Quest Overseas - Gap Year Travel

The week finished with Emily´s birthday. We all went out for dinner at Joyride where we enjoyed champagne and a western meal. She received a ´birthday surprise´ which consisted of a flaming shot, a helmet with a candle on top and a t shirt which we all signed. The night didn´t last too long as Sundays in Sucre are pretty quiet.

Probably a good thing as the next morning it turned out that 5 out of 8 of us were ill. We couldn´t figure out the connecting link between the people (Emily, Tiahna, Max, Jess and Matt) but they all took the morning off. We (James and Ciara) and Gen were the only ones who made it into school. Turned out a new English guy had temporarily joined the beginners class and was a great addition, lowering the standard quite a lot. We took him back to our hostel where we pretended to the others that he had transferred from another Quest trip, which they readily believed. Eventually we sent him on his way. We haven´t seen him since.
In the afternoon Emily felt a bit better and took the three of us to a riveting Textile museum.... It consisted of traditional dress from previous civilisations. On the way back we met a dog who we named Clyde. He followed us a few blocks down the road before ditching us for some food. In the evening the others felt well enough to come out for dinner...

We are now at the halfway point in the project stage of our Quest odyssey.  We continued to work hard on creating a trench for the water pipes. The pump was put in place and the tank filled with water. Finishing touches of cementing the well and taps led to the conclusion of our labours. We had finished! As we surveyed our work...we were proud!

It's derby day. A battle born out of a bitter rivalry, a match to outclass any match gone before. Today is Team Quest vs Sumaye Secondary School! Firstly let's start with the pre-match warm up. This consisted of a strenuous weekend at the idyllic Lake Babati, watching the sunset with the distant sound of a hippo's sigh of contentment. Drifting through the reeds with the tranquil ripple from the oar, we approached a small group of hippos, but as we did, there was a cry from Lorna, "Oh no, I haven't taken my anti-hippo pills!"(Manchurian accent)

The whistle blew for kick off and Team Quest was ready for action. Due to an act of hooliganism by some over zealous fans, our visit to the stone crushing was some what limited but still very insightful. The 'hands of God by' by Jason 'Maradona' Kahembe showed how 'magnetism' could be summoned by pressing twp rocks together!?  The teams were evenly matched after ten minutes play, with Team Quest still eager to show off their skills. This led to a visit to the Women's Group who look after the pig and chicken educational project.  As our minds' wandered in a world of sizzling bacon and succulent sausages, we learned of the promising progress of the projects and how they will improve the community. Jason 'Ronaldo' Kahembe then proceeded to show off his outrageous skills at skipping rope, also made by the Women's Group. His invention of new moves such as 'the boss' led to the team being in a state of awe and amazement.

The whistle blew for half time and the teams retreated into their respective dugouts. We received some stern words from our captain, known only as....'Mufasa'! During this time our intellectual conversations consisted of, 'why was Jesus named in Spanish', and the revelation that 'this time last year it was January'. The resident joker Jason 'comedy central' Kahembe also deserves a mention with the stomach splitting gag the geography is not a country!?

We then prepared for a ferocious second half and finished off our rehydration (sachets). We charged onto the pitch ready to finish off our work at Sumay. With the rev of Jason 'Schumacher) Kahembe's Toyota, we knew we had arrived. The second half was tough, some say a battle of the titans. As the sun blazed ferociously onto our sweating brows, as if ignorant of our presence, we fought on...

Final score:         Team Quest 2        vs        Sumaye 2

And now for the wise words of the American...

When meal times come around it is always a scary moment for me. I'm never quite sure which meal is going to happen. "dinner" might mean the meal in the middle of the day, or it could mean the meal at the end of the day. But the meal at the end of the day could be supper. OR TEA. Good American that I am, I just eat what is put in front of me.

After a tiresome journey, involving Jess nearly being left behind at Heathrow due to a ticketing mix up, we arrived in La Paz where we met up with Gen, who had flown from Australia, and Emily, our team leader.

To everyone´s dismay, we learnt that a 12 hour bus ride to Sucre was on the cards for that evening. Rain greeted us as we arrived at 7.30am, and we proceeded to play cards for 4 hours at the hostel whilst waiting for our rooms to become ready. That afternoon, we all sat a 4 page Spanish written exam and an oral exam to determine which set we would be placed into. As James, Jess, Matt, Max and Gen had no Spanish skills, this proved to be quite a challenge, with most resorting to a mix of French and English. Tiahna and Ciara however blitzed it and were subsequently placed in the top classes...

Holla ma' chickens and children, this week me (big momma Lorny M) is doin' the blog. I will start with Monday, because that's a very good place to start. We went to the market, to the market, to buy a fat
pig. But actually all we bought was occra and kangas. Then we went to satisfy our meat cravings (Dom was starting to scratch the walls) and we ate 1.5 kilos of nyama choma. Im not even sure what flavour meat it was, but oh' momma it was tasty! This week we have been working at Sumaye High School. We worked on a well and a water tank. Only just have the fundis discovered water, (now its thursday and they've been digging since tuesday morning!). I knew Jason's divining skills, and divine intervention, wouldn't let us down. More on Jason in a minute...

We have learnt a lot of facts about fundis (workmen) this week.
Fact one: they never sit down.
Fact two: There's lots of fun to be had with fundis.
Fact three: Kari is a fundi.

I also met my big momma equal, the Sumaye head mistress. We have all fallen in love with that bubbly ray of sunshine lady. She said she's coming to our house tonight, but I'm not sure she knows that we go to bed at 8pm.

Now to our dear Jason Kahembe, JR, JK, Reverend Jason, Jason Derulo, J Money, J Dog.

The first Bolivia GAP Team of 2011 arrived in Sucre yesterday morning after a mammoth journey from London by plane and bus. All the team are in good spirits and their first Spanish lessons are already in full swing. This week will see them studying hard, getting to know each other and their Spanish teachers and spending the weekend exploring the beautiful city of Sucre and visiting the Sunday markets at Tarabuco for those all-important llama jumpers!

After their 3 weeks of Spanish lessons the team will be heading in to the animal sanctuaries in the Bolivian Amazon for 4 weeks; constructing larger enclosures and other infrastructure at Parque Jacq Cuisi and taking responsibility for different animals (pumas, monkeys, ocelots and more) at Parque Machia.

Follow their progress here!

Want to experience life in the Bolivian jungle yourself? Why not apply to join Bolivia GAP Team 2 departing on 27th March 2011.