Ho hum

Perhaps my weekend wasn’t quite as doomed as Gail’s. Whingy Dutch Charlotte came back, after only a week of solo traveling (and a week of bliss for Gail), with two weeks left before her flight home. She moved back in to spend the remainder of her time with her host family and Gail, and invited herself to Copacabana with Gail and Kate, another volunteer. Gail couldn’t really say no. On Saturday, Gail got another migraine. As if this wasn’t enough, Kate got very ill during the bus ride home from La Paz to Cochabamba on Sunday, a 7 hour journey. Poor Kate spent those 7 hours continuously throwing up into plastic bags lovingly provided by Gail (save one with a hole in provided by Charlotte, less thoughtfully), who didn’t know what else to do with them but throw them out of the window. I just hope she didn't hit any of the peasants who do tend to walk along the roadside.

I can’t believe I’ve only got a week left in Cochabamba. I’ll miss it. I’ve even managed to get on the right side of my family now, since Amy is with Kevan for most of her free time and therefore spends even less time in the house than me, and speaks no Spanish. I stopped going to Los Tiempos in the mornings this week, which means I’ve had my mornings free. It’s been lovely. I’ve been able to reply to emails that I’ve been putting off for ages, do some reading and sunbathing in the garden, and go running and Cristo-hill-climbing. I even got my hair cut yesterday, for the first time in about a year, for the equivalent of a little more than three English pounds, which is rather expensive by Cochabamba standards (Ellie had hers done for about 50p). She took off more than I wanted but did a pretty nice job of it. It's been very nice. Wish I'd stopped with Los Tiempos earlier. Although all the climbing has given me stiff calves for the last week.