The Journey Begins

The rest of my time in Quebec was great! MC is working at a day camp for children with communication disabilities, and two days I got to go and meet the kids and help out a little. The highlights were helping one girl with her craft, eating lunch together, pushing kids on the swings, and playing games with them.

On Wednesday night at MC's young adults group, we started by eating a meal together. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and I was amazed throughout my stay how well many of them could speak English. Even though the singing time was in French, I knew most of the songs in English and enjoyed singing along. I love that kind of informal singing where someone know the guitar or piano well enough to take suggestions and just improvise. MC translated for me as her friend Catherine shared with the group how God has been working in her life over the past year.

On Saturday morning, MC and her friend Christine played in a disc golf tournament. The course wound through a forest next to a river, a beautiful place to walk through. Of the five girls playing, MC tied for second place! In the afternoon, MC and I packed up and headed to Montreal. We "camped out" in the apartment that MC will be staying in next year when she studies at McGill, but she hadn't yet moved in. We enjoyed 'exploring' it and imagining what it will look like when she and her room mates move in, decorate, and make the space their own. It is on the third floor and has some nice south-facing windows to let in lots of sun. That evening we walked up Mont Royal and looked out over the city lights.

Sunday we went to MC's Montreal church, which meets in a movie theater. They seem to really make an effort to keep connected and intentionally reach out to people throughout the week by meeting in small groups based on where people live in the city. These groups would include people from a variety of ages and stages of life, and they get together for a variety of activities including Bible studies, eating a meal together, move nights, game nights, and outreach nights. In the afternoon we wandered around Montreal. MC showed me the old part of the city, the waterfront, and "Notre Dame Cathedral." Even though it wasn't really sunny and I was wearing sunscreen, I still managed to get a sunburn. Hopefully the effects won't hang around as long as the last burn I got. The grey clouds were threatening as we walked to the bus station, and by the time I said goodbye to MC and started walked back to her apartment, it was pouring! Of course, I didn't have my jacket with me this time either... I spent the evening in a coffee shop before heading back to the apartment to catch a few hours sleep before beginning my travel marathon.

I woke at 1:40 am, gathered up my stuff and began the half hour walk to the bus station, dropping MC's keys in a mailbox on the way. I caught the airport shuttle and arrived at the airport in good time. I discovered that you can get through airport security with a small pocket knife in your carry-on because I didn't realize it was in there until after I was through and they didn't say anything at all. I slept almost the entire time on the flight from Montreal to Miami. When I started to go through security in Miami, they told me I was only allowed two carry-ons and I would have to 'fix' the problem. I had my laptop, my purse, and a small suitcase on wheels and hadn't had any trouble in security or boarding my first flight in Montreal. I was quite surprised that they would tell me that at security, but what could I say? I went a little way off and redistributed all the items in my purse into my laptop bag and suitcase and thankfully could even fit my flattened purse into the suitcase. If I thought those bags had been full before, they were positively bulging now! After I went through security, I was tempted to try to reassemble my purse because it was inconvenient to find things now, but I decided it was better not to in case I had more trouble boarding. For my six hours in Miami, I alternated between sitting and reading and walking up and down the concourse. On my flight to Lima, I say next to a girl from Puerto Rico who was travelling with a group to Bolivia for a two-week missions trip. I was really cool to talk to her about Puerto Rico and to share my experiences growing up in the Philippines and my hopes and expectations for this year in Bolivia. Unfortunately, she was very 'air-sick' and threw up six times during our five-hour flight; they even called for a doctor on board, but there wasn't really anything he could do for her. After a quick change in Lima, the flight to La Paz was uneventful. An interesting fact, South American airlines still serve food and give out headphones free of charge. I think it has something to do with the cultural view of hospitality. I had a nice cream of mushroom, ham and pasta meal on my flight to Lima and an egg salad sandwich on the shorter flight to La Paz. In La Paz I discovered that one of my suitcases hadn't followed me from Miami and that my 8 hour layover had turned into 10 hours. It was frustrating to know that I was practically there and yet not there, the last flight being only 30 minutes. Thankfully, God provided two relatively comfy chairs I could lie across with my head on my laptop and my feet on my suitcases. Sleep was in and out but definitely better than nothing. I could hardly wait for the time to arrive when I could check my bags and head through security to await my final plane. When I arrived in Cochabamba, I was met by several SIM missionaries who were very kind and welcoming.

My time here so far has been pretty restful, just trying to catch up on sleep and adjust to the altitude, which is giving me an upset stomach if I try to do much, even just walking down the street. My missing suitcase came this morning and tomorrow I will move into the house where I'll be staying for the rest of my time here. That's all I've got time to write right now.

TTFN!