Our Last Week in Cochabamba

Tommorow we're leaving Cochabamba and flying to Lapaz, Bolivia! I can not believe how time has flied!

This week we've been basically running around, getting last minute shopping done, and also satisfying other cravings for traditional Bolivian food. Snacks such as pasteles de appi (api cakes),  potatoes filled with chicken and cheese filling, and wistupiku.

Api cakes are seriously my favorite snack in Bolivia. Actually, they're probably my favorite snack in the whole wide world. And with a mug full of that steaming, purplish, thick, and simply delicious liquid called api to sip along with it, api cakes taste perfect!

I could talk about api cakes forever, but I also need to tell you about something almost if not as delicious. Potatoes! Plain-looking potatoes filled with cheese. Others are filled with chicken, eggs, and vegetables combined! Very, very yummy.

Last but definitely not least, my mom bought all of us some wistupiku, a type of empanada (pastry). I chose one with cheese filling, and the others chose charque filling.

The rest of the week we spent saying goodbye to friends and relatives, and also starting to pack.  We mostly called on my mom's cousins, chatting and presenting them with farewell gifts. Just two days ago we visited my great aunt Tina and enjoyed a delicious tea with her.

The saddest goodbye Jonathan, Andrew, and I had to say was to  School Despertad, which we had been attending for two and a half weeks. We all received a great farewell from our classes. We've made numerous memories and friends, and have learned more and improved our Spanish.
Secondly, we were all sad to leave my grandma's church. It has been a big blessing this past month!

Today we are cleaning the house, washing clothes, and packing like crazy. My grandma is going to La Paz with us, so we have to leave everything ship shape! The whole Locklin family is working and keeping very busy! Please pray for us, especially my grandma, to have a safe trip. We are very excited!

Andrew's Bad News

As the family's blog writer, it's my duty to tell about the good as well as the bad things that happen on our trip.

Yesterday, we ate pizza and ice cream with our cousin and his wife (newly weds might I add). We had just come home, super tired and super full except for my two brothers. Always brimming with energy, they started playing an indoor game they had invented.  Then Andrew fell and hit his head on the side of a low kind of bench. Unfortunately, it opened a bleeding gash. Though it wasn't extremely big, it was big enough for the ER. It was the day we least expected it, and we had to host a pot luck for the ladies of our church that night. God works in mysterious, but beautiful and edifying ways throughout our lives. This was one of those times for the Locklin family! We prayed for peace and healing for my mom and especially Andrew.

We've had all our bad accidents and stitches in past visits to Bolivia. And every time God has never failed to bring healing and blessings to everyone! This time was no different. In fact, 45 minutes after their hasty departure, my mom and brother returned. Usually, they would have to wait (somtimes a long wait). But this time they didn't have to wait at all, and Andrew was treated quickly, with the result of six stitches on his forehead. He feels fine now, and is as active as ever! Please keep praying for him.

God is good!

Chocolate and Cupcake Classes

For a while, my mom and I have been wanting to take a couple of classes on chocolate and cupcake making and decorating. A few days before, we got to do just that!!

First, we took the class of chocolate decorating. All of the class got excellent feedback on what kind of chocolate to use, how to handle it, and how to avoid mistakes so that any fondue you make will turn out perfect! Next, our instructor dyed the white chocolate several colors. Then we chose what mold we would use for our chocolate. There were animal, flower, and heart-shaped molds. My mom and I chose flower-shaped molds and got to work. Using paint brushes, we painted two flowers yellow and white, and then filled the rest of the mold with dark chocolate. Then we started getting creative. The class used cookie cutters on slices of apples and pineapples, and skewered the shapes. Then we dipped them in chocolate and spread shredded coconut, sprinkles, etc. on them. We did the same with strawberries and grapes, except we used the ends of the skewers to dot or dribble the dyed chocolate onto the fruit. Personally, this was my favorite class. I loved all the creativity!

