Alright folks two and half more weeks of training and then Anna and I are headed to Okinawa, Bolivia for the next two years. Here’s a bit of information I received from the Peace Corps about Okinawa, Bolivia:
The area has the typical Santa Cruz climate: hot and humid with occasional surazos (these are south winds that originate in Antarctica and are extremely cold) coming through bringing the temperature way down. The terrain is flat and very green, especially in the rainy season (February and March). Flooding is common during the rainy season. Tropical fruits, such as mangos, guayabas (don’t have a clue), and tangerines are available most of the year. Due to the easy accessibility, Okinawa has a steady supply of staples (fruits, veggies, meats, and diary products). Every Tuesday there is a feria (fancy word for farmers market) where products from all around are brought to the market, the nearby river provides surubi (picture a 400lbs catfish) to Okinawa on a daily basis.
Okinawa (Alt. 350m) is a Japanese rice-growing colony found northeast of Montero. It is comprised of Japanese immigrants who arrived after WWII. The expropriation of farmland by the U.S. military, who occupied Okinawa, Japan for 27 years, led to 3,200 Okinawans emigrating to Bolivia in the ten years from 1954 to 1964. The Okinawans received 50 hectares each from the Bolivian government for cultivating the then harsh lowlands. Today only ¼ of the original settlers remain in Okinawa. Once the Japanese established their farm lands Bolivians came in search for work. Nowadays there exists a deep divide between the Bolivians and Japanese who still live in Okinawa. The Japanese have their own schools and are not very integrated with the Bolivians who, by far, are the majority of the population. The general trend is for the Bolivian to be the worker, while the Japanese is the land owner. About 60% of Bolivians living in Okinawa work for the Japanese, but in total everyone in the community depends on agricultural activities. Soy, rive, sorghum, and wheat are some of the main crops and the primary livestock are cattle and pigs.
Most of the two paragraphs above is information the Peace Corps has given us. It sounds as though there is quite a racial divide in the region, I hope later to report that this is not the case.
It sounds as though Anna and I will be living in a four room house with its own shower, private bathroom (big deal in Bolivia) and a laundry room, and a guest room. The house is independent but within close proximity to another house and family who are essentially our hosts. Transportation is a piece of cake, sounds as though we are about an hour and a half, on a paved road (another big deal in Bolivia) from Santa Cruz, which is Bolivia’s most modern city replete with an international airport (the price the other day for a round trip from DCA was 710.00).
Take care everyone, We miss y’all, more to come. T&A
The area has the typical Santa Cruz climate: hot and humid with occasional surazos (these are south winds that originate in Antarctica and are extremely cold) coming through bringing the temperature way down. The terrain is flat and very green, especially in the rainy season (February and March). Flooding is common during the rainy season. Tropical fruits, such as mangos, guayabas (don’t have a clue), and tangerines are available most of the year. Due to the easy accessibility, Okinawa has a steady supply of staples (fruits, veggies, meats, and diary products). Every Tuesday there is a feria (fancy word for farmers market) where products from all around are brought to the market, the nearby river provides surubi (picture a 400lbs catfish) to Okinawa on a daily basis.
Okinawa (Alt. 350m) is a Japanese rice-growing colony found northeast of Montero. It is comprised of Japanese immigrants who arrived after WWII. The expropriation of farmland by the U.S. military, who occupied Okinawa, Japan for 27 years, led to 3,200 Okinawans emigrating to Bolivia in the ten years from 1954 to 1964. The Okinawans received 50 hectares each from the Bolivian government for cultivating the then harsh lowlands. Today only ¼ of the original settlers remain in Okinawa. Once the Japanese established their farm lands Bolivians came in search for work. Nowadays there exists a deep divide between the Bolivians and Japanese who still live in Okinawa. The Japanese have their own schools and are not very integrated with the Bolivians who, by far, are the majority of the population. The general trend is for the Bolivian to be the worker, while the Japanese is the land owner. About 60% of Bolivians living in Okinawa work for the Japanese, but in total everyone in the community depends on agricultural activities. Soy, rive, sorghum, and wheat are some of the main crops and the primary livestock are cattle and pigs.
Most of the two paragraphs above is information the Peace Corps has given us. It sounds as though there is quite a racial divide in the region, I hope later to report that this is not the case.
It sounds as though Anna and I will be living in a four room house with its own shower, private bathroom (big deal in Bolivia) and a laundry room, and a guest room. The house is independent but within close proximity to another house and family who are essentially our hosts. Transportation is a piece of cake, sounds as though we are about an hour and a half, on a paved road (another big deal in Bolivia) from Santa Cruz, which is Bolivia’s most modern city replete with an international airport (the price the other day for a round trip from DCA was 710.00).
Take care everyone, We miss y’all, more to come. T&A
4 comments:
Hi - I was looking up Okinawa, Bolivia as a relative will being doing volunteer work there as well. I wish you the best.
Hi! your relative must be catholic! we're good friends with the current salesian volunteers in Okinawa, and we promise to take good care of the new comers, too! Share our blog with him/her if you like so they can find out what they're getting into.
Hi - I can't be sure who anonymous is for sure but I think the relative is me. As you guessed, we're (there are three of us) with the Salesian Lay Missioners. I skimmed through your blog (looks great by the way) and I will read it through properly when time permits it. We're just begining orientation and we'll hopefully be down in September. Hope everything is well and tell us if I can bring you down anything special aside from what is on your list. Take care.
Solid! Can't wait to meet you, man. We've got a good life down here in Japlivia.
It gets reallllly hot, just to warn you. But you'll have a shower and a fan, which make life a little less sticky. And Tom and I are good cooks and we'll have you over for dinner lots if you like.
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