We are full swing into summer break. It feels very nice to have finished a school year and be able to focus on the year end festivities. The Bolivian school year runs from February to November. It makes logical sense to start and finish a school year in the same year; so we follow that system with our home schooling. To the South of the equator summer is November to March (more or less). For Cochabamba, Bolivia that means the rainy season. It has been relatively dry thus far; we are hoping for more rain since this is the only time during the year that rain comes.
We got our Christmas tree up this weekend. This is the earliest we have ever gotten it up. We had a bunch of fun as a family decorating, singing, laughing and munching.
Though I do so miss the frost and snow that enchant this season I am glad for my husband that we live in a place that they call “Eternal Spring”. He does not like the cold at all. I think I am getting used to my palm trees and sunshine on Christmas day. I am looking forward to it, actually.
Yeah for summer!
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Monday, December 10
Friday, November 23
Uyuni, Bolivia
You can click once on the show and then slide your mouse pointer over the pictures to read the captions.
Back Home
I got back home this morning. I was so happy to see my husband – today is our 11th wedding anniversary. Yeah! I was glad to see the kids too – they all look bigger to me. The trip was phenomenal! I will post some pictures later. Oh – a typo in the previous post (grin) Tyler is 14 months old, not 22. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. Today is supposed to be the biggest shopping day of the year in the States. Did anybody brave the jungle, I mean malls?
Saturday, April 28
Dead Sea Scrolls
Whisked away in wonder we wandered through the displays pondering the ancient artifacts of the Dead Sea Scrolls display in Kansas City. To think that these pieces of parchment have survived millennia is mind blowing. But the most awe inspiring aspect of the whole experience is to know that the words written on the papyrus so very many years ago are the same words that I read in my bible today. Surreal survival marks these fragments.
The story is that about 50 years ago a young Bedouin ventured back into a tiny cave in the Holy Land in search of a lost sheep. Carelessly tossing a rock to the back he heard a hollow sounding reply. The old vessels he struck contained writings that would soon become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The pieces that were found were regarded as unimportant and trivial at the beginning. Some people recognized that some of the pieces seemed to go together and began taping the artifacts together as one would a torn children’s book. It wasn’t until precious parts of the writings showed signs of corrosion that they decided to remove the tape in hopes to better conserve the findings.
How beautiful it was, then, to know that part of the parchments contained the story of when Joseph fled for his life from the clutches of Potifer’s wife, a real life story of survival against the most unlikely odds.
In the final room of the exhibit my amazement continued as I saw other ancient books and scrolls and considered the journey the Holy Scriptures have taken through the centuries. I especially liked seeing the printed page from the German bible of the Gutenberg press.
What a privilege to spend a rainy Friday reveling in the historical treasures of ancient times that have survived and reached into my now.
The story is that about 50 years ago a young Bedouin ventured back into a tiny cave in the Holy Land in search of a lost sheep. Carelessly tossing a rock to the back he heard a hollow sounding reply. The old vessels he struck contained writings that would soon become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The pieces that were found were regarded as unimportant and trivial at the beginning. Some people recognized that some of the pieces seemed to go together and began taping the artifacts together as one would a torn children’s book. It wasn’t until precious parts of the writings showed signs of corrosion that they decided to remove the tape in hopes to better conserve the findings.
How beautiful it was, then, to know that part of the parchments contained the story of when Joseph fled for his life from the clutches of Potifer’s wife, a real life story of survival against the most unlikely odds.
In the final room of the exhibit my amazement continued as I saw other ancient books and scrolls and considered the journey the Holy Scriptures have taken through the centuries. I especially liked seeing the printed page from the German bible of the Gutenberg press.
What a privilege to spend a rainy Friday reveling in the historical treasures of ancient times that have survived and reached into my now.
Wednesday, February 21
Washington family two day get away, February 2007. Check out the slide show!
Every year in Bolivia at about this time there is a two holiday called "Carnaval". These two days of extreme partying precede the 40 days of lent. The idea is to do everything that you will not be able to do during the fasting that accompanies lent. So in the streets there are: loud music, dancing, drinking, parades, costumes, water fights and lots of fire works.
The old saying goes, "When life gives you lemons make lemonade." We don't like being in the city during this time so we plan a get away for the family. This year we went to a place called "Casa Campestre" on the outskirts of town. It was nice. There were about two hours of sunshine both days combined. But there were other things to do on the grounds, besides playing in the pool, such as foozball, wooded walking trails, a playground, and cable tv (something we don't have here in the house). It was very good to spend a couple of days just hanging out as a family.
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