Hi everyone! We know it has been along time since our last post but it just goes to show how busy we have been and also our lack of a good wifi connection.
We've been taking Spanish lessons at Me Gusta Spanish School here in Sucre and we love the school. All of the people here are amazing and really care about teaching people Spanish. Me Gusta is owned by a wonderful couple Fernando and Ely and they have created an environment of warmth and comfort in their lovely school. They have an awesome staff of teachers and they are teachers also (Fernando is Ali´s teacher and Abel is Sarah´s) which just shows their love of teaching. Me Gusta celebrated their two year anniversary and we got to help celebrate. It's really like a little family here. We had a toast and salteñas during the day from this wonderful restaurant called El Patio. Salteñas (we prefer the carne salteñas rather than pollo) are kind of like empanadas but they are more juicy and so delicious. Then at night there was a big party at Ely and Fernando's house for all of the students and teachers with lots of delicious food. Also it was talent night nd people participated by playing guitar, piano, sharing baked goods or introducing an awesome game (Celebrity!) like we did to everyone. If you ever want to learn Spanish in Sucre absolutely 100% come to Me Gusta!
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Ely and Fernando toasting for Me Gusta's two year anniversary
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| Us with Noelhia our favorite receptionist at Me Gusta Spanish School. Yesterday she painted Sarah's nails green with black stripes and glitter. |
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| Ely with her giant trifle celebrating 2 years!! |
Our school has different activities that we can participate in throughout the week which also helps create the sense of community we feel (Salsa lessons, cooking lessons, sports). For example, wallyball! We know you're probably thinking volleyball, similar, but different. Wallyball is played on a racquetball court with teams of 3 or 4 and it's played like volleyball except you get to use the walls which makes it much harder because when the ball is hit off the wall you have to pay closer attention to where its going. Oh! And how could we forget, you can hit the ball with any part of your body and a lot of people like to use their feet. It's really fun! Maybe you could try and find a YouTube video on wallyball. :)
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Sarah with her teacher Abel. Bueeeeeeno.
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| At talent night at Ely and Fernando's Vicente sings some lovely Jason Mraz. |
We started volunteering at an orphanage here called Hogar San Juan de Tata. We have just finished our first week and it was overall a good experience. We are planning on continuing to volunteer next week too. We spend time and play with the kids, ages 2-5, and help the caregivers with snack and dinner time. Volunteering at the orphanage (orfanato) has brought up multiple feelings and emotions for both of us. We've seen corporal punishment which was extremely alarming and difficult for us to be witnesses to. Most of the kids are here because they've been abandoned by their parents, have experienced some type of violence or abuse or their parents have passed away. We are grateful we are able to share our love with these little kids and model healthy relationships with an adult. Although at times it has been difficult we hope that the hugs and kisses and laughs we have shared the with kids has made them feel good. We sure know it has made us feel good! It has also been a great way to practice Spanish!
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| Ali with Noemi and Anette |
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| Sarah with her best friend Tomas. |
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Nico y Dora
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We've met wonderful people while being in Sucre and we've had to say goodbye to some but have welcomed new ones. We met one girl from Italy (Francesca) who we were with for a week and were so sad to say bye. It's pretty amazing how you can feel so close to someone so quickly and in reality it was one week of our lives and our trip, but someone who made a difference in our lives. We love you Fran! Fran and our other friend Gerben, a Dutch prince (appearance alone) went to this fun market called Tarabuco which is about an hour and a half from Sucre. We have had fun with our Dutch prince while in Sucre and will miss him as well when we part.
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Fran celebrates 3 Kings day in Italy where you typically
get stockings full of candy. She was feeling homesick so we got
her some socks and filled them with candy and of course a piece of coal. :) |
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| Excited to go play basketball! |
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| Gerben, us and Francesca leaving Tarabuco |
While being in Sucre we also did a little day hike to seven waterfalls with Fran and two other amazing friends, Brian and Erica. They are from Canada and definitely know how to have a good time! They are leaving this weekend but we've loved having them around. Seven waterfalls (siete cascadas) was beautiful. Huge rock formations, some water was flowing and we ate lunch under a tree. We thought we'd try to find our own route back but that ended in us having to turn around because we got a bit lost. Not exactly lost, just put on a new adventure with bushwhacking, carefully walking along ridges and trying to find the next trail.
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| Classic Band shot. Fran, Erica, Brian (Osito) and Sarah |
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| Self timer photo near the waterfalls |
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| Siete Cascadas (7 waterfalls) |
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| Making friends with musculos on our hike to 7 Cascadas |
We apologize for the gap but know we are safe and are having fun. We have had such a lovely time in Sucre, making new friends, learning Spanish, feeling like we have a stable place for awhile and missing hostel wifi :) We love and miss everyone! Chau chau.
A & S
"You can close your eyes to things you don't want to see, but you can't close your heart to things you don't want to feel." -Unknown
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