory.
Soon we are going to buy a motorbike, because it gives far more flexibility for doing return visits, travelling beyond trufi range, and after they finish for the day which is usually 8 p.m. Sundays is a problem for us because they stop at 4 p.m. and most people want to study on Sundays because they are home, not in the fields. I will do a post later about the joys of shopping for a bike and getting your bike license in Bolivia!
To finish I thought I would include a few more photos of preaching in the country, and a video of our group singing a song at the end of our meeting on Sunday morning out in San Lorenzo. This video is for you Isobel Todd, I hope you enjoy it. Click on the link:

San Lorenzo group singing a Kingdom song

Yes it is a sheep on a leash in downtown San Lorenzo!

This is how fields are ploughed here. Sometimes you have to give way to them in the town, while they are moving between fields

Some of our brothers and sisters in the San Lorenzo group

It doesn't pay to leave your bike unattended. We carried Ben's bike into the river and piled it up with rocks

Me making an ass of myself!

 

Preaching

Well if you are not a Jehovah's Witness, this post will probably not appeal to you. You may want to skip it altogether in fact. In the next few posts I will discuss transport and eating establishments here in Tarija.
We decided to come to Bolivia from New Zealand, because we heard there was a need in the ministry. I don't believe that any part of New Zealand's territory is worked less than once per year, and the vast majority is worked every few weeks or months. This coupled with the fact that there are plenty of publishers means that compared with Bolivia, NZ doesn't have a need at all for pioneers. In some places elders are needed, but again Bolivia has a far greater need for Ancianos (elders). Therefore we arrived here all keen to experience fresh, seldom worked territory. Our first outing in the field was a surprise to us. No-one seems to know how many people Tarija has as residents, but it seems to be between 100 000 and 200 000 people. There are 11 or 12 congregations, and a few groups attached to them. At our first field service group we found out that the congregation's territory is covered every one and a half weeks! It seems most of the other congregations have similar coverage, so we wondered why we were here to be honest. However once we began preaching, we found that studies were easy to start even with limited Spanish, and there is still much interest.
 Over the following few weeks we decided to try one of the groups a few kilometres out of the city. The group we chose is in a town of about 10 000 people about 20 minutes drive out of the city. Well, what a contrast! HUGE interest and a Huge need here for pioneers! With three Ministerial servants and no Elders, the group has a need as well for Elders, and I believe a lack of Elders is the only thing stopping it from becoming a congregation. No pressure Paul and Drew!
Regarding the territory, virtually everyone you offer a study to, accepts, and on occasion we have even had people cry because the are so overwhelmed that someone is willing to spend the time to teach them the Bible. It is so satisfying to study with people who genuinely want to learn the truth, even though it is mentally taxing struggling with the language. I cannot urge anyone thinking of coming here enough to just take the leap. Our group has large tracts of territory that has NEVER been worked! It takes us 20 mins to get there on a small bus that costs 50 cents NZ! Soon we hope to rent a house out there to get closer to the action. Be warned though, that although transport is available for much of the area, there is plenty of walking required.
If you are considering coming here to preach and have questions, feel free to ask via this blog, and if we cannot answer them we will endeavour to find the answer from others, and reply to you.
Here is an example of what you can expect. Three weeks ago was offering tracts during the campaign, and met a young lad of about 18. In halting Spanish I asked him if he wanted to study the Bible. "Yes I would" he replied. When I returned we did one part of the Good News brochure. The next time his father was there too, and wanted to join in. Today we did the third study and the whole family was there waiting, and was so appreciative of Bible truth. They had many questions, and we tried to use scriptures to answer them, especially when our Spanish ran short! I believe the will be at meetings within a week or two. - This is the norm, not the exception!
Also, the brothers and sisters are incredibly supportive, appreciative and friendly. It is just a joy to be here and be a part of it.
To conclude, here are a few photos of the territory we work in:

Lightning!

When we arrived here nearly five weeks ago, everything was dry and brown, and there was talk of the town running out of water. The rainy season was supposed to have started, but we were baking along with the landscape. Well in the last couple of weeks, the rain has gradually started to put in an appearance. It usually comes in the evening, sometimes for an hour or so, and sometimes quite heavy for most of the night.
   I have often heard of tremendous electrical storms that happen frequently even without accompanying rain in some parts of the world, and have always wanted to see a full-on version. Once in Sydney, Lois and I were staying at a hotel on circular quay and we got to see an impressive spate of lightning, we even saw one bolt hit an airliner coming into Sydney. Unfortunately though, the lights of the city and the lack of access to the roof of the hotel, detracted from the spectacle somewhat.
   Well if you want to see a true electrical storm, in all its glory, come to Bolivia! We have been treated to some absolutely breathtaking displays of Jehovah's power. Almost every night for at least 30 minutes, sometimes for several hours, the night sky erupts with an unbelievable volume and array of lightning. Forked lightning, lightning between clouds, you name it, we get it!
   In New Zealand, electrical storms are reasonably rare, and the time between bolts is usually quite long when we do get them. I have often wondered how many hours photographers spent to get a shot of lightning discharging, well in Bolivia it is only measured in minutes!
   We live in a second storey apartment, and a third storey is under construction, with just the floor so far completed. The first night we had lightning, we shot up on the roof to watch. Within minutes my daughter Syntyche got this shot

 

It can be a bit freaky standing on a roof with lightning flashing all around you, but we took comfort from the fact that there was reinforcing steel extending up around the walls which was higher than us!
   Some nights the bolts are 30 seconds or so apart but most nights there is hardly a second or two between them. About a week ago there was a storm on the horizon where there was virtually no time when lightning was not discharging somewhere! It was like a fireworks display, and it went for over two hours! It is hard to imagine the immensity of the energy that must have been discharged during that storm. I have a short video of it here - follow the link. Can't wait for one like that to happen right overhead! Remember as you watch it that I only filmed a segment of the sky, so the amount of lightning was way more than you see in the video. The second link is to a short clip from another storm. Lightning was happening all around, but I only managed to be in the right place once.
Storm
Lightning bolt

Well next post I think it is time I talked about the reason we came here, preaching. What is it really like here in the ministry?