At night we returned for the second class. It was definitely more crowded than the first class! We all learned how to make rose icing cupcakes, bacon and pecan cupcakes, selva negra (meaning black forest) cupcakes, and red velvet cupcakes. The rose icing cupcakes were easy to make, but very yummy. This was where the decorating came in. The name bacon and pecan cupcakes might sound a little wierd, but they turned out to be more like muffins. Perfect for breakfast! The selva negra cupcakes tasted like rich chocolate and were absolutely delicious. Finally, I helped make the red velvet cupcakes, which took a long time to make, but were definitely worth making!
We returned home very tired, but satisfied with what we had learned that day.

A Special Dish: Charquekan

I could not leave Bolivia without eating some charquekan. My mom couldn't either. That's why she took us to eat some on Tuesday!

But before I continue, I have to explain what charquekan is. You'll never guess! And no, it's not some part of a cow. It's llama meat! It's fried in oil and emerges as crunchy and very, very salty strips of meat. It is so salty in fact, that the dish always comes with egg, potato, and corn for you to mix with the charquekan. Delicious!

Two years ago on our last trip, we ate at the same place. Now, when we arrived, we saw that the experience had not changed at all. We still ate a lot, laughed and talked a lot, and, as always, made more memories!

Two Terrific Parks!

Last week, I went to the Parque de la Familia (The Family Park) and Parque Vial (Park Vial)! My family and I had a splendid time!

My aunt Ruth, uncle David, and cousins David and Joey, who were visiting from La Paz (Bolivia's capital city), drove us to the family park at night. Why night? Because at night you can see the true wonders of the park!

The family park's main attraction is the fountains. The water changes color, height, shape, and movement. The most enormous fountain has a spectacular water/light show! Then there's three interceeding walkways were the water shoots out and forms a high arch over your head. The other two "fountains" are for people to get wet! Water shoots out of the ground forming two areas, an outer ring and inner ring with space in between for you to stand in! I got really wet!

After that we went to eat dinner at 10 o'clock p.m! Guess what I ate? Anticuchos (cow's heart)! The slivers of meat, all savory and chewy, were very yummy! What a fun night we had!

The day before yesterday we played in Park Vial. My family has been going to this park for as long as I can remember! My brothers and I climbed and slid down slides, played foosball, and basically jumped and ran all over the place for hours.

We had tons of fun!!

A Trip to the Movies

Lately, my brothers and I have been dying to see the new movie "Finding Dory." Since our aunt, uncle, and two cousins were in town, my mom wanted to go with them to the movies. When it grew clear that they couldn't, we decided to go that very day!

The Cochàbamba movie theater is called the Cine Center (hint: the word cine means "movie theater"). Usually, it is jam-packed. It wasn't as full as the last time we went there, but we still had to wait a long time to get tickets and food!

Of course I don't want to give the movie away, so I'll just say it was very funny and family-friendly and just plain awesome!

One Tasty Treat!

Yesterday my family and I enjoyed another traditional treat: Saltenas!

We drove to downtown Cochabamba and found a restaurant called "Sucre Manta." My grandma, mom, and I ordered spicy saltenas, and my two brothers ordered empanadas (another kind of Bolivian pastry) filled with chicken, eggs, and basically what saltenas are filled with.

But what are saltenas filled with? Olives, eggs, and chicken covered in a spicy sauce. On the outside, though, it seems to be a type of pastry formed like a half circle.

You eat a saltena by breaking a hole on one end and eating what's on the inside until it's empty. It's like eating the ice cream first and then the cone.

The delicious experience is worth writing about!

Our Third Fun-filled Week in Bolivia!

So many fun things have been going on this week I don't know where to start!

Let's see...if I'm going to start anywhere I guess I better start by telling you how my first Catholic mass went!
The day before, my mom's cousin had phoned my mom, inviting her and the rest of the family to a special Catholic mass on Sunday in honor of my great uncle, who had passed away three months ago. Afterwards, there was to be a lunch at my cousins' house. We, of course, said yes with excitement!

