I am way behind in describing what we've actually been doing. The most important reason for this trip was to attend the reunion of my parents' Peace Corps group. Their group is B-9 meaning they were the ninth Peace Corps group in Bolivia. The Peace Corps started in 1961, and they were in Bolivia from 1964 to 1966, so they were there at the beginning.
A lot has changed. My parents told us stories of living without electricity and running water. Letters were their only form of communication with people back home. Now the volunteers have cell phones and access to the Internet, and though they still live pretty simply, most have electricity and water. Of course, Bolivia itself has changed a lot in 40 years. Like U.S. cities, the towns around Cochabamba that used to be separate entities now seem to be part of the ¨greater Cochabamba¨ metropolis. We visited the towns of Quillacollo and Vinto where my parents lived. Mom said these towns used to be out in the country; now they are like suburbs.
About half the B-9 group came to the reunion and many brought spouses and/or children. We were probably 25 in all. The first night we all ate together at the hotel, and the next day we took a city tour of Cochabamba, then a smaller group of us visited the suburbs (what used to be the small towns) around Cochabamba. The Peace Corps office decided it was a big deal to have so many RPCVs (Returning Peace Corps Volunteers) in the country at once, so Friday they put on a media extravaganza and presentations and lunch with some of the current volunteers. Saturday some of the group helped at a community clean-up day organized by one of the volunteers. On Sunday we all met for breakfast followed by speeches, singing, tears and good-byes. They decided to have another reunion in three years somewhere a little bit closer.
That final day we got to see the inside of the church where my parents got married. When we found the church the other day, we discovered it was only a couple blocks from our hotel. We went by it that Sunday afternoon hoping someone might be there, and one of the church workers was! She let us see the inside and told us the pastor who performed the ceremony still comes once or twice a year to visit. (The church used to have missionary pastors from the U.S., but they now have a local pastor.) It was a nice way to end our time in Cochabamba.
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