August 27, 2005
Hello family and friends!
      
We finish our Spanish language classes in Cochabamba, Bolivia in less
than a week
and I feel like I'm getting ready to leave the womb!
The Bolivian family with whom we live feeds us, does
our laundry (they iron everything-even underwear) and, in
general, watches out for us!  They've also become our
friends
and it is always hard to leave people we care about.

Everyone's Spanish gets better every day.  We love listening
to Hannah talk with her Bolivian friends - she has no trace of an accent
and she speaks so naturally.  Of course, we can also thank
Marino and Bertha Perea who taught her a lot of the language before we came to
South America. We're not sure whether she has a
Bolivian or Columbian accent!

We leave for Trujillo, Peru on Saturday, September 3, arriving there on
Sunday evening the 4th. I understand that our house in Alto
Trujillo is ready for us and we eagerly look forward to settling into
one place for the next three years. 
 
Click on this link to view some photos of our more recent activities and some of the
typical sights of Cochabamba.  More than 70% of the Bolivian
population is indigenous, so you will see many people in native dress.
Most of the people are bilingual, speaking Spanish and
Quechua.  For one week during August, the people celebrate Our Lady of
Urkupina, a festivity in honor of Our Lady.  We attended many
of the activities and you will see some of the dances in the
photos.
Cochabamba is a beautiful place and it is hard to say good-bye
to our new friends.  At the same time, we are very
excited to finally get to Trujillo.  Thank you for all your prayers and
support.

Let us continue to pray for one another and for the poor of the world.

In peace,
Ralph and Theresa May