The actual service consisted of many prayers, bible recitation, short but sweet songs, communion, and a sermon. It was interesting to see how a Catholic mass was like!
After it was over, we walked for a block before reaching  my cousin's house. For lunch we ate fricase, a spicy, soup-like dish containing meat, potatoes, and corn. Delicious! After that the adults caught up by talking all afternoon, and the kids played many games.
Then someone suggested we drive to the cementary to visit three very special people: my grandfather Claudio Cardona, great-uncle Walter and great-aunt Albina. We all had a special time honoring and remembering them.

Two days later, my family and I went to downtown Cochabamba. We visited Casona Santivanez, a colonial Spanish house that had been turned into a museum. Like most colonial Spanish homes, it had a huge courtyard with doors on every side that led to rooms filled with art and the history, memoirs, and photographs of famous Bolivian writers. At the end of the courtyard, there were stairs leading up to more rooms. One room contained many lovely pictures of all the different kinds of Bolivian landscapes. A few others were filled with beautiful wooden furniture from colonial times. But what I most liked about this museum was the sculptures they displayed everywhere. So many different figures and shapes! They were mostly humans carved or made out of wood, metal, marble, etc.

Okay, so now that I've been talking and talking about museum stuff, it's time to switch gears and talk about what we did afterwards.
We kids fed doves. You see, in Cochabamba's  central plaza there's a big bunch of doves that are always hanging around benches and fountains, and vendors that always sell bird food. For as long as I can  remember it has been our tradition to stop and feed them. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time.

The next day, we drove to Park Mariscal. The first part consisted of a cool aquarium, where we saw colorful catfish, turtles, and a few tucans, and a picnic area, where we devoured a delicious lunch. The other side was an enormous playground! It was full of slides, swings, climbing obstacles, and seesaws. There was also a pool, foosball court, and a bike track. The Locklin kids had a blast!

Now, speed forward two days to Thursday. That was when my mom, grandma, and I walked through the Cancha. The Cancha is made up of vendors' stalls. A ton of stalls. All bunched up closely together to form aisles and streets. It is so huge in fact, that you can get easily lost. Oh, and did I forget to mention it sells about everything? From food and furniture to toys and ribbons. It's a very different, but fun and eye-opening experience!

This week, the Locklin family has explored much about Bolivia's culture and have had much fun in the process!

Our First Week of School

What a great first week at our new school!

At least, it seems new to us because we haven't been there for a while! Two years ago, on our last trip to Bolivia, we went to a private Christian school called "Despertad" (which means "Awaken" in English).
Now we are enrolled in the same school!

On our first day of school my brothers and I were surrounded by so many memories and old friends!
We drove there in a taxi and waited in the school's main office. After a while, a member of the school's staff led me to the 8th grade classroom. Then she escorted Jonathan to the 6th grade classroom and Andrew to the 2nd grade schoolroom.

To get to my classroom we had to go across the street and into another building. That building is where most of the middle school and high school are. The main bulk of the school is across the street where the grade school is.

That morning I took History, Devotional, English, and Technology. After History we had recess. (The great thing about this school is that they make and serve snacks instead of selling them to you during recess!)

Other subjects I took during the week included Math, Language, and Science.
To conclude, the Locklin kids have definitely had an awesome time in our "summer" school this week!!

Culinary Curiosities

Recently, I ate two very delicious Bolivian dishes: Cow's tongue and Huminta!

Now, when you read the words "cow's tongue" your first thought might be "Eeeeeew! How wierd. How can you eat such a thing?" Cow's tongue though, isn't as bad as you might make it out to be. A traditional Bolivian dish, it is very tasty and savory!

Huminta is one of our favorite Bolivian pastries! It is somewhat like a tamale, except lacking the meat and being very sweet. It's a great snack and perfect for tea time!