The markets

Well shopping is certainly vastly different here to what it is in New Zealand, or any other parts of the western world that we have visited. Supermarkets here are rare, small and not necessarily the cheapest option. Economies of scale seem to have by-passed Bolivia! Also, you will not find a fruit and vegetable section, nor a butchery in supermarkets here, and the deli is tiny. This is because people do the bulk of their shopping at the open air markets like the main one here in Tarija, called Campesino market. The produce may not be primped up to look enticing like in western supermarkets, but it is always fresh and the biggest advantage is flavour. Because it is picked to go straight to market, it doesn't have to be picked before it is ripe, or treated with chemicals to keep it fresh.
   In the west you can buy almost anything you need at the supermarket, here the same applies to the open air market. You can even buy donkeys here! Plus because there are so many vendors, healthy competition is alive and well which makes prices very reasonable. If you develop a rapport with some of the vendors, they get quite friendly and even give you little free add-ons for being a regular customer.
   We thought we were pretty up the play with our Spanish numbers, but here they often deal in unusual weights, not necessarily just Kgs. Also we didn't really study up on fractions which can cause a few dramas, for example we managed to purchase quarter of a Kg of cumin the other day because of not knowing fractions! Oh well it only cost us about $2 NZ, and surprisingly we seem to be ploughing through it quite rapidly.
   The scariest part of the market is the meat section. There are about an acre of small stalls all selling meat hanging in the open air at 35 degrees Celsius! Apart from the smell and fly blown meat, there are buckets of offal, heads of animals, you name it! There are a large number of butcheries up town however, that refrigerate their meat.
   Just behind the meat market is an eating establishment, there appears to be several throughout the market, obviously not designed for tourists, the food isn't too bad though if you can develop the courage to create a scene as the only gringo in sight! You probably need to be prepared to risk the odd stomach upset too I suppose, but so far I haven't succumbed!
   There are of course other smaller markets here and there. By our residence one market runs throughout the week, but on Saturday it is huge, and some from Campesino come down to set up here for the day.
   I will attach a few photos of the market, and a short video giving a small insight into one outdoor section of the market.
Follow this link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nSRyVYksm4&feature=youtu.be

You don't really think I would photograph a market without a shot of potatoes do you?

or two?

   The other interesting thing about shopping here is the fact that literally every hundred meters or so, even way out in the country, there is a small shop attached to a house. These shops are called tiendas and can carry quite a random range of stock. Within 100 meters of our house we have 4! We were buying from them sparingly thinking like in NZ they would be expensive compared to supermarkets. We finally compared the prices though and found them to be in most cases cheaper! Now we patronize them regularly. I have included a photo of a tienda as well.

   OK so that is shopping 101 in Tarija, I may in the future do another post about the shops though because they are amazingly random, and are worth another look. Next post - the weather, particularly the amazing electrical storms.
   Hasta luego

Impromptu party

Well I was going to talk about the markets today, but this morning we were invited to an impromptu fiesta at our place! We were on our way out to San Lorenzo to our group meeting, when we received a text from our landlord on the floor below us, inviting us to a get together in the courtyard. A missionary couple who have been here for over 20 years were reassigned to our congregation (in the same city) so a fiesta was organised to farewell them from one congregation, and we were there to welcome them to the next one! There was also a group that came down from Santa Cruz, but my Spanish wasn't good enough to figure out whether the two events were related.
   It seemed a lot of effort went into it, there were quite a few skits and traditional dances, some by children, some from this area of Bolivia and some from Salta Argentina. Follow these links to see video clips of the dances, and also a skit which must have been hilarious if fluent in Spanish. I got the gist of it, it seemed the tracts, magazines etc were fighting over who was the most effective, then in steps the Bible! Here is a link to watch it, (the first two are dances, the third link is the skit) but it probably won't mean much to you if you don't know Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BmcNH_wjhc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwGYMi_gxRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqnHWyjlNX4&feature=youtu.be
Lois in action!

 Some Albanian brothers and sisters got up and sang a song in their language with Spanish flash cards, and we were a bit nervous as we heard quite a bit about "Kiwis" and half expected to have to perform. We got away this time but will definitely need to practice a Maori action song in case, for next time.
   There was music and dancing from all over South America, apparently they worked their way through each country. The local brothers and sisters absolutely love dancing. Some were up for over 6 hours straight! Lois was in her element matching it with the best of them. I even got up for one dance because of some derisive looks from the locals when they found out I hadn't been up yet!
   Next post back to the markets, I promise!

PS - Our internet is terribly slow at the moment, it took about 12 hours to upload a 4 minute clip, so I have had to post this with only one link. Over the next day or two I will add links to video clips as I can.