Continuation

I was planning to give the money to the young woman with the baby but when I got to the doorway the crowed of beggars had swelled to half a dozen clamoring for hand outs. I walked through them and gave the young mom my bolivar. A wrinkled old Indian woman grabbed my wrist and jabbering away at me & wouldn't let me go. I was afraid to open my wallet for fear of creating a stampede so I just yanked my arm away from her and walked away. It was a bit disconcerting to see people carrying bejeweled  baby Jesus's walking past a living baby in his mother's begging arms.

After siesta I took a stroll through the park. It was filled with parents & children. (see pics) I had a delightful surprise in running into Mary's cousin with her 2 little girls & her parents. My second day here and I meet people I know in the part.

Then Mary & I watched last year's rerun of Dancing With the Stars with Spanish subtitles. They also get BBC & CNN in English.

Even though my Spanish is minimal I think it gives me a toe hold in conversing. Strangely enough my biggest fear of sounding like an idiot has not materialized. Everyone seems so pleased with my efforts that I feel fine. Even though I didn't make as much progress on the Rosetta Stone as I had wanted I'm glad that I got as far as I did.

The day ended with a visit from their middle son & his wife & 6 mo. old baby boy. I'm so happy to be a part of this loving family during my stay in Bolivia. Tomorrow I begin my classes at the Maryknoll Language Program, 10 minutes away.