A Very Bolivian Fourth of July

Just like many of you, I ate burgers and corn-on-the-cob for the 4th of July, and drank beer. Only it was Taquina rather than Budweiser, the burgers were Bolvian style (which doesn´t mean they were that dfferent) and the corn was white, with bigger kernals and not as good as genetically modified, 50% articificial, whatever-they-do-to-American-corn yellow corn. We had a lot of people over to the house for the 4th...all in all, 3 Bolvians, 7 Americans, 3 Germans, and some represenatives of various other countries. My host sister has more international friends than Bolivian friends. I was alone in the house until about 6:30 and was worried that preparation of the apple pie was going to be up to me - and I obviously had no idea what to do. Luckily, the other American girls soon arrived home, and then Rommy, my host sister. We had a little hickup when the girl who had the grill was too tired to come, and her new boyfriend was too nervous about "bothering" her to be willing to go to her house to pick it up...but in the end she, and the grill arrived. We grilled on the roof, which is where the other girls sleep in a tent. It took a long time to get thegrill going so in the end the Goerge Foreman-like grill was reverted to. The best parts of the mean in the end were apple crisp and a guacamole Rommy made. There were no fireworks (although we did have sparklers) but it was a fun evening all the same. The weather made it feel not like Jluy 4th (it is pretty cool at night, maybe 60 degrees). I actually have to keep reminding myself that it is in fact the summer in the US, since I left at a non-vacation time from the states and am sort of stuck in that mindset.

Tomorrow is my last day of Spanish classes here, and I am taking an overnight bus tomorrow night. My last class can´t come soon enough! I´m not sure I´m excited about speaking Spanish ever again...its not Spanish specifically or course, its the whole process of learning a language. What is even more amazing is that young kids don´t have to go through the process - they just absorb and replicate.