Guarayos, Day 3 - Guarayos itself

Ok it turns out I have less free time than I`d hoped as Jauma`s photographer. Yesterday he asked if I could stay past Saturday which just made me angry and stressed out - the original deal was to stay no more than 5 days. Once I realized I wasn`t obligated though, I told him I will leave on Friday; I don`t have time for more than that. Anyway I don`t want to talk about the stresses of the job because it`s not interesting. I will copy only bits of what I wrote yesterday:

¨7.08pm - Mon. 20 Nov. 2006

¨Today was interesting. I got up early and washed myself outside - Teresa`s house doesn`t have a shower so instead there is a well from which I filled a bucket with water. I took said bucket to a small shack in the backyard designated for washing, adn used a small bowl to scoop water all over me. I found it difficult to get my hair wet enough to wash properly, but otherwise it`s not a bad way of getting clean.

¨When we arrived in Guarayos yesterday Jauma asked if I`d like to stay with a family for a better price than an alojamiento...Anyway the house is quite good...The family has some money (they have electricity, a fridge, a TV, and a small cd player), but it is still Bolivia and is very simple and crude by Canadian standards. The ¨shower¨ is interesting of course, they have an outhouse further back, wooden seat and all, the floor is conrete, and furniture is very basic. It`s quite comfortable though, and my bed is decent as well.

¨This morning Jauma and I took a taxi first to a couple houses in the outskirts, inquiring about his work, then to San Pedro, a tiny little pueblo (village) near Santa Maria.

...

¨10.45pm

¨... In San Pedro we spent the day trying to organize this photo session. There was an assembly going on, which gave Jauma an opportunity to speak in front of the majority of adults and tell them why we were here. It seems his foundation is more organized than I suspected - for each community he documents there will be a certain amount of money for the children in that town. It seems a bit like a World Vision sponsorship thing, except sans much overhead expense.

¨I was tired and had to cope with having little kids around me the entire time, but overall I enjoyed the experience. We used a system whereby Jauma took the name of each child and his or her parents´ names, and I took the photo, sometimes with the parents, but always one child or family at a time so the order wouldn`t get mixed up.

¨Living in a small rural town, all these children are very poor and look it: their clothes are all worn and dirty, none wear shoes, their teeth are starting to rot...They were all so sweet, so curious about who we were, and all ready for the camera. After each photo I would have a rush of children at me, wanting to see the image.

¨We took a break at lunch and Jauma went swimming with some kids in the river, cloudy from so much dusty dry dirt. I stayed out above my ankles and tood a few more photos. Later we also walked around a bit to see the community. All the houses are crude, built with sticks, dirt floors, palm-leaf roofs. The house of the mayor is slightly more well-made.

¨A couple of the older boys are quite charming, or maybe just intruguing. They all look older and are more mature than their age might imply (12-15). They have to grow up quickly living there, and though they`ve got the same rascally, tough nature, they also really look out for the younger ones. When I took the photo of one very good looking young guy, Gerano, he took off his shirt and stood tall and tough, but later when I snapped a surprise photo of him, he broke into the biggest sweetest smile. He`s probably about 12. The kind of boy that makes me think kids aren`t so bad.¨

It feels good to be caught up. We start work a little later today cuz the micro (bus) doesn`t leave until 11am. (The times that show up on these entries are always wrong - it`s 9.40am right now.)

Until next time...