Saturday 10 November 2007

A Blogged version of Ed and Sarah's first newsletter

Dear Friends,



After a very long journey of 31 hours travelling we finally have arrived and are now settling well into our new home.



Our first few days were spent in La Paz, which gave us a bit of space where we didn’t have to do much thinking. Mid week we moved onto ‘home’ Sucre. Where we are now beginning to feel a little more settled. During this week we spent time getting orientated with both the country of Bolivia and FH/Bolivia as well as getting lots of sleep to recover from the long journey.



We are currently living in a large family home with a very hospitable family, Delphine and Dr Freddy. We have the penthouse suit on the top floor and are enjoying having a bit of space to ourselves.Alana has coped really well with all the travelling and changes, though I think like us she was glad to be able to stop. Since being here she has gained a lot more confidence on her feet so is toddling about much more. She has taken quite a liking to the food and will happily put away a vast quantity. She has also become a bit of a celebrity with people wanting to take her photograph.



Life here thankfully runs at a slower pace than the UK and is still very structured around the family. Lunch is the main meal of the day when all the family will sit down and eat together before returnng to work a bit later in the afternoon.



We have started full swing into language school with Ed doing 4 hours in the morning whilst Sarah does the ‘graveyard shift' with 4 hours in the afternoon. As you may well imagine this is quite exhausting particularly when the remainder of the day is spent running errands and entertaining Alana, who at present seems to have forgotten how to entertain herself. But I guess that’s probably because she has become a bit unsettled with all the changes.



We hope you are all keeping well. Missing you all already

Lots of Love

Ed, Sarah & Alana

<>< First Impressions

• A long, long way from home

• Dry rugged Mountainous terrain

• Quiet and friendly people

• Long and loud church services

• Lots of potatoes, even chips in soup!!!



Sucre

Our first impressions of Sucre are of a grand looking, well organised city nestled within the surrounding mountains. It has many hills to rival those back in Aberystwyth. The days are sunny and warm, with the occasional stormy shower.






Sucre is widely considered the most refined and beautiful city in Bolivia with some of the finest Spanish colonial architecture in South America. It is situated at 2790 ft and has a pleasant spring like climate all year round.



At present it remains the historical capital that holds the seat of Judicial power, yet its inhabitants are wanting to seek its return to a full governing and administrative status.



Praise God For:


• A safe Journey

• Our luggage that all arrived safely and in one piece

• The family we are living with


Please pray for:


• Strong stomachs to adjust to different food and drink

• Energy and attention in Language learning

• Alana to feel settled and happy

• Happy family times



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